Hydrovane bracket bolt failure forced Lauren to remove rudder and vane

During the passage to Tahiti, a bolt on the Hydrovane's transom bracket snapped, and a second bolt on the inboard side came loose. With very little left securing the unit at the bottom, Lauren stopped using the Hydrovane the morning before arrival. She then removed both the rudder and the vane entirely once anchored, because the stress on the bracket only builds when the vane and rudder are in place. A temporary paracord lashing was applied to the broken bracket joint just to hold things together, though she acknowledged it was not a real fix. Repairing the Hydrovane mounting hardware became the top priority while in Tahiti.