Chrysler Sailors Forum

Here is a photo that a neighbor took of us sailing yesterday.
Double reefed and grinning uncontrollably

Nice! Nothing like a well heeled red boat!

ya, it feels awesome.

Windward,

I have a quick question for you.
In one of my statements the other day I said that there was definite weather helm above 35/40 deg heel.
I am wondering what is normal for weather helm or is it possible to balance the boat no matter what heel by adjusting amount of sail?

Thanks,
Adam

Beautiful shot!!
Love it!

Scott

Nice picture! I keep waiting for some nice pics of Copacetic under sail.

That is a great photo I to wish I had one like that of our C-26 .

The 1st mate is painting a picture on our bedroom wall that looks almost the same.

amayotte wrote: I am wondering what is normal for weather helm or is it possible to balance the boat no matter what heel by adjusting amount of sail?

A little weather helm is a good thing. I've seen magical proclamations like "your boat should be trimmed so that it does not heel more than 23 degrees" and "you should never have more the than 6 degrees of weather helm", but much of that is dependent on your boat, the conditions you're sailing and your personal preference. If you're sensitive I think you can feel when the rudder angle is slowing the boat rather than just keeping it on track. That's the time to do something different, whether it's trim, load the rail, reef or alter point of sail.

In general, you should be able to manage weather helm and heel simultaneously by adjust sail area or sail trim. Strong gusts can cause almost any boat to round up -- weather helm that exceeds the rudder's ability to correct. You mentioned having a double reef in... I find that Windward does best if reefed early, as you did on this trip. It's a bigger deal with the dacron main, which has more depth than the Pentex one, but those are exactly the conditions I use the dacron in to spare the more expensive Pentex. You can also play with easing the sails so they luff a bit, or by increasing twist -- jib sheet lead further aft, ease the mainsheet (or vang, if you vang sheet) to let the sails spill more air at the top.

The Idasailor rudder on Windward develops an insane amount of lift, so my experiences are probably a bit different from the stock rudder. I'm not sure I've ever rounded up while going upwind, although a screaming beam reach or broad reach with the chute -- or the full 150 in 20+ kt -- can still make it happen if you aren't hyper-vigilant. In fact, the rudder has enough lift that it causes me problems at anchor on the coast when the current opposes the wind. The bow keeps the rode taught while the current lifts the stern up into the wind, sometimes making a full circle and wrapping the rode around the keel. A riding sail has helped there, but I'm still looking for the best preventative measures. I use a plastic pin to keep the rudder down, so raising the rudder at anchor's not a simple solution unless I want to go swimming.

Nice Shot!

I had to Google your home town to see where you lived,,, looks like a beautiful area to play,,, not sure I'd like those cold winter temps tho