Thomas Wilson
New Member
In Geoffrey Nightingale's classic book "Dinghy ownership ..." (1956) (page 84), he states that the CE on the mainsail moves forward with motion. This has me puzzled, unless one can argue that the Bernoulli pressure gradient has a larger forward component due to its more curved shape as it catches more wind with increasing boat speed. Another explanation might be that one is on a reach with the sail at a larger angle towards windward. Nightingale is considering helm balance between the CE and the Center of Lateral Resistance (from the hull/daggerboard combo). Excessive forward motion of the CE would then lead to lee-helm it seems to me.