First a wordy post about how we found balance in the sails this past weekend, finishing with a somewhat related question about balance under power.
On several previous sails, most of which were when our friend owned our current boat, a Hunter 33.5, we'd get to heeling at an uncomfortable angle (for us noobs) but eventually I realized that what made it uncomfortable for me was not the heel angle, but the weather helm. It would feel like I was constantly fighting with the boat, much like a strong dog pulling on a leash. It would want to turn into the wind, while I wanted to go straight. As guests on the boat, adjusting the sails was never an option, even if it had ever occurred to us (which it hadn't).
This season the boat is ours and as new sailors my wife and I like to experiment with different sail configurations under different conditions to see what works for us. We've already discovered what a wonderful tool the traveler is and it's now a regular part of our trimming adjustments.
Saturday with a steady 10 kt wind we sailed with a full jib and the main on the second reef point. We had wanted to go with the first reef point but the one reef line was set up for the second and we weren't motivated to change it.
As we headed up wind and started to heel, I was pleasantly surprised to see we hit the sweet spot for balance. At a 15 degree heel I was able to let go of the wheel for what seemed like a couple of minutes and the wheel hardly moved as we went along. Heeling no longer felt uncomfortable, at least not for me. Now, instead of just thinking about how to power/depower the sails, we'll be also thinking more about balance and how that affects the handling.
Now somewhat related, after anchoring for much of the afternoon, we decided to motor, downwind, to the southeast end of the lake so we could sail back into the sunset for our sunset cruise. With helm balance on my mind, I was surprised at how UN-balanced we were under power, at about 85% of full throttle. If I let go of the wheel we quickly turned to port. Is this normal or should I be concerned? I hadn't noticed it before but then we hadn't motored for so long before.
On several previous sails, most of which were when our friend owned our current boat, a Hunter 33.5, we'd get to heeling at an uncomfortable angle (for us noobs) but eventually I realized that what made it uncomfortable for me was not the heel angle, but the weather helm. It would feel like I was constantly fighting with the boat, much like a strong dog pulling on a leash. It would want to turn into the wind, while I wanted to go straight. As guests on the boat, adjusting the sails was never an option, even if it had ever occurred to us (which it hadn't).
This season the boat is ours and as new sailors my wife and I like to experiment with different sail configurations under different conditions to see what works for us. We've already discovered what a wonderful tool the traveler is and it's now a regular part of our trimming adjustments.
Saturday with a steady 10 kt wind we sailed with a full jib and the main on the second reef point. We had wanted to go with the first reef point but the one reef line was set up for the second and we weren't motivated to change it.
As we headed up wind and started to heel, I was pleasantly surprised to see we hit the sweet spot for balance. At a 15 degree heel I was able to let go of the wheel for what seemed like a couple of minutes and the wheel hardly moved as we went along. Heeling no longer felt uncomfortable, at least not for me. Now, instead of just thinking about how to power/depower the sails, we'll be also thinking more about balance and how that affects the handling.
Now somewhat related, after anchoring for much of the afternoon, we decided to motor, downwind, to the southeast end of the lake so we could sail back into the sunset for our sunset cruise. With helm balance on my mind, I was surprised at how UN-balanced we were under power, at about 85% of full throttle. If I let go of the wheel we quickly turned to port. Is this normal or should I be concerned? I hadn't noticed it before but then we hadn't motored for so long before.