Just like David,

I too had a second look at the Gallion 22 design, and I too think that the rudder looks OK. I therefore repeat my suggestion of shifting the sail forward. If that move robs the sail’s performance, then it can just be moved back again.

Btw. have you shortened the top batten and yard?

Arne

What I'm afraid of is that excessive balance makes the mast and mast lift eat the "sweet spot" of the camber.

David, does this photo give any hint of the sail shape questions you pointed out? (Very light wind explains most of the wrinkles and the slingpoint has slipped quite a lot aft by a mistake)

Funny that, Jami!

Making a new rudder is quite a job. I was involved in designing, and partly building a new rudder for an Athena 34 this spring (the old rudder suddenly parted with the boat). That was a success, but it took quite some work.

However, before setting off on such a project, I have a number of comments and questions:

·         How did the Gallion 22 balance with the Bermuda rig? The CE of the JR is not aft of that of the original rig.

·         With weather helm, do you mean big rudder angle or just high tiller forces? The rudder appears to have a bit balance built into it, but not much.

·         I have drawn the JR in its aft position, i.e. with minimum balance (10%). If the slingpoint on the yard is moved to 5% aft of the middle, the sail can be shifted forward to 15 or even 17-18% balance  -  that is  -  if the batten parrels have been made long enough. It takes less work to fix the batten parrels than making a new rudder. I was initially sceptical to have a cambered sail with this much balance, but Paul Thompson has proven that it works well on his La Chica, so I have stopped nagging about keeping the balance to a minimum.

Hardly any boat have so neutral helm that one can sail with the tiller free. One factor that prevents this is that more than half of modern boats are not directionally stable. You can check the latter this way:

·         On a calm day, motor at full speed in a straight line.

·         Then, stop the engine ( the best would be if it was swung up) and push the tiller moderately over to start a swing.

·         Take your hands off the tiller and see what happens.

·         If the boat’s swing gradually stops and the boat takes a straight course, then she is course stable.

·         If the boat keeps turning or even goes into a sharper and sharper turn, then it is directionally unstable. Such a boat will need a sort of tiller lock even if you manage to get the CE to CLR distance right.

That big Athena 34 I mentioned was not directionally stable, so has recently been given a tiller lock to let the skipper tend to the sheets, now and then, without the boat going into a mad turn.

Cheers, Arne

I agree, Arne, the angles and speed are as much as I'd expect from this size and type of boat. I only get better than 4.5 kn in absolutely idea conditions.

What would you say about the pictures below, regarding windward performance/course? Not bad - but nothing special, either?

Force 4-5, boat speed 3.5-4.5 knots.

(What surprised me was that the speed remained unchanged, when I turned back and saild dead downwind with the same sail area.)