rounding down

[Anthony Snider]

My wife and I bought and refitted a Catalina 22 and took it on its maiden voyage last weekend. We were expecting 5-10 knot winds and got 25 knots with gusts. Of course we had all our sails up, unreefed, and didn't have enough experience to know how to reef under pressure. What disturbed me, and what I would love to have a response to, is do 22s always tend to bear away from the wind? I had thought that the boat would head into the wind when I eased the main and let go the tiller. Instead, every time the boat rounded down, violently (we almost went over one time). Should I increase the mast rake to correct for this?Any other suggestions? Thanks for helping a neophyte!

 

[David Bergevin]

Rounding Down Blues

Do/Did you have weather helm prior to letting the tiller loose? What was your point of sail (upwind/downwind). Think about this...if you have weather helm, the boat will naturally head the way you are tugging the tiller. If not the way you naturally want to go, watch out!!! You are setting up for disaster if you turn loose.

 

[Greg]

Weather vs Lee Helm

I guess one question to ask is what was done when you refitted. Did you replace the standing rigging? Typically if the headstay is eased and the backstay is taken up the mast rakes aft, increasing weather helm.Were you heading to the windward with the sails sheeted in tight? There should be weatherhelm at this point of sail if the rig is balanced. This way in a puff push the tiller to the leeward or ease the main sail to reduce power.Also did you have a jib or genoa? If you were on a broad reach and the genoa was sheeted in too tight it may have transferred all the power towards the bow when the main was eased causing you to round down.Suggested reading is a book named Sail Power by Wallace Ross. Much of it is more technical than most people are looking for, but check out chapter 7 on Tuning.Make sure reef lines are rigged when you set out so reefing is easier when needed. Practice helps too.

 

[brad]

Congrats on the "new" boat

Ahoy Anthony,In answer to your most pressing question.....no, a Catalina 22 isn't supposed to "round down" -- ie, display excess lee helm.I had a 22 for years....loved the boat.I forget the spects....somebody has them, or maybe Catalina can tell you.....but on a calm day, if you let the main halyard hang free from the masthead, it should have somewhere around 2" of clearance from the mast at it's base. Rake is what they call it.....how much your mast is out of straight up and down. You want it leaning aft just a tad (hence, that about 2" number I cited). Do a quick test and see how much rake you've got. That may be the problem. If the mast isn't leaning aft, as demonstrated by the halyard hanging, loosen up on the forestay and tighten on the back stay until you get about that amount of rake.On a gentle day, go out again, get under way, and just release the tiller. Boat should point up.As the others indicated, some variables are involved to account what happend to you the other day. If you hit with a strong puff, it can heel the boat quite a bit (A 22 can get knocked donw, as can most boats) but given the opportunity, it will recover quickly and head up.Good luck. The 22 is a great boat and nothing to be afraid of...it behaves itself very well. Brad

 

[Dick of Sylvan]

Round Up

I think you can find proper mast tuning advice at the site, www.spiritone.com/~mack/c22 Also, when it is at all gusty, be ready to release your sheets quickly. If overdone, your sails will flap violently when loose, but at least you avoid a knockdown. Usually you can keep things in balance with proper adjusting to the windspeed and direction. Best to carry too little rather than too much sail, i.e. reef and set smaller headsails early.

 

[Anthony Snider]

thanks for the advice!

Thanks for all the helpful advice on my problem of weather helm. I retuned the mast to add more rake and took her out in a 7 knot wind (after setting up reefing gear to be ready for the wind to increase). She handled beautifully, with just a hint of weather helm.Thanks again.Anthony Snider