Mac Gregor weather helm
Re: the MacGregor 23 Dan McGuire wrote: "We have found that in winds much over about twenty knots, it is just about impossible to tack. We have been in winds up to about 30 knots, but it is very tiring because of the weather helm and the need to jibe rather than tack." This reply may be off point, but if it can help a sailor enjoy sailing a little more, I'm sure I'll be forgiven. The MacGregor 25 was my first sailboat. That was in 1984. In 1988, I progressed to a Catalina 30 and, this year, to an Irwin 38. I celebrated my 73rd birthday a few months ago and spend every minute I can on the water. The excessive weather helm in MacGregors is caused mainly by the way the rudder is constructed. The pivot point is directly at the leading edge and the tiller is relatively short. Once the wind piped up a bit, holding a course was a struggle for me. My wife couldn't do it at all. The Catalina 30, also a tiller boat, was easily managed by either of us even in strong winds. The difference is that the Catalina has a "balanced" rudder. This means that the pivot point is behind the leading edge -- about 4 or 5 inches in this case. I didn't know about balanced rudders when I owned the MacGregor, but if I did, I would have sliced a 3 inch strip from the rounded edge of an oak stair tread, faired it with a sander to match the leading edge of the rudder, and epoxied it to the rudder making sure that there would be sufficient clearance at the transom. After the epoxy cured, I would have filled, faired, and sanded the joint and the bottom edge of the oak. Next I would have applied a layer of fiberglass cloth and resin from half way back on one side of the rudder, around the front, and half way back on the other side of the rudder. I'd have added a second layer of fiberglass cloth and resin starting and ending about an inch short of the first layer. I'd have finished up with a third layer of fiberglass and resin starting and ending about an inch short of the second layer. The theory behind a balanced rudder is that moving water striking the area that is in front of the pivot point exerts force that helps to reduce the load on the tiller. If I had made this change to the rudder of my M25, I believe that it would have been much easier to handle. But that's just my belief. Perhaps there's someone out there who can shed some additional light on the subject.
Re: the MacGregor 23 Dan McGuire wrote: "We have found that in winds much over about twenty knots, it is just about impossible to tack. We have been in winds up to about 30 knots, but it is very tiring because of the weather helm and the need to jibe rather than tack." This reply may be off point, but if it can help a sailor enjoy sailing a little more, I'm sure I'll be forgiven. The MacGregor 25 was my first sailboat. That was in 1984. In 1988, I progressed to a Catalina 30 and, this year, to an Irwin 38. I celebrated my 73rd birthday a few months ago and spend every minute I can on the water. The excessive weather helm in MacGregors is caused mainly by the way the rudder is constructed. The pivot point is directly at the leading edge and the tiller is relatively short. Once the wind piped up a bit, holding a course was a struggle for me. My wife couldn't do it at all. The Catalina 30, also a tiller boat, was easily managed by either of us even in strong winds. The difference is that the Catalina has a "balanced" rudder. This means that the pivot point is behind the leading edge -- about 4 or 5 inches in this case. I didn't know about balanced rudders when I owned the MacGregor, but if I did, I would have sliced a 3 inch strip from the rounded edge of an oak stair tread, faired it with a sander to match the leading edge of the rudder, and epoxied it to the rudder making sure that there would be sufficient clearance at the transom. After the epoxy cured, I would have filled, faired, and sanded the joint and the bottom edge of the oak. Next I would have applied a layer of fiberglass cloth and resin from half way back on one side of the rudder, around the front, and half way back on the other side of the rudder. I'd have added a second layer of fiberglass cloth and resin starting and ending about an inch short of the first layer. I'd have finished up with a third layer of fiberglass and resin starting and ending about an inch short of the second layer. The theory behind a balanced rudder is that moving water striking the area that is in front of the pivot point exerts force that helps to reduce the load on the tiller. If I had made this change to the rudder of my M25, I believe that it would have been much easier to handle. But that's just my belief. Perhaps there's someone out there who can shed some additional light on the subject.