Hey Donal
 

Donal was talking about doing it with the sails up and motor off. Its apples
and oranges.

Hey, Skitch...it's not my fault your butt boy was fighting the wheel until "he
got used to it."
Bwahahahahahaha! He got used to not trimming the boat?

RB

Hey Donal
 

CANDChelp wrote:

I find it not at all surprising that Donal on a brief
encounter had difficulty adjusting.

Rediculous!
The 31 is a cruising boat with reasonable manners. If the sails were trimmed
properly, the helm should have been fine.
Period.
Even in heavy gusts, Alien and Ghost required a light touch on the wheel
because I know how to trim.
Now let's hear how Donald "just took the helm" and it wasn't his fault the boat
was trimmed badly!

Bwahahahahahahaha!!! Yeah...Bwahahaha!


No, not what I was saying. Moving from a powerful/big rudder to a
small rudder leads to differences in response, even where in both
cases the sails are trimmed appropriately. As example, in heavy
chop I still prefer to let Lady Kate sail herself to windward
because she does it better: even now I still tend to apply the
helm compensations I would have used on Flying Tadpole, and with
the small rudder they're not only pointless, they're increasing
the drag. The shift from one to another takes time and practice
to sort out. Not that one shouldn't be able to get onto a
strange boat and within a relatively short time get the feel of
her and sail 90%-95% OK, but if it's a strange boat you'll know
it's strange, and you'll know you're not achieving near 100%.
One has to learn them. So again, I'm not surprised at Donal's
comment.

--
Flying Tadpole

-------------------------
Learn what lies below the waves of cyberspace!
http://www.internetopera.netfirms.com

Hey Donal
 

CANDChelp wrote:

I find it not at all surprising that Donal on a brief
encounter had difficulty adjusting.

Rediculous!
The 31 is a cruising boat with reasonable manners. If the sails were
trimmed
properly, the helm should have been fine.
Period.
Even in heavy gusts, Alien and Ghost required a light touch on the wheel
because I know how to trim.
Now let's hear how Donald "just took the helm" and it wasn't his fault the
boat
was trimmed badly!

Bwahahahahahahaha!!! Yeah...Bwahahaha!


No, not what I was saying. Moving from a powerful/big rudder to a
small rudder leads to differences in response, even where in both
cases the sails are trimmed appropriately. As example, in heavy
chop I still prefer to let Lady Kate sail herself to windward
because she does it better: even now I still tend to apply the
helm compensations I would have used on Flying Tadpole, and with
the small rudder they're not only pointless, they're increasing
the drag. The shift from one to another takes time and practice
to sort out. Not that one shouldn't be able to get onto a
strange boat and within a relatively short time get the feel of
her and sail 90%-95% OK, but if it's a strange boat you'll know
it's strange, and you'll know you're not achieving near 100%.
One has to learn them. So again, I'm not surprised at Donal's
comment.

--
Flying Tadpole


Taddy, is your rudder wooden? Because if so, you could just knock your head
against it rather than debating this.

Hey Donal
 

Do you mean you're trimming for an absolutely neutral helm?

With sails set properly (ie, furled and set in their covers), I can walk away
from the helm of Ghost or Alien
without locking the wheel. If you're fighting the wheel in reasonable
conditions, you need a sailing lesson.
Sorry.

RB

Hey Donal
 

CANDChelp wrote:

Do you mean you're trimming for an absolutely neutral helm?

With sails set properly, I can walk away from the helm of Ghost or Alien
without locking the wheel.

Hmm. Interesting. I have always set my boats to self-steer on a
slight weather helm. I'm not sure that I believe the slight lift
at the rudder helps move us more to windward, as many authors
suggest, but I do know from bitter past experience that an
absolulte neutral helm will easily become a lee helm with
potentially dire connotations. And I will never leave a helm
unattended and unlashed. But then, nothing I've sailed has had a
wheel, other than when attached to a trailer. Must be different
physics...

--
Flying Tadpole

-------------------------
Learn what lies below the waves of cyberspace!
http://www.internetopera.netfirms.com

Hey Donal
 

No, not what I was saying. Moving from a powerful/big rudder to a
small rudder leads to differences in response,

Taddy, PLEASE read what Donal wrote again. He indicated "difficulty" with the
rudder and helm. He also mentions the "small rudder" which clearly shows he
thinks this was the whole problem. The 31 will steer with a feather touch when
trimmed correctly.
He did not say he had problems coming through a tack, or through heavy chop, or
being overpowered.
Furthermore, the idiot writes...

"I thought that there was a serious
problem with the wheel steering. "

A "SERIOUS" problem??? Bwahahahahaha! Okay, Taddy!

RB

Hey Donal
 

The 31 is a shallow draft tender boat that actually require a lot more
effort to sail at its best than the Firsts. It heels and needs the
traveller dropped in gusts or it will round up!

Thanks, Ozzy. As I said, Donal did not know how to trim the boat.
He never mentioned any "gusts." I'm betting he'll claim it was squall now!

Bwahahahahaha!

RB

Hey Donal
 

hinks this was the whole problem. The 31 will steer with a feather touch when
trimmed correctly.

In steady breeze with light gusts.

Donal never mentioned the weather, so it was obviously fine.

RB

Hey Donal
 

SkitchNYC wrote:


CANDChelp wrote:

I find it not at all surprising that Donal on a brief
encounter had difficulty adjusting.

Rediculous!
The 31 is a cruising boat with reasonable manners. If the sails were
trimmed
properly, the helm should have been fine.
Period.
Even in heavy gusts, Alien and Ghost required a light touch on the wheel
because I know how to trim.
Now let's hear how Donald "just took the helm" and it wasn't his fault the
boat
was trimmed badly!

Bwahahahahahahaha!!! Yeah...Bwahahaha!


No, not what I was saying. Moving from a powerful/big rudder to a
small rudder leads to differences in response, even where in both
cases the sails are trimmed appropriately. As example, in heavy
chop I still prefer to let Lady Kate sail herself to windward
because she does it better: even now I still tend to apply the
helm compensations I would have used on Flying Tadpole, and with
the small rudder they're not only pointless, they're increasing
the drag. The shift from one to another takes time and practice
to sort out. Not that one shouldn't be able to get onto a
strange boat and within a relatively short time get the feel of
her and sail 90%-95% OK, but if it's a strange boat you'll know
it's strange, and you'll know you're not achieving near 100%.
One has to learn them. So again, I'm not surprised at Donal's
comment.

--
Flying Tadpole


Taddy, is your rudder wooden? Because if so, you could just knock your head
against it rather than debating this.

Well, I was in a masochistic mood. No, Lady Kate's rudder is
actually welded stainless steel (NACA foil), and the endplate can
be used as a weed cutter, and I don't feel suicidal right now, so
I won't do as you suggest...
--
Flying Tadpole

-------------------------
Learn what lies below the waves of cyberspace!
http://www.internetopera.netfirms.com

Hey Donal
 

CANDChelp wrote:

The 31 is a shallow draft tender boat that actually require a lot more
effort to sail at its best than the Firsts. It heels and needs the
traveller dropped in gusts or it will round up!

Thanks, Ozzy. As I said, Donal did not know how to trim the boat.
He never mentioned any "gusts." I'm betting he'll claim it was squall now!

Bwahahahahaha!

RB

Well, silly us. We just assumed that there would always be
gusts. I'd love a sailing locality with steady, uniform winds,
rather than funnels, flukes, bounces and reversals of my home
ground. We were just unaware that Donal's cruising grounds were
so uniform. Goodnight all.
--
Flying Tadpole

-------------------------
Learn what lies below the waves of cyberspace!
http://www.internetopera.netfirms.com