Quote:
Originally Posted by bobmcgov
Thanks, Alex. I spent yesterday -- a very rare light-air day -- fiddling with sail trim and crew weight and centerboard position on my dinghy. I found on a small boat like that, the most influential factor was degree of heel. The boat would head up quite sharply if I moved to the lee bench, fall off if I hiked it to weather. Was I stalling the sails that way, & that's why it had weather helm? |
This has to do with the shape of the hull, as it was explained to me in a sailing course. The stern is beamier than the bow, and when you add weight to one side, the bow wants to go the other way. Nothing to do with the sails.
But Alex's explanation of sail efficiency's effect on steering is not very easy for me to follow. It is easier for me to think about center of effort: when the main is trimmed, the center of effor on the sails moves to the rear and the bow goes to windward. When it is eased, the CE moves forward and the bow falls off.