Weather Helm

[Naaman]

I am a new sailor with about a year sailing a Hunter 36. I can sail her good up until 20+ MPH winds. Then the weather helm gets very bad. I need very simple instructions as to how to maintain control of weather helm with 20+ wind. I appreciate your help.
Naaman

 

[Benny]

Reef down and you will reduce heel and weather helm usually with little loss of speed. Flatten the sails at higher wind speeds. The condition of the sails plays a factor as tired blown out sails can not be properly trimmed. Another factor is sea motion, choose a tack that may offer a more comfortable seaway. In some conditions sacrificing distance and speed may get you a more relaxed ride. Experiment with different settings as the idea is to get the boat in balance and as you become more proficient then you find that you can regain your course and speed.

 

[Honeyman]

What Benny said, plus ease the traveller to leeward. Most any size Hunter needs 1st reef around 15-18 mph winds. They also are faster the "flatter" they are sailed so you're not fighting the rudder.

 

[Naaman]

Naaman -

Reef down and you will reduce heel and weather helm usually with little loss of speed. Flatten the sails at higher wind speeds. The condition of the sails plays a factor as tired blown out sails can not be properly trimmed. Another factor is sea motion, choose a tack that may offer a more comfortable seaway. In some conditions sacrificing distance and speed may get you a more relaxed ride. Experiment with different settings as the idea is to get the boat in balance and as you become more proficient then you find that you can regain your course and speed.

Should I reef more main than jib?

 

[Naaman]

Re: Naaman -

Should I reef more main than jib?

 

[356_Steve]

The main is the power sail for most Hunters, so it reefs first. With a 110 jib, you probably won't shorten it until you have the second reef in the main. Rolling furling main would be about the same, just roll the jib to somewhat match.

Keep the boat standing up (reef early), and play the traveler down in the gusts and back to center in the lulls.

Steve

 

[Benny]

Reduce mainsail area first and then start rolling up jib as necessary. Boats in the early 80's were usually headsail driven sporting large 150%+ genoas but current models have moved to large roach mainsails and small jibs. I don't know which year model your 36 is. If you are sporting a large genoa reduce headsail as well but if you have a small jib you can leave it up and just reef main. The newer models like honeyman pointed out actually ride faster when more upright and this is because of hull shape.

 

[Tribu336]

I normally reef the main first, then if it is not enough, I reef the jib a little (roller furling), then the main again (second reef) and, if necessary, the jib again.
The idea is to keep a balance between the forces produced by the main and the jib against the pivot point (the keel).

 

[shemandr]

There are a few things you can do before reefing - and I'm a fan of reefing. For one, you can flatten the main sail by tightening the outhaul and for the jib flatten by moving jib lead back which also allows the top of the jib to twist off and depower. You can also depower the main by easing the mainsheet and bringing the traveler to weather as others have said.
On my boat, with the in mast furling I replaced the "Outhaul" that was way to stretchy. It made a big difference. It used to be that when a gust hit the line would stretch, the sail would deepen, the boat would heel and the rudder would stall. Now, a gust hits the boat heals a bit, then accelerates and comes back up and not much rudder is needed. Very big difference. Unfortunately, now the sail stretches and that's causing some remaining bad behavior. The solution to that is $$$$$ for new sails.
You could also ask your guests to get their keisters out on the rail .....

 

[Alan]

...............not exactly.
Flatten the main by all means. Tension the outhaul to reduce draft, tension the halyard and/or cunningham to move the draft forward reducing drag and power. Instead of dumping the mainsheet use the traveler to reduce angle of attack by lowering the traveler and keeping the boat on her feet during puffs. Only after all these elements have been put right and still overpowered would you reef.

 

[Alan]

It should be noted that all of these suggestions assume you have a decent main. Meaning that the sail is not all blown out and unable to affect proper sail shape. In the event of an older blown out main go immediately to reef.

 

[Naaman]

My boat is only 3 yr old. So the sails are in good shape. The other question I had was - in 25 MPH wind should I get off close haul and go to 45 or 60 degrees?

 

[Alan]

Do you mean change course because of wind speed?? If you're sailing up hill, falling off will only increase the time you spend getting to your destination. No, trim sails for your best course. At 25kts you will want to have a reef in and that will make your control and comfort much better.

 

[Bill Roosa]

higher wind concepts

higher winds require you to "de-power" your sails.
Big curvy sails with lots of draft produce lots of power in even low winds. That is why you use them there. smaller flat sails produce less power even in high winds. Since it takes the same amount of power to drive the boat forward you have to "let off the gas" in higher winds or live with lots of heel.

Weather helm is caused by a mis balanced set of sails. The main alone will tent to push the stern downwind and bow into the wind. The jib alone will turn the bow down wind. If you have weather helm the either the main is too powerful or the jib is not powerful enough. So de power the main (flatten, reef, let the travler out) or power up the jib (change the jib sheet lead car position and adjust the jib sheet. Course as the wind speed increses, you want to de power not power up so the answer is start with de powering the main till you get lee helm then de power the jib till you get just a little bit of weather helm.

De power a jib by moving the sheet lead car aft and hauling in on the sheet. Also a babber hauler is useful to get a better angle of attack.

 

[Naaman]

Re: higher wind concepts

Thank all of you that responded. It was a big help. I understand much better now. I can't wait to put this knew knowledge to work the next time out.

 

[Naaman]

Jib car position

In general is the car forward in light wind, middle in medium wind and back in heavy wind?

 

[Alan]

No, car location is based on angle of attack and the need to de power. In light air you use all the power you can get. That means powering up the entire sail to its max. Sailing high in very light air is not efficient. Cracking off slightly and moving the cars forward accordingly is more efficient. As the breeze builds the cars are moved slightly back and the helm steers a little higher. As the wind becomes too powerful the cars are moved aft spilling power out of the top of the sail and putting less power down lower in the sail while still maintaining course.