rudder rake:
From my experience raking the tip of the rudders forward takes away weather helm, and if you lean them too far forward, lee helm kicks in. thickness and texture vary.
You mention just what I consider still a wonderfull paradox in catsailing:
Everybody knows that when you pass the lateral point (the centralpoint of sidewards resistence of the hulls) forward off the pressure point of the sailforce, the boat will turn into the wind.
You can also move the sail in opposite direction, which gives the same effect. This is all well established theory.
Remind the discovering of windsurfing. I've sailed for years a cat with no rudders (patin a bela) which I had to steer exactly the same way.
Primarely by shifting my weight on the hulls.
So can somebody on this forum explain me why I get weather helm as soon as a rudder blade releases itself during sailing???????????
Even if they are 1 cm out off their lock. Don't the rudderblades play that role in the lateral point as I think they do?
