[Public-List] Sheet-To-Tiller Steering

[Daniel Swords]

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 

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