Question re: boat not turning sometimes

[Randy]

Well last weekend has to be the best sailing I've had yet. I've only had the boat out 4 weekends and in 4' plus waves and 10mph plus winds I was cruising. I noticed 8.8mph speeds several times on my gps. Seemed to be on a 15 degree keel constantly and had it over to 35 more times than my wife would like .Anyway I had two periods underwhich no matter how hard I tried that I could not turn the boat the direction I wanted it to go in. I had the rudder turned hard and it just keep going straight. Note that these times were during a much slower 3 to 4 mph period and against good size 4' large rolling waves. I could however turn the boat around in the opposite directing and get pointed the way I wanted.I tried changing rudder angles, also tried different keel depths but nothing really seemed to help. So I fired up the OB and made the adjustments. I've read that people who know what they are doing can turn the boat with out the aid of a rudder and I think I've done that a couple of times accidently but would like to know how to do it intentionally. btw: the boat is a H240

 

[Brad]

sail trim to turn

If you have both the jib and main set you can sail without a rudder for emergency. If just the jib is out it will "push" the bow with the wind.If just the main is out it will round up into the wind. with both out all you need to do is sheet one sail out ntil it is no longer effective, thereby turning whatever direction you want. I see no reason that you cant use this idea to help turn as well but i might be wrong. The issue of knot line I just ot from hunter has a more detailed description of this in it. I learned this as a kid sailing but forgot all about untill i got the issue. I doubt you would want to do thius very often but I am going to start practicing this so if my rudder ever breaks again I know how the boat will handel when under sail.Hope this helpsBrad

 

[Paul H]

Unable to turn

Randy, Had that happen to me once when I was sailing a 19 ft Hunter. The wind was so strong that no matter how much speed I built up I couldn't get her nose to come across the wind on a tack. We ended going the other direction down wind and came back around. Is this sort of what happened to you?Paul HS/V Linda Belle95 H26

 

[Patrick]

weather helm?

I suspect you had way over 10 knots of wind and were experiencing weather helm. You were probably close to rounding up

 

[Bill O'Donovan]

You were in irons

For which the only consistent relief is to reef.Until then...1. Pull in the jib, since already overpowered.2. Try to achieve a beam reach.3. Beam will get you speed and level the boat.4. Then come about for another beam reach.5. Try to avoid close reach in high winds.

 

[Mark]

more speed needed

If you are trying to tack in very light breezes it is essential that you get the max speed prior to tacking.Try throwing off the jib sheet a little earlier and pull the main sheet on just a bit.As soon as the nose comes thru the wind ease the mainsheet a bit and pull on the headsail quickly.In 3-4 knot breezes it is hard.You may also want to make sure that the waves are hitting you on the leeside if possible for just the power of the waves in this "wind" will make it difficult to tack into the oncoming waves for they want to push you off the breeze.It would seem in this instance that the waves were hitting you from the windward side perhaps a little forward of the bow.As you mentioned you can easily turn away from the wind and that will be the waves helping.The other option, although you must warn the crew is to do a circle, jybe!

 

[alan]

I must be stupid but, you need to be specific.

Which way couldn't you turn? Do you mean that you could not tack into the wind or you could not bear off the wind or as mentioned were you in iorns? alan

 

[Travis]

I've had the same problem

I think I know exactly what your talking about. I've been cruising along at about 3 to 4 knots with the wind blowing (so I know its not the tide I'm getting my speed from)and lost all control. One thing you need to look at is, how much and which sails do you have up? Sometimes, depending on the tack, you need to add or subtract some sail area. Were you sailing under the mainsail only? Try raising all sail, wind permitting, and see if you gain control.

 

[Randy]

I got it

I was out friday and saturday. I tryed letting out the main sheet to reduce pressure on the main. This seemed to give me a little extra power on the head sail to move the bow in the direction I wanted. I also reversed the procedure to allow the main to pivot me in the opposite direction. It seemed to work pretty well.

 

[David Foster]

Sail Trim

Randy, I'm with Travis. We need to know more to really help.Which way was the apparent wind (indicated by the arrow on the top of the mast) blowing?How was the mainsail sheeted? Tight, loose - in other words, what was the angle of the boom to the boat.How was the job sheeted?How hard was the wind blowing?How far was the boat heeling?The symptoms indicate a stalled rudder - the rudder is turn so far that the water behind it has detached, dramatically reducing the turn force it exerts on the boat. But this is a symptom of some imbalance of the wind and sails. Easing the mainshet should help in any case. But if you are sailing with the mainsheet tight enough to stall the rudder in a moderate breeze, then learning how to trim your sails would provide huge benefits in speed, heel, controlability, and the joy of sailing your boat.I'm glad the last sail went better!DavidLAdy Lillie