[Rhodes22-list] Define: Lee Helm

[stan]

Such smart owners - it always pleases me no end - and of course quiet Tom is 
up there with the best of them.

The boat was designed to have almost a neutral helm.  The main did get 
smaller and the jib bigger.  Even so, on many Rhodes I have sailed, the helm 
has remained so balanced that I often can sail without holding the tiller - 
some do seem to sometimes have a slight lee helm for variations I am not 
sure of:  weight distribution, rake, sail construction?

The new IMF, with its single batten, slightly increases the sail area of the 
main sail so this tends to counter act a lee helm.
Of course going back to a standard main does the same thing.  Tom Sorenson 
(who has not contributed to the List) uses his Rhodes exclusively for racing 
and has a larger, battened (fully I think?) main that he uses with the boom 
lowered, a mast he bends to his own racing formula along with all sorts of 
other sail shaping aids and be beats any boats that dare challenge him.

I am not that concerned about a lee helm since it does turn into a weather 
helm as soon as the boat starts to heel and the boat does turn into the wind 
in heavy airs.   But for those who are not happy with their lee helm and 
have not been able to tweak their  boat enough to reduce it enough to suit 
them, we could work out a small fin that attaches forward of the keel ( I 
have even seen some commercial aluminum ones)  when we get a breather.

Note:   I do not have to get political anymore since by now the brilliance 
of this administration has spoken more eloquently than I ever could.

stan


----- Original Message ----- 
From: <SVTRITON at aol.com>
To: <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Friday, March 09, 2007 12:29 PM
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Define: Lee Helm


> hi all
> i dont write very often because i have little to add to the usually
> intelligent discussion.(other than politics) on this list..however i have 
> lee  helm at
> low windspeed and i have a theory as to why so many of us have it...i 
> hope
> that stan will chime in and tell me im wrong...lee helm is caused by the
> center of effort of the sails being in front of the center of lateral 
> resistance
> of the boat....i dont think the boat was designed that way but it has 
> resulted
> because of changes that were made to the boat...when designed my guess is
> there  was no poptop and the boat was meant to sail with the boom in the 
> down
> position..this would result in a larger mainsail which would bring the 
> center of
> effort towards the stern and closer to the center of lateral
> resistance...with  the introduction of the poptop and the resulting higher 
> position of  the
> boom the mainsail has to be made smaller thus moving the center of  effort 
> of
> the sails forward resulting in lee helm...the 175 genny compensates 
> somewhat
> for the smaller main in moving the center of effort aft but if youre  like 
> me
> and use a 150  and a ups you really have to live with lee  helm..luckily 
> as
> windspeed increases the center of effort moves aft so at  the more 
> dangerous
> higher windspeeds you go to neutral helm and then  weather helm...i have 
> tried to
> compensate by adding a 3 inch extension to my  forestay and raking the 
> mast
> back...it helps a little but the lee helm  persists...if stan says im 
> wrong then
> there may be a fix i havent thought  of but if im right its something i 
> have
> to live with
> that's my experience and thought
> tom
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