We were sailing erratically, it didn’t seem like adjusting the control lines for the self-steering monitor windvane was having any effect. On further investigation (didn’t take much), I discovered that the rudder was dragging behind the boat, attached only by the safety keeper-cord that is designed exactly for this purpose. I wish I had taken a picture–it was a pretty funny scene (in retrospect)–but it wasn’t at the top of my list of priorities in that moment.
The bottom bracket had just fallen apart–the welds disintegrated after two decades of salt water. Fortunately, the timing worked out well–Jon was about to visit us in mexico for his spring break, so I was able to order the parts from Monitor, have them shipped to Jon in colorado, and he brought them down with him when he visited. It wasn’t a cheap repair: the new bottom bracket alone cost $250 I think.
(I considered having the old one re-welded, but the whole thing was trashed and it wouldn’t have held together.)
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