DSK wrote:


To improve the weatherliness of any boat, start first with the rig.
The mast should be straight & vertically centered... you'd be amazed
at how many sailors, even racers, are breezing around with crooked
and/or slanted masts.

Doug, I am surprised at this comment and I'll disagree with it for a
number of reasons: Bending the mast aft can flatten the main. A flatter
main is better at high wind strengths -and apparent wind is highest when
going upwind. Flattening the main also helps keep the slot open to
increase the efficiency of the foresail. The latter is the most
important sail for weatherliness. So by bending the mast aft, forestay
tension is increased to reduce forestay sag that reduces efficiency.
Finally, straightening the mast is not a good idea if the main sail is
old and out of shape (where the bend helps keep the draft forward) or
even not originally cut to a straight mast!

Finally, as an extra bonus, adding some mast bend can help prevent mast
inversion in severe conditions which can lead to a catastrophic collapse
(but I wouldn't expect you to know about that problem).

while most should know that the rake of the mast affects C of E and the
degree of weather helm, I'll guess that many do knot know that by giving
the boat some weather helm she climbs to windward better as the rudder
adds lift.

So, the bottom line is that it may be quite inappropriate to straighten
the mast to make the boat weatherly.

Cheers