Hi,
I have same feeling about steering as Nol and Rob do. Before installing daggerboards steering with the front rudder was the best way. Now it feels that upwind sailing is best done with aft rudder, if sudden course changes are needed, like sailing against big waves. Then aft rudder gives better response. If we are sailing steady any course, but running, I like to use front rudder. The rudder bearings have some amount of friction (UHMWPE/steel) if there is pressure form drag and sails, so locking mechanism is not needed. I have also found out that the blades are balanced quite well.
In most situations the aft rudder is rotated 10 degrees, when the boat goes straight and sails are sheeted in to go upwind. I feel that this trim is better than aft rudder at 0 degrees and aft daggerboard down steering front rudder( front rudder must steer to lee then).
IF side hung rudders prove themselves on BD, then I might change to them.....
Our mast is canted a bit to windward, which was not intended. Anyway I am sure it makes our boat sail better as the COE from sails is abit to midships.
Regards,
Arttu
Rob Denney [harryproa@gmail.com] kirjoitti:
> 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?
> >
> >
> >
>