I recently purchased a 1978 Cherubini in very excellent condition, with one exception. As the boat came in on the transport trailer, the owner of the marina commented to me that the rudder was slightly bent towards the port side. He indicated that I would probably experience "weather helm" because of the bend in the shaft (presumably because of a previous minor grounding), and that when I pulled her out for the next bottom job, he would straighten the shaft. Being SUPER anxious to get into the water, I agreed that I'd wait til we pulled her next year. Presently, we're fitted with a good, solid main and a 155 genny on CDI roller furling. When I sail under the genoa alone, the weather helm is noticeable, but not uncontrollable. When I sail with both the main and the genny in any breeze over 15-20 knots . . . well suffice to say I've got BIG shoulders now! It's pretty strong and I know that there's more to this topic than a very slightly bent rudder shaft. Talk to me about sail trim and tuning? I am confident that I am not doing something right with the main, and I don't know where to start to correct this excessive stress on the tiller. Help? Neil Smith Ciao Bella - 1978 H-27
- Status
- Not open for further replies.
C
Clarke Rudd
Weather helm is controllable
The more you heel the more weather helm you will experience. By attempting to trim your sails to keep the boat over her keel and not on her side you will have less problems....these are fat boats and when you lay them over they instictively want to head into the wind...my 1980 hunter 30 loves to do this even though I dont have any rudder damage. I would suggest checking your steering cables to make sure you have only minimal play in them....you can adjust them useing by tightening down on the nuts located on the aft side of the rudder's mechanical advantage...you know that big round thing on top of the rudder post. Hey, good luck.
The more you heel the more weather helm you will experience. By attempting to trim your sails to keep the boat over her keel and not on her side you will have less problems....these are fat boats and when you lay them over they instictively want to head into the wind...my 1980 hunter 30 loves to do this even though I dont have any rudder damage. I would suggest checking your steering cables to make sure you have only minimal play in them....you can adjust them useing by tightening down on the nuts located on the aft side of the rudder's mechanical advantage...you know that big round thing on top of the rudder post. Hey, good luck.
J
Jim Kolstoe
weather helm means....
that your theorical center of effort is behind your center of lateral resistance, which could be because the main is developing more power than your jib/genny. I've experienced demonstrations that it is possible to steer a boat just by the trim of the sails. Which suggests that you might spend some time experimenting with how each sail is trimmed to see if that changes your weather helm. A good rule for trim is "when in doubt, let it out." This gets you maximum power. Fiddle some more to you can reduce or eliminate your weather helm problem a quick and cheap. Otherwise, check for your mast tuning, and work your way to more expensive fixes. Good luck. Jim Kolstoe, h23 Kara's Boo
that your theorical center of effort is behind your center of lateral resistance, which could be because the main is developing more power than your jib/genny. I've experienced demonstrations that it is possible to steer a boat just by the trim of the sails. Which suggests that you might spend some time experimenting with how each sail is trimmed to see if that changes your weather helm. A good rule for trim is "when in doubt, let it out." This gets you maximum power. Fiddle some more to you can reduce or eliminate your weather helm problem a quick and cheap. Otherwise, check for your mast tuning, and work your way to more expensive fixes. Good luck. Jim Kolstoe, h23 Kara's Boo
R
red coles
Me too
Hello Neil,I too have a 78 h27. I had the same problems as you. This boat needs to be reefed early. At 10-12 I furl the jib 25% and Use all flatten main tricks,increase halyard tension,vang down tight,move traveler to leeward and sheet down tight (end boom sheeting). At 15-17 I put a reef in main. Above this I use jib only,no main. Even with all the above I still have a handfull in a gust. BTW I use a 110 jib. Seems to be the nature of the beast,that heeling over 20 degrees drastically increases weather helm. If you can keep her on her feet your much better off. Good luck red
Hello Neil,I too have a 78 h27. I had the same problems as you. This boat needs to be reefed early. At 10-12 I furl the jib 25% and Use all flatten main tricks,increase halyard tension,vang down tight,move traveler to leeward and sheet down tight (end boom sheeting). At 15-17 I put a reef in main. Above this I use jib only,no main. Even with all the above I still have a handfull in a gust. BTW I use a 110 jib. Seems to be the nature of the beast,that heeling over 20 degrees drastically increases weather helm. If you can keep her on her feet your much better off. Good luck red
B
Bryan C.
Flatten sail
Healing and power on the main relative to the foresail contribute to weather helm. Depowering the main by flattening the sail will also help. Mask rake and bend are also factors. There are discussions on these matters in the archives.
Healing and power on the main relative to the foresail contribute to weather helm. Depowering the main by flattening the sail will also help. Mask rake and bend are also factors. There are discussions on these matters in the archives.
G
Greg Stebbins
Mast rake?
Neil, How much mast rake do you currently have? I ask this because even though my boat is from a different generation, mast rake is a prime generator of weather helm. If you have more than 5-7 inches from top to bottom, I'd stand the mast back up and see what happens. Greg
Neil, How much mast rake do you currently have? I ask this because even though my boat is from a different generation, mast rake is a prime generator of weather helm. If you have more than 5-7 inches from top to bottom, I'd stand the mast back up and see what happens. Greg
N
Nick Chronis
Don't Overreact
"Weather Helm", as generally defined by one of your previous respondents, is desireable to some extent (as opposed to lee helm). Your challenge is to limit the amount of weather helm. All of the suggestions offered by by others are possible solutions, but I would recommend not trying to solve this solo. Suggest you find the best meentor in your area to test and evaluate the set of solutions that works best on your vessel. Remember, a slight amount of weather helm is actually desireable and something of a safety factor since a boat with weather helm will always head up (a more safe posture) in a puff or if the helm is temporarily unmanned. Hang in there (no pun intended).
"Weather Helm", as generally defined by one of your previous respondents, is desireable to some extent (as opposed to lee helm). Your challenge is to limit the amount of weather helm. All of the suggestions offered by by others are possible solutions, but I would recommend not trying to solve this solo. Suggest you find the best meentor in your area to test and evaluate the set of solutions that works best on your vessel. Remember, a slight amount of weather helm is actually desireable and something of a safety factor since a boat with weather helm will always head up (a more safe posture) in a puff or if the helm is temporarily unmanned. Hang in there (no pun intended).
- Status
- Not open for further replies.