Roger Long wrote:
"Gary" wrote I think the first job is to get
the boat level. That is normally the

cause.


Maybe in a dinghy where you can shift the weight. In a keelboat, heel
is directly proportional to power going to windward. No heel, no
drive.
BS, that is why race boats out everyone on the windward rail......to
flatten the boat. If it heels too much you get weather helm and spill
wind. All the foils (above and below the waterline) get inefficient.
Look at multihulls.
At some point, the side effects of heel begin to slow the boat
down. Finding the optimum angle, not just keeping the boat as flat as
possible is the objective.
The optimum angle is usually pretty close to flat.

Lot's of pressure on the helm is not necessarily bad as far as boat
speed is concerned.
Of course it is.
That pressure is directly against leeway.
Perfect helm balance might be nice for helmsman but may not produce
the fastest boat to windward.
Wrong. Efficiency, by definition, is minimizing pressures that slow the
boat (like leeway.)

I find lee helm in light air a real pain but it's usually the price of
a very light helm when it breezes up.