[Rhodes22-list] Mary Lou's Lee helm

[Steve Alm]

Mary Lou,
Yes, I said what Stan said I said.  I raked the mast back by extending the
forestay.  It was about 2" or more--sorry I can't be more precise.  That
brings the Center of Effros  8-)  aft and yields more weather helm.  But
that alone wasn't enough.  I started experimenting with the depth of my
centerboard and discovered I could create more weather helm by lessening the
depth of board.  I have the diamond board and it seems that raising it
brings the center of lateral resistance forward, increasing weather helm.
The amount of board I use varies with the wind speed, boat speed and point
of sail.  I'm still learning so I can't be very specific about that other
than to say that the faster the boat speed, the less board I use.  But if
I'm on a close reach, that probably makes me lose some of my footing to the
lee but I weigh that against the comfort of the helm.  I just play around
with it until I'm happy.  Although I can't help you with the republican
tendency of Fretless--that's a head-scratcher -- I'd suggest making
adjustments to your board and see if that helps.  Also, I sometimes get lee
helm in light air which changes over to weather helm in the gusts.  The more
the boat heels, the greater the weather helm. And lastly, I rarely reef in
my IMF main unless it's really blowing.  I'll reef in the 175% genny to
about 90% before I reef the main.  That happens when the winds are in the
upper teens.  With winds much higher than that, I'm usually at the dock
having a cocktail.  8-)  Speaking of which, isn't it five o'clock somewhere?

Hope this helps,
Slim

On 9/5/04 1:48 PM, "stan" <stan at rhodes22.com> wrote:

> a few thoughts if it is really a problem   Slim raked his mast aft by
> increasing the jib stay about 2" he says.  the new main with a little more
> sail area might help but that is a big investment.  If you are handy, putting
> a small extra fin forward of the keel might tip the scale. Also, I think you
> are on the right track about more weight forward.  I brought my thinking on
> this up to the List on two occasions but drew a blanc response each time. I
> think more bow in the water is akin to moving the keel (center of effort)
> forward and easy to test by having a lot of guests sit up on the bow and see
> what happens to the tiller helm.  Hiring crew to sit on the bow might be a
> patentable upgrade - let us know the test results.
> 
> stan/gbi
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Mary Lou Troy
> To: stan 
> Sent: Monday, August 30, 2004 2:18 PM
> Subject: you are welcome and turning right (was Re: book)
> 
> 
> Stan, 
> You are very welcome for the book. I do not have 1,000 more ;-) If you do want
> additional copies you'll have to contact Stan Grayson about it. He'll sell me
> additional copies for "personal use" at a 40% discount which is close to what
> you can get from Amazon. I'm pleased with the book (and hope you are too).
> 
> As for my cryptic note about Fretless being too right - We're not going
> anywhere but Fred and I suspect you may have sold us a republican boat.
> 
> As you know we have had lee helm issues over the years. Using your suggestions
> we have been able to produce a nice neutral to slight weather helm - on
> starboard tack only. On port tack the adjustments have only produced a
> reduction in lee helm. After making sure the mast was centered and the rigging
> moderately snug it finally occurred to us that what the boat was doing was
> always wanting to turn right. Last time we had her out we seemed to be able to
> reduce this tendency slightly and remove a bit of the lee helm by putting my
> weight amidships on the port cabin top so it is possible that we are still
> dealing with a weight distribution issue. We'll continue to investigate but
> are wondering if you have any other suggestions for what we might tinker with
> to produce a more middle of the rhode boat.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Mary Lou
> 
> 
> At 04:44 PM 8/29/2004 -0400, you wrote:
> 
>   MLT -
>    
>   How nice of you to send the book - need 1,000 more.
>    
>   does a little too right mean we are loosing you? - hope not.
>    
>   stan/gbi
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