Recently I was asked 'what does a skipper use most each day yet hardly ever thinks about?' "The boat's rudder, " was the answer from Alex van Baalen, a retired ocean going tug captain from the Netherlands, who now resides in the UK. I guess he's right.
As long as the boat is steering, her rudder bearing and rudder-post are OK. Few skippers ever give a thought to the rudder, other than the odd choice word when the boat misbehaves: 'C'mon you dear wee boat', are words I seem to remember!
Alex tells of his childhood, watching his father's stevedoring, berthing ships big and small.
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