[C320-list] Steering Friction

[Doug Treff]

To add to Troy's response, you can reduce weather helm by allowing more twist in the top portion of the mainsail. You can do this by easing the vang tension to allow the top of the sail to open up. If all the battens are hooked to windward, you're too closed off and a lot of weather helm will result. As you loosen the vang, it will allow the boom to rise, reducing tension along the leach of the sail, and the top batten will straighten out, allowing wind to spill off at the top. This will reduce weather helm.

This is an oversimplification, but a good place to start.

If this doesn't help, it's time to move the traveler down to leeward. And if that doesn't help, you probably should be reefed.

--
Doug Treff
doug at treff.us


On Mon, Oct 16, 2023, at 7:09 PM, Troy Dunn wrote:
> 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