[Public-List] Sheet-To-Tiller Steering

[Jonathan Bresler]

https://jesterchallenge.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/self-steering-for-sailing-craft-by-john-s-letcher-jr-small.pdf

On Fri, Sep 24, 2021 at 3:05 PM Daniel Swords via Public-List <
public-list at lists.alberg30.org> wrote:

> Just to clarify and expand upon a previous comment I had made regarding
> Alberg 30 weather helm and sail balance: When I mentioned sheet-to-tiller
> steering I was not considering the typical YouTube version of balancing the
> sails on a full and bye course and then lashing the tiller with a bungee
> cord (a system that does not recover from any upset condition). I was
> considering the process conceived by John Seymour Lutcher and described in
> Chapter 3 of his 1974 book “Self-Steering for Sailing Craft.” His system
> uses tension in either the jib sheet or the main sheet (depending on the
> tack being sailed) to actively control the tiller thereby maintaining an
> apparent wind course. This system is substantially more sophisticated than
> lashing the tiller and is very capable of recovering from wave action, and
> significant changes in wind direction and/or strength. It does require the
> crafting of a few items of inexpensive custom equipment and (at least for
> me) a lot of trial and error practice and skills development. But I would
> say the achievement of this skill has been as challenging and as rewarding
> as learning the basic skills of sailing. I sail for many hours on any tack
> from close hauled to a very broad reach even in highly variable wind
> conditions without being a slave to the tiller. Admittedly I have not
> tested the systems in 6 ft waves (I sail in an estuary) but Webb Chiles
> stated that he relied on sheet-to-tiller steering approximately 70% of the
> time during his 6th circumnavigation in a Moore 24 because his boat was too
> small to support either wind-vane or electronic autopilot steering. The
> book is occasionally available as a pdf download or as a used book.
> Surprisingly and unfortunately it is a skill not taught because a day’s
> instruction could probably have saved me 6 months or more of trial and
> error learning. Possibly this is because it requires a boat steered by a
> tiller? Anyway, especially as a singlehanded sailor, this ability has
> greatly enhanced my sailing enjoyment and opportunities. Daniel
> S. SwordsSolitude, #525
>
> Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone
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-- 
Jonathan M Bresler
S/V Constance Alberg 30 #262
Annapolis/Eastport MD