[Rhodes22-list] Reply to Just Bent about weather helm

[James Barron]

To Jb from JB

The same thing happened to us on our last sail.  We had the full Genny out and were
having fun at what I thought was close to the limit of wind we could handle.  Then the gust hit-- we 
saw it coming--just didn't anticipate how strong it was.  We were not prepared to uncleat
the jib in time, or turn into the wind, so the gust pushed us over until the rail was in the
water.  We were taking water into the cockpit.  But Stan has said that when that happens, 
the boat rounds up and corrects the problem, so I said a little prayer to Stan, and that is exactly what happened.  
Not the smoothest of moves, but it kept us safe.  The water all drained out of the cockpit, and none got
into the cabin or bilge. We put the Genny back to about 100% and had no further problems,
even though the wind gradually got stronger.

I have always thought that weather helm refers to the slight tug on the tiller that means the 
boat has a slight tendency to want to turn to weather, or into the wind.  That is a safety feature,
in that if you let go of the tiller, the boat will turn in the safer direction.

The R22 tendency to turn abruptly into the wind seems to me to be exaggerated compared to
other boats, and I am glad it is.  A function of the flared sides and the general design of the boat?

Another newbie



-----Original Message-----
From:	Just bent 
Sent:	Tuesday, July 17, 2007 7:32 PM
To:	rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
Subject:	Re: [Rhodes22-list] DOB Drill

I also have a general sailing question. It seems when I get a gust of wind
and heel over too far, the boat spins to weather by itself. Is that normal?
I was thinking my rudder was coming out of the water too far or is that what
they call weather helm?

Jb