Cal 29 always turns to port

[DougR]

Yes, a "wheel" is a propeller. A right hand wheel turns clockwise when viewed from the back of the boat...

Left hand wheel, just the opposite.

DougR

[Adelie]

Yep a prop.
If your thumb is the direction of travel then the direction your fingers curl is the rotation. Rotation can be left or right handed.

[CaptRehab]

Originally Posted by evm1024

I lived on my Cal 2-29 for 4 years and sailed her for 8. (surfed her at 12kts in 18' seas and 45 kt winds too!).

These are Baby Cal 40's more or less and track very well. The 29 is the only boat that I have owned that would back down straight and could be manuvered in reverse.

There is something wrong with the boat. Is there a bent prop, prop shaft, strut, keel or rudder? Let me change than there is a bent prop, prop shaft, strut, keel or rudder or some combination of the above.

As an example of what you should expect from the Cal 29....

I once got the boat going straight and locked the wheel in place. Then I went up on the foredeck and steered the boat by simply moving my weight from one side of the foredeck to the other. I did this for about 45 minutes going up the Columbia River.

They track straight.

Been sailing My Cal 2-29 for 24 years so far

I think there is some tendency for the prop which is close to the rudder to make the rudder want to swing under power. I noticed it more going from the Farymann and fixed 2 blade to a Yanmar 2GM and a 3 blade Maxprop.
Under sail it is balanced. In flat seas I can trim the sails and leave the wheel free and the boat will sail on a straight track. I had lunch and sailed almost a mile before a wake made me correct it.
But there are issues.
I had to rebuild my steering. I was going to write up the work for Cruising World or Practical Sailor. The old Edson steering was a full aluminum disk that clamped to the stainless rudder post. The aluminum tabs that extended down below the disk served 2 purposes. One was to support the rudder (really dumb) and the other was to provide a spot for the bolts to tension the steering cable to attach to. The problem is having a SS shaft, Aluminum tabs riding on a plastic bearing surface (Micarta) sitting on top of a bronze stuffing box means that sooner or later your aluminum supports will corrode. My new arrangement uses the new Edson disc which is more conical and the tension screws mount through a portion of the top of the disc. This leaves room below to mount a stainless shaft collar, which sits on a UHMWPE disc to replace the worn Micarta one. The rudder is now smoother than it probably was when new. Still sailing my 1976 Cal 2-29 in the summer time.

[roverhi]

Boats are built with off center props to counter the tendency of the prop effect trying to turn the boat to one side or the other. The Sabre 28's were built with prop angled to one side or the other depending on the rotation of the engine. Volvo's for one were angled stbd and the original A-4 and Yanmar's to port because of different engine rotation. The angled prop on my Yanmar engined S28 has a near neutral helm at cruising rpm because of the angled prop. Have heard of some boats that were re-engined with an opposite turning engine as the prop was angled for and they are supposedly a bitch to steer.

[cabo_sailor]

Some boats such as my old Morgan 32 had an offset prop shaft. Supposedly to make pulling the shaft possible without having to drop the rudder. Prop walk had to be seen to be believed.