This is on an M17 but yes to this: On 8/25/23 11:51, Dave Scobie wrote: ...
If the draft is good my next guess is that the main is over-trimmed: to much outhaul or over-sheeting (in to tight). The headsail may also be oversheeted.
I have been playing with this on my M17 as I also get varying helm with same sail area deployed in stronger winds. Not lee helm, but stronger or lesser weather helm. As mentioned a while back I put leech telltales on my main at start of this season - very helpful! - and found that I probably often had the main sheeted in too tight, causing excessive weather helm. Easing it a bit or lowering the traveler reduces the weather helm and also gets the leech telltales flying (meaning the sail was in too far and partly stalling). So sail trim is definitely a factor in helm pressure either way (weather or lee). How this translates to an M15 with no backstay and fractional rig I don't know but play with it as Dave suggests. cheers, John -- John Schinnerer - M.A., Whole Systems Design -------------------------------------------- - Eco-Living - Whole Systems Design Services People - Place - Learning - Integration john@eco-living.net - 510.982.1334 http://eco-living.net http://sociocracyconsulting.com