Shawn,

I'm happy to hear of your experience. We are back on the water this season and have been out twice using the adjusted rudder angle where we force a vertical leading edge by cleating the up-haul line. Our experience is the same as yours ... no more lee helm.

Both of the outings were dominated by long reaches so I could not re-check pointing ability. The next test will be to substantiate the results from late last season where we seemed to be sailing about 5 degrees higher with the vertical rudder.

For those who did not follow the discussion last season, I questioned why the leading edge of my rudder swept forward (about 18 degrees) when I secured the down-haul. Apparently, on most Rhodes, this is not the case; instead there is a hard stop keeping the leading edge vertical when the down-haul is pulled tight. I've attached a photo of my rudder in the position it takes if not restricted by the up-haul. The hypothesis is that this forward angle causes lee helm and limiting pointing ability on Rhodes equipped with this vintage rudder/tiller assembly.

Chris






IMG_4808.jpg

On 5/30/2023 6:26 PM, Shawn Boles wrote:
> Hi All:
>
> I couldn't sail at all last year due to septicemia, and so this year I was
> anxious to get back in the water and finally did so last week.
>
> As some of you know I spent the last several years or so chasing how to
> correct lee  helm, including an ill-fated attempt to rake the mast.(blush)
>
> I tried the method suggested in a set of emails over the past year- lifting
> and locking the kick up rudder so it is slightly aft of the stern, rather
> than tightly pulled to the stern. It worked!
>
> All hail the list.
>
> Cheers,
> Shawn
> s/v Sweet Baboo