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261:" Some sailors believe that a small amount of weather helm is good, that the rudder at a small angle of attack contributes to the total lift generated by the boat. I contend that the rudder is nothing more than a brake which is applied each and every time it is used. Ideally one wants the rudder to simply follow the boat and not develop any lift and minimal drag." Barney Harris
62:(or other head sail) and keel or centerboard. This results in an imbalance of force at the stern from windward, and the craft pivots about the center of drag (often near the center of the keel or centerboard), causing the bow to drive windward. Weather helm does not only result from an overpowered main; when a vessel is
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and impedes the boat's progress through the water. In the book "Sailing
Illustrated", Patrick M. Royce defines weather helm as simply a "heeling sailboat wanting to come head to wind." The principle is the same whether the vessel is steered by tiller or wheel; turning the wheel leeward gives the same
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If the situation is reversed, with the center of pressure forward of the center of resistance of the hull, a "lee" helm will result, which is generally considered undesirable, if not dangerous. Too much of either helm is not good, since it forces the helmsman to hold the rudder deflected to counter
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While weather helm occurs on any size of vessel, the physical movement of the craft is often more severe for vessels without a keel. This is a result of the smaller blade being very quickly overpowered by the relatively larger mainsail. In keelboats, despite the fact that weather helm is not as
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A slight amount of weather helm is thought by some sailors to be a desirable situation, both from the standpoint of the "feel" of the helm, and the tendency of the boat to head slightly to windward in stronger gusts, to some extent self-feathering the sails. Other sailors disagree and prefer a
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to the center of lateral resistance of the hull. If the center of pressure is astern of the center of lateral resistance, a weather helm, the tendency of the vessel to want to turn into the wind, or to weather-vane, will result.
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the total sail area will have the same effect and, counter-intuitively, many boats will sail faster with less sail in a stiff breeze once heel and weather helm have been reduced, due to the reduction in underwater drag (see
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Any action that reduces the angle of heel of a boat that is reaching or beating to windward will help reduce weather helm. Racing sailors use their body weight to bring the boat to a more upright position. Reducing or
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Weather helm is the result of a leeward and aft shift of a vessel's vector center of effort (the direction to which the force generated by the sails is pushing). This shift is caused by excess pressure on the
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readily felt, it can be just as detrimental, as the lateral drag against the blade still exists, along with the need to pull the rudder to an undesirable position (see
Mitigation).
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Sailing off the wind, weather helm may be caused by the imbalance due to fore-and-aft sails all being sheeted out on the same (leeward) side of the boat. Raising a
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to weather. As both an overpowered main and heavy heel occur in the same circumstances, it is sometimes difficult to determine the source of weather helm.
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crossings have rigged 'twins' - double headsails poled out to opposite sides from the same forestay for extended downwind passages without a mainsail.
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can have an immediate effect, especially to help with maneuvering. Moving or increasing sail area forward can also help, for example by raising the
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The fundamental cause of "helm", be it weather or lee, is the differential between the center of effort of the
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As weather helm requires pulling the rudder through the water at an angle to the intended course, it produces
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Learn sailing right! : intermediate sailing : the national standard for quality sailing instruction
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it, thus inducing extra drag beyond what a vessel with neutral or minimal helm would experience.
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to leeward, the aft component of keel drag is moved to windward. This creates a force (a
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to windward (i.e. 'to weather') in order to counteract the effect.
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for a mathematical analysis of the dynamics of weather helm.
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sails also provide relatively symmetric drive off the wind.
215:. United States Sailing Association. Portsmouth, RI. 2012.
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to turn towards the source of wind, creating an unbalanced
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Royce's
Sailing Illustrated: The Sailors Bible Since '56
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82:neutral helm. Weather helm also provides a form of
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197:. Boston, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard. p.
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329:Sailing Theory and Practice, Revised edition
147:rudder effect as pulling a tiller windward.
127:or poling out a headsail to windward with a
266:http://usaa.albacore.org/members/techniques
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243:: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
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263:The Complete Guide to Albacore Sailing
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54:, which overpowers the windward
37:Weather helm is the opposite of
131:can help. Yachts making ocean
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413:Center of lateral resistance
169:Sailing Theory and Practice
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302:Royce, Patrick M. (1993).
30:that requires pulling the
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277:Mulville, Frank (1991).
191:Frazar, Douglas (1907).
116:(and maybe lowering the
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327:Marchaj, C.A. (1985).
194:Practical Boat-sailing
102:Over-canvassed sailing
279:Single-handed Sailing
247:) CS1 maint: others (
22:is the tendency of
597:Sailing manoeuvres
281:. Seafarer Books.
70:) that pushes the
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331:. Putnam.
179:References
151:Discussion
133:trade wind
90:Mitigation
545:Capsizing
533:Accidents
239:cite book
231:910914500
157:sail plan
125:spinnaker
591:Category
560:Turtling
504:Reaching
494:In irons
417:Lee helm
397:cruising
118:staysail
52:mainsail
45:Overview
39:lee helm
576:Planing
519:Tacking
514:Reefing
509:Running
489:Heeling
405:Sailing
379:Sailing
97:reefing
64:heeling
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540:Broach
437:Hiking
393:racing
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110:cutter
32:tiller
389:sport
106:sloop
499:Jibe
333:ISBN
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283:ISBN
249:link
245:link
227:OCLC
217:ISBN
167:See
144:drag
28:helm
199:114
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