In response to someone asking about the bent rudder posts, he posted:

"@Phil: I'm very glad you found the post useful and informative. To answer your questions: 1) the rudder posts, properly called rudder stocks, were not bent. It was the frames inside the rudder blades that seemed to have been damaged. On the starboard side the blade frame had apparently broken loose, as the blade was spinning around its stock. On the port side, the frame had bent. The rudder turned freely, but the blade was always pitched to starboard, even with the wheel hard to port. And no, we certainly did not hit anything."

So according to him, the rudder stocks were not damaged. Instead, the broken internal webbing caused the rudder blade to be pitched at an angle. That the rudder could not be turned enough to present a centered blade implies that the boat was also fitted with rudder stops. This was one of the possibilities I attempted to present in an earlier thread.

If this is true, I wonder why they did not try to remove the rudder stops and crossbar and get the rudder more centered? I suppose if the internal webbing was bent that badly, it was only a matter of time before it broke and spun free also.

It is interesting that this story keeps evolving (and even disappearing from the manufacturer's website). I hope they recover the boat so that the real facts are known.

Mark