Mast Set up and Weather helm

[Clarke53337]

Hello Fellow Evelyn 32 owners,

My Name is Clarke Perry and I own 53337 sailing on Lake Ontario. I have only had the boat for a few weeks but we are already winning races with her and having alot of fun! I used your tuning guide conversation to look at forestay length etc. as the boat was set up with zero rake and having seen the boat with her previous owner, it appeared that she was not pointing very well and going slow. I adjusted the forestay length from 39' 11" to 40' 7". The boat performs beautifully and I have the mast blocked all the way back it seems to like it.

HERE IS MY ISSUE...

With all of that rake etc. the boat has terrible lee helm. No weather helm what so ever. In 15 knots of breeze I still have either completely nuteral helm or lee helm. It is noce to have a little weather helm to feel the boat and I can simply not achieve that. With just the main on a reach, if I let go of the helm, she bears down immediately. So weird. I have never had that before.

When I bought the boat, the rudder was split and I repaired it to get my through the season. It was not a perfect job, but could that be my issue? I would love to hear how other E32 sailors find the balance on their boats and whether or not I am an anomaly.....

[admin]

Wow, that is weird...all that rake should have induced a ton of weather helm.

It's possible that, with the longer headstay and a ton of backstay on, you've de-powered (flattened) the main enough that the jib is moving the Center of Effort forward...but you mention this with main-only, too...hmmm...is it even worse with the #1 up? What do you get with the #3, same thing?

Admittedly strange...has the keel been moved aft?

Kind of doubt it's the rudder, but it could be, I guess....the stock rudder was "balanced" and if the stock's pivot point were moved aft, somehow, I suspect it make the rudder feel pretty light.

Interesting!

[Pterobyte]

The rudder is really balanced and may not have much feel to start with. Check the rudder angle of attack while the boat is loaded under sail.
The work you are doing is changing the angle of attack of the rudder. This is different than the feel of the tiller going to weather. That is adjusted by the balance of the rudder. The rudder post is set back from the leading edge of the rudder so that the deflection of the surface causes the leading edge to help hold the rudder with that deflection. Like the caster setting on the wheel of a car. Change this takes some work, a new rudder design is the ultimate answer a hack is to extend some of the rudder, lower preferably, so that the bottom the rudder is extend requiring more power to hold and increasing the tendency of the rudder to come back to center.

http://www.sailingworld.com/how-to/power-positive-rudder-angle