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Weather helm!!
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NickA View Drop Down
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Posts: 784 		Post Options Post Options   Quote NickA Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Weather helm!!
    Posted: 20 Apr 15 at 6:42pm
My mate's boat has a bad case of weatherhelm, ie he's hauling the tiller to windward and the boat is trying to head up.  Not quick.

What might be causing this then oh experienced forumites?
  • he's sailing pretty flat, so not that
  • foils in the wrong place?
  • foils wrong size or down too far / not enough?
  • mast in the wrong place?
  • too much / not enough rake?
  • hooked main?
  • slot shut down (ie jib stalled)
I'd have thought maybe mast too far back, or centre board too far forward; but if anything the opposite seems to be true.

Brainstorming time.
Javelin 558
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AlexM View Drop Down
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Posts: 857 		Post Options Post Options   Quote AlexM Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Apr 15 at 6:56pm
First thing I'd check, is the rudder fully down/has the hole in the actual blade worn away and is oval?
A lot of the other points can be checked against the tuning guide

Edited by AlexM - 20 Apr 15 at 6:57pm
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Riv View Drop Down
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Posts: 353 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Riv Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Apr 15 at 6:58pm
What sort of boat is he sailing?
 
All of the reasons you have put forward could be correct. So get him to check settings on another boat of the same type or get the info from the class website. If all is correct then you have sailing style and sail setting to look at.
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NickA View Drop Down
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Posts: 784 		Post Options Post Options   Quote NickA Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Apr 15 at 7:04pm
I don't want to embarrass him by identifying the boat :¬) but I would like to help!  Big centre-board and an overlapping jib tho.
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JimC View Drop Down
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Posts: 6662 		Post Options Post Options   Quote JimC Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Apr 15 at 7:34pm
Most boats these days run the lateral resistance between the rudder and cb, which means that its quite difficult to get real weather helm. A video taken from behind would be a good tool. find out i the tiller is really offset and the boat is really flat.
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Woodburner View Drop Down
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Posts: 332 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Woodburner Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Apr 15 at 7:36pm
If it's an RS500, with the XL sail then it's standard.
Foil fun
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craiggo View Drop Down
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Posts: 1810 		Post Options Post Options   Quote craiggo Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Apr 15 at 8:46pm
On most boats it's unusual to generate much weather helm just from rig setup unless you are a country mile away from the standard setup. Biggest offenders are excessive heel and rudder not fully down. If it's a SMOD class make sure that the hole is in the right place on the rudder, this can be checked by overlaying against someone else's rudder. Some people add a foam cushion in the front of the rudder stock which can prevent the foil from going fully down. One further idea is to ensure that the wingnut on the rudder is slackened off before the rudder is pulled down with the downhaul. Once down then tighten the wingnut.

Edited by craiggo - 20 Apr 15 at 8:46pm
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JimC View Drop Down
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Posts: 6662 		Post Options Post Options   Quote JimC Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Apr 15 at 9:34pm
Originally posted by Woodburner

If it's an RS500, with the XL sail then it's standard.

Can't say I've ever noticed significant weather helm with the one at our club...

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