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For any given hull/rig combination, Graham Bantock feels the degree of weather helm is dictated by three basic factors:
with the minor factors:
He goes on to say:
As far as I can tell, my Ikon and Italiko tune up just like any other IOM, the major issue being to get their balance right -- ie, appropriate weather helm. So far, I've found both work best for me with a touch of weather helm, that is, when they reliably round up into the wind rather than sailing "neutrally" with my finger off the rudder stick. If you have your rudder trim calibrated, I'd suggest going for that amount of mast rake which gives you about 2 or 3 degrees of weather helm as the "ideal". As an aside, some sailors feel that mast rake does other things for you, perhaps improving the lift characteristics if the mast is raked well back to give some sort of "sweepback". As far as I can see, mast rake in an IOM is exclusively concerned with boat balance and helm, and has negligible other effects on any other characteristics of the boat. There is an aspect of helm that has puzzled me for quite a while, and that is the phenomenon called "snap" weather helm. This happens when an otherwise well-behaved boat luffs violently into wind when a puff hits, and I had this problem with my Ikon. When I started sailing my Italiko and until recently, I never encountered it, and began thinking that snap weather helm might be a characteristic of hull shape. I realised I was wrong about hull shape when my Italiko snapped back at me, and I spent a little time investigating. It now seems to me that I had inadequate rig tune. 2005-12-18 |
©2024 Lester Gilbert |