Weather / Lee Helm SC 17 - Help needed
Posted: July 7th, 2018, 8:37 am
Hi folks
We've had a good sailing week and I finally decided I had to fix this problem. I have a firm weather helm while on a starboard tack. It increases with wind speed. If we are trapezing and I release the tiller, the boat will round up quite quickly and dump our butts in the water. It's really not a big problem as I see a modest weather helm as a safety feature - this is just a little too much. I can't let go of the tiller for even a second. But, that's not my big problem.
My big problem is that while on port tack I have a neutral to occasional lee helm. I can let go of the tiller from the trapeze and the boat sails along all on its own. The bad part is that if I am trapezing, and hit a wave or gust or get lifted and need to head up, I have to push on the tiller. If I have lost my balance, or if the gust just pushed us in an odd way and made my body lean forward, I can't push on the tiller. I have tipped over as a result of this condition and don't like it.
I have had this problem for years and maybe it is getting worse or maybe I just tolerate it less. At age 66 my tolerance for a lot of things is diminishing.
The rudders appear straight and good to me. The port rudder has a little slop in it but the bottom tip only moves 1/2 inch at best. They appear to be evenly mounted. Nothing I see can explain this to me. I have set the toe-in correctly. (and toe-in being right or wrong wouldn't explain the two different helms)
I have read most of the posts on rudder issues but did not find one that addresses my particular problem.
I have a couple ideas to try:
1. Switch the rudders and see what happens
2. Measure the front tip of the rudder to the front of the boat to see if they are the same
3. Put a level on each rudder's leading edge to see if they match
3. Build up one side of one rudder with Gorilla tape to see what that does.
4. Verify that my shrouds are the same length.
5. Buy two new rudders and be done with it. (I am reluctant to do this until I know the problem is a defective rudder.)
Thanks in advance for any help and advice
We've had a good sailing week and I finally decided I had to fix this problem. I have a firm weather helm while on a starboard tack. It increases with wind speed. If we are trapezing and I release the tiller, the boat will round up quite quickly and dump our butts in the water. It's really not a big problem as I see a modest weather helm as a safety feature - this is just a little too much. I can't let go of the tiller for even a second. But, that's not my big problem.
My big problem is that while on port tack I have a neutral to occasional lee helm. I can let go of the tiller from the trapeze and the boat sails along all on its own. The bad part is that if I am trapezing, and hit a wave or gust or get lifted and need to head up, I have to push on the tiller. If I have lost my balance, or if the gust just pushed us in an odd way and made my body lean forward, I can't push on the tiller. I have tipped over as a result of this condition and don't like it.
I have had this problem for years and maybe it is getting worse or maybe I just tolerate it less. At age 66 my tolerance for a lot of things is diminishing.
The rudders appear straight and good to me. The port rudder has a little slop in it but the bottom tip only moves 1/2 inch at best. They appear to be evenly mounted. Nothing I see can explain this to me. I have set the toe-in correctly. (and toe-in being right or wrong wouldn't explain the two different helms)
I have read most of the posts on rudder issues but did not find one that addresses my particular problem.
I have a couple ideas to try:
1. Switch the rudders and see what happens
2. Measure the front tip of the rudder to the front of the boat to see if they are the same
3. Put a level on each rudder's leading edge to see if they match
3. Build up one side of one rudder with Gorilla tape to see what that does.
4. Verify that my shrouds are the same length.
5. Buy two new rudders and be done with it. (I am reluctant to do this until I know the problem is a defective rudder.)
Thanks in advance for any help and advice