There was no standard operating procedure! Still isn't, in many respects. We are all still learning what works best. Some examples:
On Elementarry, my 7.5m/25' proa I steer with the front rudder raised. Noticably faster and less bow down trim than using both. No appreciable rudder angle to keep the boat going straight, though a fair bit of load, presumably because I have not got the centre of pressure directly under the centre of rotation. As with the easyrig, this is not a bad thing.
On Rare Bird, steering upwind, we locked the aft rudder and steered with the front one. Meant we could pinch much higher and still recover without getting into irons, as long as the boat was moving. Steering downwind, it is fastest if we lift the front rudder.
I have also tried steering with both angled the same way, in an attempt to generate "negative leeway". This worked really well on Blind Date when motoring off a pontoon that was to leeward, and can be made to work upwind on my El, but does not generate higher vmg as boat speed drops.
Not sure how Arttu does it, but would be interested to find out.
For sure, the more we get to sail, the better the handling techniques will become.
The guy in the BD video is either/and nearly blind/a novice sailor (Nol?), steering by the feel of the wind on his face and the feedback through the two rudders, which is why he is holding both wheels. Apparently it is quite noticable when they are correct. This was one of the design criteria for the boat, and it is fantastic and very gratifying to see it being achieved.
rob
On Fri, Aug 19, 2011 at 5:19 AM, LucD <lucjdekeyser@telenet.be> wrote:
This is a very interesting discussion. Keeping the original vessel's mission straight in the mind keeps misunderstandings to a minimum.
There is (at least) one point that I am still confused about. Was the standard operating procedure to steer with the front rudder or is this the result of on the water trial and error? (like kangaroo hopping became the preferred mode of biped locomotion on the moon) It looks a bit funny to see in the last BD video the steerman grab the front steering wheel to steer with his arms reaching over the back steering wheel that remains fixed. Was this by design?
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