Quote: "I think I am letting my headsail get too big. "
Yes, I think this has been your principal problem. A
roller furling jib confuses many novices. For now, think of it having only three positions: 1) big enuff to just reach to the position of the
mast. That is your "working jib"; 2) Bigger than that, rolled all the way out. That is your "genoa jib" ("genny"); 3) rolled out only about half the distance from forestay to
mast. That is your "storm jib".
Now think of the
centerboard sticking down as if it were a hinge pin. As the
boat changes heading it does so by rotating about the hinge pin. Now think about this hinge pin rising up, conceptually, all the way to the top of the mast.
If you handle your
sails so that the "Centre of Effort" (the point where the combined force of the wind in the sails may be conceived as acting) falls AFT of (behind) the hinge, the boat will
head up into the wind. You can negate that tendency by pulling the tiller to the side the wind comes from, i.e. "the
weather side". When you need to do that to make the boat hold its course without turning, the boat is said to have "weather helm".
If you handle your sails so the Centre of Effort ("CE") falls FORWARD of the "hinge line" the boat will turn way from the wind. You can negate that tendency by pushing your tiller to the side AWAY from the side the wind comes from, i.e. the "lee side". When that is required for the boat to hold its course, the boat is said to have "lee helm".
Your FIRST job in trimming sail is to make the area of sail forward of the hinge line and the area of sail aft of the hinge line such that the boat "balances" because the CE falls ON the hinge line. Then the boat will hold its course even when you let go the tiller. and that is what you want.
On the Cat 22 the proper way to do that is to adjust the area of jib you unfurl but leave the
mainsail at it's full area. So get your
furling gear fixed :-)
All the above is a bit simplistic and meant only to familiarize you with the basic
concept of "balance" and how it affects the
helm - whether you will have "weather helm" or "lee helm".
Get that under your belt, then tomorrow (it's 2200 hrs here) we can carry on with some more sophisticated stuff building on what I've said above.
So hang in there - we'll get your "problem"
solved :-)
Cheers
TrentePieds