Capt. Neal® wrote:
Maybe on a motorboat, a straight line course is desirable but,
on a sailboat, it is often better to not overcorrect or try to
maintain a straight course as the excessive rudder movement
results in slower overall speeds. Using an autopilot and setting
the mainsail to luff before the headsail does allows the autopilot
to not strain and the boat to wander a bit but the speed stays
up better than trying to fight with the rudder to keep on a
straight line.

You should really try sailing sometime. It might open your eyes
and make being on the water enjoyable instead of a chore.

CN


BG From the above, it's obvious to me you are not a good helmsman and
did not understand the comment about "laziness".
It doesn't matter whether it's a sailboat or a motorboat, maintaining a
straight-line course CAN give you a better turn of speed, but it does
NOT require "excessive" rudder to do so as much as it requires
"anticipation".
The idea, is NOT to fight with the rudder, it is to USE the rudder and
ANTICIPATE.
As for sailing, I still have more time under sail than you will probably
ever have, but this is not a sail/motorboat question, it's a steering
question and obviously YOU don't understand that.

otn