ScallywagII
Member
Two chapters from John Letcher's Self-Steering for sailing Craft are now on the Jester website, as well as one from Gerard Dijkstra's Self-Steering for yachts. http://www.jesterinfo.org/index.html I would recommend reading natural steering before the sheet to tiller chapter. Letcher is an easier read than the chapter from Gerard Dijkstra, which is comprehensive but concise.
In the 1960s when Blondie Hasler was racing across the Atlantic, Letcher made several big solo passages in his 20' Island Girl, and later with his wife in his own designed and built 25 footer. He describes how he experimented with the sails to achieve self-steering, long before he had heard of vane gear. He also details alternative methods used by others. The methods worked then and still do now. I spoke with John on the phone last week. He is now in a nursing home but was very encouraging about keeping it small and simple.
He wrote that due to the unreliability of vane gears, experimenting with sheet to tiller systems should be an essential part of preparing for any long offshore passage. That is as true now as when he wrote it 40 years ago. It is probably the most enjoyable part of boat preparation as it involves little or no expense and involves getting out sailing.
Len
In the 1960s when Blondie Hasler was racing across the Atlantic, Letcher made several big solo passages in his 20' Island Girl, and later with his wife in his own designed and built 25 footer. He describes how he experimented with the sails to achieve self-steering, long before he had heard of vane gear. He also details alternative methods used by others. The methods worked then and still do now. I spoke with John on the phone last week. He is now in a nursing home but was very encouraging about keeping it small and simple.
He wrote that due to the unreliability of vane gears, experimenting with sheet to tiller systems should be an essential part of preparing for any long offshore passage. That is as true now as when he wrote it 40 years ago. It is probably the most enjoyable part of boat preparation as it involves little or no expense and involves getting out sailing.
Len