SC 17 Asymmetric Weather / Lee Helm
Posted: July 27th, 2022, 4:43 pm
Hi all, I have read the thread by T Peterson on the exact topic and will refer to it, but I figured I would start a new one since this is a different user and boat.
I have a fairly new to me SC 17, I believe the marking on the starboard hull indicates it's a 1981. I am also pretty new to sailing with only something like 7 months experience, starting on a 20ft keel boat, but are partnered in the boat with an experienced sailor.
We are experiencing pretty significant weather helm on a starboard tack with light lee helm on port, pretty much exactly as T Peterson describes but I suspect our starboard weather helm is more significant.
Things that have already been done:
1. The starboard rudder had significant play at the roller stop side as well as the pivot bolt. I built up a layer of epoxy on the roller side and drilled out the pivot hole and installed a bronze bushing with 5/16" ID. There is some slop at the top but it's minimal now. Really it looks like the pivot bolt is in the wrong location preventing the rollers from engaging fully and I may press the bearing out, fill the hole and start over.
The port rudder had less slop in both areas. They both appear to rake under the transom with light rearward pressure applied. I believe I have the side to side slop within each casting under control.
2. I believe the shrouds and bridle wires are the same length. I measured them for replacement while the boat was on it's side. I don't know if I did it perfect but certainly within 1/4".
3. The rudders were repainted previously but the finish was not so good having speckles and heavy runs. I made an attempt at smoothing things over being careful to maintain profile. By eyeball template it looks OK But I didn't print out any templates or anything. On that topic, are the rudder hydrofoils public? I could actually print templates and work towards that.
Things that have yet to be done:
1. There is significant slop in the tiller arm double swivel to crossbar connections. Need to replace these with new yokes. Also planning on making some modifications to the crossbar to allow for adjustment. I don't believe toe is set correctly as there may be some tow out right now. I also believe any problems manifesting from toe or crossbar slop should present symmetrically not asymmetrically. This may not be right though if the amount of slop pulling from one tack is different than from the other. Thoughts? I will probably make a new topic on this part.
2. I am not entirely sure that both rudders are perfectly vertical with respect to the vertical line through the hulls. I may have to play with this.
3. I have not yet tried swapping rudders in each casting. The rudders actually don't fit as nice in the opposite castings but maybe I will just take some added slop from that to see how it performs.
3. I have not yet tried disconnecting the windward rudder from the crossbar while under sail to see how it feels. It's on the list. How useful is this?
4. I have not yet measured the crosswise distance from tip of hull to opposite transom to looks for hull misalignment. It looks OK but I know it could be subtle.
I will update as I collect more information but any help would be great.
Thanks!
I have a fairly new to me SC 17, I believe the marking on the starboard hull indicates it's a 1981. I am also pretty new to sailing with only something like 7 months experience, starting on a 20ft keel boat, but are partnered in the boat with an experienced sailor.
We are experiencing pretty significant weather helm on a starboard tack with light lee helm on port, pretty much exactly as T Peterson describes but I suspect our starboard weather helm is more significant.
Things that have already been done:
1. The starboard rudder had significant play at the roller stop side as well as the pivot bolt. I built up a layer of epoxy on the roller side and drilled out the pivot hole and installed a bronze bushing with 5/16" ID. There is some slop at the top but it's minimal now. Really it looks like the pivot bolt is in the wrong location preventing the rollers from engaging fully and I may press the bearing out, fill the hole and start over.
The port rudder had less slop in both areas. They both appear to rake under the transom with light rearward pressure applied. I believe I have the side to side slop within each casting under control.
2. I believe the shrouds and bridle wires are the same length. I measured them for replacement while the boat was on it's side. I don't know if I did it perfect but certainly within 1/4".
3. The rudders were repainted previously but the finish was not so good having speckles and heavy runs. I made an attempt at smoothing things over being careful to maintain profile. By eyeball template it looks OK But I didn't print out any templates or anything. On that topic, are the rudder hydrofoils public? I could actually print templates and work towards that.
Things that have yet to be done:
1. There is significant slop in the tiller arm double swivel to crossbar connections. Need to replace these with new yokes. Also planning on making some modifications to the crossbar to allow for adjustment. I don't believe toe is set correctly as there may be some tow out right now. I also believe any problems manifesting from toe or crossbar slop should present symmetrically not asymmetrically. This may not be right though if the amount of slop pulling from one tack is different than from the other. Thoughts? I will probably make a new topic on this part.
2. I am not entirely sure that both rudders are perfectly vertical with respect to the vertical line through the hulls. I may have to play with this.
3. I have not yet tried swapping rudders in each casting. The rudders actually don't fit as nice in the opposite castings but maybe I will just take some added slop from that to see how it performs.
3. I have not yet tried disconnecting the windward rudder from the crossbar while under sail to see how it feels. It's on the list. How useful is this?
4. I have not yet measured the crosswise distance from tip of hull to opposite transom to looks for hull misalignment. It looks OK but I know it could be subtle.
I will update as I collect more information but any help would be great.
Thanks!