If your boat seems to have excessive weather helm, check out the causes mentioned here. They should lead you to a solution of the problem.

A sailboat must have a bit of weather helm to sail upwind efficiently. When the helm is released, the boat should turn into the wind. Lee helm, on the other hand, will cause the boat to fall off to leeward— away from the wind. This condition should be corrected as soon as possible. The degree of weather helm will vary with conditions and is influenced by several factors:

1. Hull Shape and Heel Angle
2. Rake of the Mast
3. Tuning of the Rig
4. Trim of the Sails
5. Shape of the Sails
6. Trim of the Boat Fore and Aft
7. Condition of the Boat’s Bottom

In some cases one or more of these factors work together.

1. Hull Shape and Heel Angle
When the boat is heeled over, the hull no longer presents a symmetrical shape to the water. The leeward side usually presents more curvature to the flow of water compared to the windward side and this distortion will cause the hull to turn into the wind. This is most pronounced on beamy hulls and becomes stronger as the heel angle increases. To correct this situation, the angle of heel must be reduced, either by reefing the mainsail or de-powering the sails (see 4 & 5). I usually recommend that the maximum heel angle be no greater than 22 to 25 degrees. Allowing the boat to go beyond these values results in more leeway. This increases pressure on the wheel or tiller, which slows the boat down and creates, overall, an uncomfortable ride.

2. Rake of the Mast
Raking the mast aft will usually increase weather helm; raking it forward will usually reduce it. Under no circumstances, however, do you want to rake it forward beyond vertical.

3. Tuning of the Rig
This is best done on board, with your sailmaker or someone knowledgeable on this subject. The objective here is to obtain a mast that will remain straight—fore and aft and athwartship—in moderate air, i.e., 12 to 15 over the deck. Remember this is the apparent wind velocity, not the true wind. The apparent wind is made up of the true wind plus some percentage of the wind generated by the boat’s forward motion. It is usually stronger than the true wind. The exception to this rule is when you’re running downwind.

4. Trim of the Sails
Perhaps one of the most common reasons for excessive weather helm is over-trimming the sails. For some reason, many sailors feel it necessary to remove all traces of luffing regardless of the wind conditions. As the wind strength builds, an over-trimmed main will increase the weather helm. To relieve this, the main should be eased, allowing the luff of the sail along the mast to lift and reducing the pressure created by the over-trimmed sail. The more the wind increases, the more you want to ease. Eventually you will be sailing off the leech of the main. If the wind continues to build it now becomes time to reef.

The jib can also cause a weather helm if it increases the angle of heel by overpowering the boat. To de-power the jib without changing to a smaller headsail, move the sheet lead aft. This will flatten the foot of the sail and ease the luff aloft reducing the pressure the sail generates. As wind strength increases, move the lead aft until it becomes necessary to change the jib. If you have a roller furling jib, roll in a few turns and move the lead aft. This trims the luff of the jib and the leech of the mainsail; the boat will sail at a more comfortable angle of heel and will go faster with less pressure on the tiller or wheel.

5. Shape of the Sails
Mother Nature is not kind to our sails especially the older ones. As time goes by its not usual to find that the sail has lost its shape. The leech many times is hardest hit and becomes the root cause for unbalance. Now is the time to bring the sailmaker into the picture. If done early enough, the sail can often be saved and its balanced restored.

6. Trim of the Boat Fore and Aft
If the boat trims too much by the bow, the underwater center of pressure— the center of lateral resistance— moves forward, increasing the weather helm. The reverse is true if the trim is by the stern. These conditions are more commonly found on smaller boats, where crew weight is a higher percentage of the boat’s displacement. At rest with nobody on board, the boat should have a slight trim by the bow so that the addition of the crew, stores, fuel, etc., will result in level floatation. It is better to have trim by the bow rather than by the stern, which is a more difficult situation to correct.

7. Condition of the Boat’s Bottom
A foul bottom is like towing a bucket. It not only slows you down, but it also affects helm.