It was very strange, I know I haven’t been sailing all that long, only 3 years but yesterday I was out on the potomac river south of Washington DC and I was sailing close hauled. I let go of the tiller for a quick second and noticed the boat fell off the wind from being close hauled to a close reach, she stayed right there and sailed by her self without anyone holding the tiller at all. I tested this and noticed that she sailed for 1hr 20min without falling out of the wind or steering herself into the wind. I can understand the physics in a larger boat with some sort of self steering or lashing the helm but I have a 85 hunter 23’ without any self steering or lashing hard wear. Furthermore, I know she isn’t balanced at all. I have 2 batteries, motor, gas, and cooler all on the port side. And I was on a starboard tack. Is this normal or is there a ghost on my boat? I’m including a picture, you can notice the heel and nothing tied to the tiller.
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That is how the boat was trimmed!
Steve: This is an example of having the boat trimmed perfect for the tack that you were on (once you let go of the tiller). You were NOT trimmed for the tack that you 'originally' wanted to be on! A sailing lesson learned.
Steve: This is an example of having the boat trimmed perfect for the tack that you were on (once you let go of the tiller). You were NOT trimmed for the tack that you 'originally' wanted to be on! A sailing lesson learned.
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Tom Wootton
Steering
I'm not 100% clear on the mechanics, but it's definitely possible to steer a boat by shifting weight and trimming sails. When I was a kid I was visiting my grandfather in the Tampa area. He had a 16' catamaran he was doing some work on, and the rudders were not on the boat. We sailed from his canal out the bayou of Anna Maria Island and well into Tampa Bay and back again, all with no rudders and no motor. As I recall, we did a lot of fore-and-aft movement as well as side-to-side. I would be concerned about what you describe, though. It sounds like lee helm, which could be dangerous in some conditions. Normally you want slight weather helm; when you let go the tiller, the boat should round up and stall, not bear away. Otherwise, if you fell overboard the boat would sail on without you! You might want to check the mast rake, or, as you suggest, some rearranging of weight on the boat might be in order. Was your jib up when this was going on?
I'm not 100% clear on the mechanics, but it's definitely possible to steer a boat by shifting weight and trimming sails. When I was a kid I was visiting my grandfather in the Tampa area. He had a 16' catamaran he was doing some work on, and the rudders were not on the boat. We sailed from his canal out the bayou of Anna Maria Island and well into Tampa Bay and back again, all with no rudders and no motor. As I recall, we did a lot of fore-and-aft movement as well as side-to-side. I would be concerned about what you describe, though. It sounds like lee helm, which could be dangerous in some conditions. Normally you want slight weather helm; when you let go the tiller, the boat should round up and stall, not bear away. Otherwise, if you fell overboard the boat would sail on without you! You might want to check the mast rake, or, as you suggest, some rearranging of weight on the boat might be in order. Was your jib up when this was going on?
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Ken
Strange but true.
Years ago I had a friend loose his rudder on a Hunter 25, strange enough, in a storm. They trimed the sails and balanced the boat so that she steered herself for several days until the Coast Guard were able to tow them to safety. I remember the news reports, they were sailing from Seattle to San Francisco and hit a monster storm three days out from San Francisco. The story was even better when he told it in person.
Years ago I had a friend loose his rudder on a Hunter 25, strange enough, in a storm. They trimed the sails and balanced the boat so that she steered herself for several days until the Coast Guard were able to tow them to safety. I remember the news reports, they were sailing from Seattle to San Francisco and hit a monster storm three days out from San Francisco. The story was even better when he told it in person.
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Eric
The Zone
We called that "The Zone" on our 240. On certain tacks the boat wouuld need little to no guidance from the tiller. You can feel it click in and magically let go of the tiller (never for more than 15 minutes though so I think your boat IS possessed).
We called that "The Zone" on our 240. On certain tacks the boat wouuld need little to no guidance from the tiller. You can feel it click in and magically let go of the tiller (never for more than 15 minutes though so I think your boat IS possessed).
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Ron
Something Interesting
Last year I ran a bunch of Ham Radio patches for Art, aboard Wandering Star. Within a month of meeting him (via radio) he lost his boat in the South Pacific. The reason? Loss of steering. He abandon the boat some 150 miles from Tahiti. If you get a chance, take a look at his story and see what you think. I think he could have saved the boat by steering with his sails?? How about you?? See attached link.... Ron/KA5HZV
Last year I ran a bunch of Ham Radio patches for Art, aboard Wandering Star. Within a month of meeting him (via radio) he lost his boat in the South Pacific. The reason? Loss of steering. He abandon the boat some 150 miles from Tahiti. If you get a chance, take a look at his story and see what you think. I think he could have saved the boat by steering with his sails?? How about you?? See attached link.... Ron/KA5HZV
Give her rein.
Steve Dion is right (and he is rarely wrong, that I can see!). I would add to that: REMEMBER how you had the boat trimmed-- it's obviously something that was dead right. The stories of boats sailing without rudders are legion-- a Polynesian proa (assymetrical multihull) has NO rudders at all and is actually tacked by turning it 90 degrees and then sailing it backwards. There is a boat used by Portuguese fishermen that's never been changed in 300 years and-- NO rudder. When you consider the complementary efforts of main and jib you'll see how winching the traveller to weather or tight-sheeting the jib can alter the boat's trim on course-- and how easy it is to have one thing slightly wrong and make it harder on yourself. Being able to 'trim it up' and let the boat sail herself is an invaluable skill, and not just for when you lose the rudder in a storm. Imagine the greatly reduced fatigue for crew when you can set it and forget it, in mild weather or even whilst reefed in a blow. Keep watch through the Lexan weatherboard and let the tiller sit out in the rain alone. I would say without equivocation that it'd be a pretty poorly-designed or poorly-sailed boat that could NOT be made to self-steer. It may not be the sort of thing you'll want to leave unattended for very long (that's what steering vanes are for), but as someone said it's a very good teaching tool as well. JC 2
Steve Dion is right (and he is rarely wrong, that I can see!). I would add to that: REMEMBER how you had the boat trimmed-- it's obviously something that was dead right. The stories of boats sailing without rudders are legion-- a Polynesian proa (assymetrical multihull) has NO rudders at all and is actually tacked by turning it 90 degrees and then sailing it backwards. There is a boat used by Portuguese fishermen that's never been changed in 300 years and-- NO rudder. When you consider the complementary efforts of main and jib you'll see how winching the traveller to weather or tight-sheeting the jib can alter the boat's trim on course-- and how easy it is to have one thing slightly wrong and make it harder on yourself. Being able to 'trim it up' and let the boat sail herself is an invaluable skill, and not just for when you lose the rudder in a storm. Imagine the greatly reduced fatigue for crew when you can set it and forget it, in mild weather or even whilst reefed in a blow. Keep watch through the Lexan weatherboard and let the tiller sit out in the rain alone. I would say without equivocation that it'd be a pretty poorly-designed or poorly-sailed boat that could NOT be made to self-steer. It may not be the sort of thing you'll want to leave unattended for very long (that's what steering vanes are for), but as someone said it's a very good teaching tool as well. JC 2
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