the 17s mast should rake about one foot to the stern. stays should be 'snug'. new sails are likely in order ... i know these are on my 'short list' for 2011 (or earlier if i find a few extra grand lying around ;-) ). when in light winds do you sit on the leeward side to give the boat some 'lean' away from the wind? did you set the main's sheet traveler to be full windward? dave scobie M17 #375 - SWEET PEA visit SWEET PEA's www-site - http://www.m17-375.webs.com --- On Mon, 4/19/10, Andrei Caldararu <andreic@math.wisc.edu> wrote: Hi Monty owners, yesterday I took out my '82 M-17, Seaweed, out for the first time this season. The winds were light, 0-10. I was using the full main with the 155% genoa. Both sails are the original McKibbin ones, 28 years old. What I noticed and was quite surprising was that I got no weather helm whatsoever, and actually got a (fairly small amount of) lee helm, certainly enough that I needed to be pushing the tiller all the time away from me. I thought about what the cause for this may be, and to the best of my understanding of how the sails work this seemed to suggest that my main sail was not putting out enough push as my genoa. (In the past they were very well balanced together). This was happening pretty much no matter how I was trimming the main. I was wondering if you guys think this may be because my main is beat up (the genoa surely looks in better shape). Another problem which I don't fully understand why is happening is that the main bends fairly sharply at the battens' ends (the side of the battens closer to the mast), rather than having a nice, smooth curve. Do you think I need a) new battens; or b) a new main; or c) adjust the rake on the mast. (Don't say I need a new skipper, that I know :-)). Those of you who ordered a new main from E-P, what did it end up costing? Thanks, Andrei.