[C320-list] Steering Friction

[Troy Dunn]

My experience is similar to Doug's.   The wheel pilot is nice for days when
the wind is fairly consistent below about 20 kts AND you have the sails
properly trimmed, which includes beginning reefing at about 15 kts when
going to windward.  On the 320 if your rail is in the water….you are way
overpowered and actually going slower.  Unfortunately for most of us in the
northern latitudes, there are very few days where the wind is what I would
define as consistent in those wind speed ranges.   (I.e. set and forget).
The wheel pilot tends to get lost really quickly in a shifting wind
scenario because even with an RPS the computer just doesn’t have enough
information to compensate rapidly enough for wind shifts.   It can do ok on
a broad reach, but upwind can get oscillating pretty crazy and downwind can
get dangerous.    Interestingly I find that just when I’m getting a little
nervous about wheel pilot upwind, I can usually get the boat balanced well
enough even in the normal 30° wind gust shift scenario that the wheel brake
does a great job of holding an angle to the wind.
As an aside, when I do use the wheel pilot I like to check the balance of
the helm every 30 minutes or so, that means disabling the pilot and
checking to see if the boat is still trimmed so that I can hold the wheel
with one finger.   If I can’t…I make adjustments.

FWIW

Troy Dunn
Hull #514