JUST AN UPDATE.....

After we got towed to Offetts Bayou, we discovered that our steering problem was associated with a broken rudder quadrant.

This is what is known as the "quadrant".  It is connected to the steering wheel by a series of chains and cables enabling the rudder to turn which is what gives the vessel directional control.  In the upper part of the photo, you can see what appears to be a square shaft sticking up from the top corner of the quadrant.  This is actually the top of the rudder post.  The quadrant is a two piece affair connected to the top of the rudder shaft.

It is the backing part of the rudder quadrant, the part that holds the quadrant to the shaft that broke.  I know it's hard to tell, but that backing piece is over and inch thick in all directions and is made of solid bronze.  I am still wondering how it broke, but it did.

So, we got towed again.  Originally, we discovered a yard in the Galveston area that could haul our boat.  After discussing it with the Boat US tow captain that came and got us, he strongly recommended against that yard and offered to tow us up to the Clear Lake area (only 23 miles up the Houston Shipping Channel) to a yard called Seabrook Ship Yard.  He told us that the yard in Galveston was in a highly industrial area and in a bad neighborhood.  We would have nothing to do there and would not feel comfortable at night.  He was absolutely right.  Seabrook is a very nice suburb of Houston.  The yard is completely modern and clean.  They are very busy here, but the owner, OJ, has done a lot of cruising and is sympathetic to our cause.  We were towed in Monday afternoon, hauled first thing Tuesday morning, and the problems dissassembled and diagnosed within 3 hours.  All parts are on order, and we hope to be out of here by Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.  We have been allowed to stay on the boat, and that's fine, but we would prefer not to spend Thanksgiving in the boat yard.

The damage was pretty extensive.  First, of course, is the quadrant.  But what happened after we ended up in the mud was much worse:  bent shaft, bent rudder, and damaged propeller. 

It can all be fixed and is in the process thereof.  The shaft is a problem because it is some funky metric size and is being custom made.  Thank God for insurance.....that's all I have to say.

In the interim, we are having a good time.  It sucks, but the folks here could not be nicer.  We went to NASA yesterday on our bikes and had a blast (pardon the pun).  It's going to all work out.

That's it for now.