Self steering system

[Edward Bairstow]

Years ago, I heard of a self-steering system that used the mainsheet run through a block and attached to the tiller. With a bit of weather helm, the tendency to round up in a gust was counteracted by the pull of the mainsheet on the tiller to windward, allowing the vessel to keep a steady course as the wind picked up. Has anyone ever fitted such a system, and if so, have you any comments on how well it worked?
Thanks,
Edward

[tkeithlu]

A "balanced" boat. Easier with boats that don't jump with every wave, and where there are fewer waves. Can be done with the mainsheet and the rudder tied down separately. Been done, and I suspect that 100 years ago it was common. But, with a modern hull, any gusts, wave; be damned careful. You are truly trusting that everything will stay within a narrow band.

[Sailmonkey]

It’s called sheet to tiller.

It works well on some boats and not at all on others. It works on some points of sail on some boats, and not at all on others.

https://www.google.com/search?q=shee...&client=safari

[DougR]

The definitive publication for sheet to tiller steering is " Self steering for sailing craft" by John Letcher.

It's out of print now but used copies are around.

DougR

[charliehows]

put a sheet to tiller system on my trimaran about 30 years ago - it worked well enough in steady winds and calm seas that i could fall asleep on long tacks up the hauraki gulf inside waiheke. i'd class it as a jury-rig rather than a self steering system.

[Bill Seal]

Originally Posted by DougR

The definitive publication for sheet to tiller steering is " Self steering for sailing craft" by John Letcher.

It's out of print now but used copies are around.

DougR

It's available free online at https://jesterchallenge.files.wordpr...r-jr-small.pdf

[Edward Bairstow]

Many thanks for the informative replies!
Ed.

[Captain Graham]

I use a simple self steering all the time on Lake Erie.

The key is to learn now to balance your sailboat well in different conditions.
This way the self steering does little work.

My current sailboat is an Alacrity 19 Twin Keeler.
She is very easy to balance and tracks very well.

So all I need is a bungee to hold the tiller midships and I can sail for hours.
The boat will make a slow S pattern about 3-6 deg swings.
This is normal and I just let the boat settle into this pattern.

Here is a video where I sailed on Lake Erie for 5 hours without touching the tiller.
The conditions were 15-20 MPH and 3 foot waves.
At the end of the video you can hear the coast guard issuing a Small Craft Advisory for all of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.
But you can see that where I was it was just fine.
My video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLYu4FDk-mQ

Another video using just a bungee.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnkDsDWl8zQ

2 Videos using the Sheet to tiller method.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQNBlrg0VyI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9_Dobl0whQ

[Grigory]

Hi All.
I'm translating the book J.Letcher Self-Steering (actual link is https://jesterchallenge.wordpress.co...self-steering/ ) and found that there is no pages 232 fnd 233 at this PDF file

Maybe, somebody have original hard copy and can make readable photo of that pages?

Thank You. Grigory

[Benz]

Here you go @grigory

[pnw2022]

I used this technique bringing an 1974 Islander 30 MkII back to Bellingham WA solo from the Vic-Maui race. It was a wheel (had been converted) not a tiller but the principles are the same. The low-end autopilot died three days out of Honolulu (not unexpected).

Anyway, I was very familiar with the boat and although a fin + spade, the fin itself was reasonably long compared to how boats are built today.

In practice, I ended up using a mixture of main sheet and jib sheet deeding if beam/downwind or upwind - to the wheel which was offset by bungee cords. Ultimately the overall course included quite a bit of yawing unless hard on the wind, and of course no ability to go dead-down - basically off the quarter was about best with the following winds.

As others have said - the ability to do this with very effectively is going to depend on a lot on the boat. I have a Hunter 41DS now, which turns on a dime in the marina, but definitely gets pushed around in bigger seas on the ocean compared to a more traditional hull. I have fooled with the same techniques on this boat here in Puget Sound in flat waters and in theory it works, but I expect the overall tracking would be much more squirrely/yawing if I needed to do it in an emergency in real waves and even then probably very limited on points of sail (upwind only).

Anyway - definitely something fun to do and play with for sure. Makes you think a lot about the interactions between sail trim, rudder angles, etc. and I think gives insight into your particular boat while having a little fun.