Steering Problems

[Ryan Ericson]

Hello all,I completed the second step of buying a 1977 C30, the sea trail. The wind was calm - 5 knots plus or minus. The boat was very hard to keep on a straigth course. Is this a known problem for the boat? I tried to use the autohelm 3000 and the autopilot had the same problem. Under power the autohelm worked fine the boat when the boatwas at crusing speed, 5.5 knots with the yanmar 12. The boat did pull to the right, I would assume from the rotation of the prop. Is there a problem with the rudder or is there a fix?Thank you for your time

 

[Gerald Stewart]

Steering Problem

I had the same problem on my c30,"Sea Swam",1978, then I picked it up 2 mo. ago. It has an ajustable backstay, I found that I had to pull it up tight to get it under control. I still tend to over steer in lite winds. It needs fair speed to be able to steer under motor. I found I needed to gun the motor to get speed then docking,I back in. No speed. no control.

 

[Sean]

Sea Trial

I have the same boat with wheel steering and an Autohelm 4000. I can think of no reason why the boat would have weather helm in 5 knots of wind. The only thing I can think of is sail trim. Were the sails possible sheeted in too tight? If the auto worked perfectly under power alone I would suspect this may be the problem. I wouldn't worry about the rudder. I'm sure you are going to haul out for a survey. Blisters may be a problem. Check the compression post and all chainplates for water damage. The starboard shroud chainplates are notorious for raising the deck. Sean