Swan 41 Lee helm

Folks; my Swan 41 Maje has Lee helm in winds below 7kn. I noticed that the 41 tall rig is the same height as the 44 short rig. However the 44 has a boom that is some 600mm longer.

i also noticed that at least one other 41 has extended their boom (by 440mm).

so I was wondering were there any other 41 owners (past and present) who had any thoughts on this, and any other longer booms and how that went?

thanks for this!

David Law 

Maje 41/47

 Hi David,

I replaced the original boom with an 800mm longer boom and a new mainsail, seven years ago. It works very well. Together with the Genoa 1, that I normally use, it gives the boat good speed and power. It is however evident that it’s important to flatten the sails already in relatively light winds. With the G1 and going in to the wind, I reef the main already around 15 knots of wind. One of the benefits with the new boom (and a reason for changing it) is that it has single line reefing, which makes the maneuver very easy. – I have changed the set up so that the main halyard, reef-lines, outhaul and vang are led back to the cockpit. The boat is now easily handled by two.     

Best,

Andreas

41 / 028  Cavallino

Dear Andreas,

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. May I assume that the reason for the longer boom was due to the Lee helm that I am experiencing? I see that there are some 43's with a boom that is similarly 1m longer than my own and 44's likewise have much longer booms with the same mast height. I'm given confidence by your experiences!

Best wishes 

David

Dear David,

After sailing our Soeur Anne, 41 / 022 since 1982 let me tell you that we never experienced lee helm in normal wind conditions. She is equipped with a tall rig and the original boom. So I am really surprised by your suggestion. Did you check the length of the front and back stays? The position of the mast??

Wishing you all the best.

Philippev

Dear PhilippeV

Thank you for putting your mind to this! Yes, all is standard with my tall rig.

The reason why the 44 short rig with the same height of mast as the 41 tall rig has a boom 1m longer is that the traveller position differs: with the 41 at the front of the cockpit and the 44 traveller in front of the binnacle at the rear of the cockpit. I guess the same for the 43. Simply in light airs the centre of effort is in front of the centre of lateral resistance, especially with a powerfully cut 140% Genoa. 

As always of course the proof is in the eating! Fingers crossed!
Best wishes,

David