I was sailing today in 10-18 knots of breeze. Going upwind in the heavier stuff (15-18), I had a lot of weather helm, even when the boat was flat, and much more so on port tack.
I had my goose-neck as far back as I could get it, to the point where a sail tie wouldn't let me go back any further. I am sorry, but the boom isn't marked because it is not my boat, so I cannot tell you the exact measurement.
I weigh 140 pounds (wet).
What to do?
The mast disrupts the luff line and sail shape, shifting the sail's Center of Effort slightly more aft.Why was it so much worse on port tack?
It will help if you had room to sit further back in the boat.
Fred
Actually you should sit as far forward in rhecockpit as possible. Front leg should be bumping into front of cockpit. That won't solveyou weather helm but it proper sunfish form
in the breeze you described and at your weight your goosenck should be around 17 or 18 inches from the front of the boom. BB
Is the idea to keep moving the goose-neck back until there is neutral helm when the boat is flat?
Yes, that's the idea, although if you get much farther back than 18 inches it's time to think about other options (accepting that you have weather helm, or depowering the rig)
........and when you say 'back', do you mean moving the boom towards the stern so the distance (between the boom end and the gooseneck) is decreasing?
The Jens Rig is described in the FAQ section of the Sunfish KB & FAQ at the top of this page. Illustrations can be found in The Sunfish Bible by Will White.Depowering first entails tightening the outhaul and either he uphaul or Cunningham. Next you go to a jens rig and when that is not enough you reef also. Someone on the board will know where to point you to see what the latter two are and how to do them. They have a huge effect. BB
........and when you say 'back', do you mean moving the boom towards the stern so the distance (between the boom end and the gooseneck) is decreasing?
I'm going to give BB a friendly nudge to change the reference from gooseneck to boom..., since the gooseneck doesn't actually move at all. What you are doing is sliding the movable boom in the stationary gooseneck to shift the sail back and forth.No. Moving the gooseneck back on the boom means it is further from the front of the boom.