The H23 weather helm topic crops up every so often and it seems to me that every time it does, mast rake gets blamed first. Excessive heel, an unbalanced sailplan and poor mainsail trim also contribute to weather helm.

Im not saying excessive mast rake should be ignored, just that there are other (easier) things that can be done, even while under way, to address excessive weather helm.First, try to reduce excessive heel. Most H23 sailors seem to agree that heel should be kept under 15 degrees. Unless the air is light, crew and skipper should be on the windward side of the cockpit, or if need be up on the coaming or out on the rail. I often steer from the coaming using a tiller extension. The H23 is light and quite responsive to changes in weight trim. It can be steered with no rudder input simply by shifting weight from one side to the other. Try it sometime while under power with the tiller locked straight ahead.Next, try improving sailplan balance. Main and jib should be sheeted as needed to balance each other. The mainsail tries to turn the boat up into the wind and the jib tries to turn it away from the wind. If the sailplan is balanced, the boat will tend to track straight ahead with very little input needed from the helm to keep it on course. Weather helm is a sign that the main is more powerful than the jib. This is to be expected, as the H23 main is larger than the stock 110 jib. Oversheeting the jib slightly to power it up or easing the main slightly to depower it (the preferred method) will reduce weather helm. The boat can be steered with no rudder input by adjusting the sheets. Try it sometime by adjusting sail trim with the tiller locked straight ahead.Then, try improving mainsail trim. Most people tend to overtrim the main, mainly because its so easy to do so. The H23 mainsail and the mainsheet tackle are both quite powerful. As the main is sheeted in and the boom approaches the centerline of the boat, the mainsheet tackle starts to pull the boom DOWN rather than IN. This closes (tightens) the leech (trailing edge) of the main, increasing power and weather helm. Easing the mainsheet slightly will allow the boom to rise, opening the leech and depowering the mainsail WITHOUT changing the position of the boom.When going to weather on gusty days I dont cleat the main. Instead, as a gust hits and the boat starts to heel (I can feel the tiller starting to load up) I ease the sheet just a bit to keep the boat on her feet and reduce the load on the tiller. The boat will accelerate and as she does, I sheet back in.Many people trim the main using the position of the masthead wind indicator or by watching the luff of the sail for flutter. Neither is as good as using the leech of the sail. Tie some telltales to the leech at each batten pocket. On a properly trimmed main, the telltales should stream aft. Telltales hooking to windward are a clear sign that the main is overtrimmed. Ease the sheet or bend the mast.The backstay adjuster allows you to bend the mast like a bow, which does two things at once: flattens the main and opens the leech. This is a VERY effective way to depower the main and reduce weather helm when going upwind.All this is important because the less weather helm you have, the closer to center you can keep the tiller and the less drag the rudder creates. That means more boat speed for the racers and a lighter, more comfortable helm for the cruisers. Your tillerpilot will also draw a LOT less power.However, weather helm is not all bad. A little weather helm improves tiller feel, turns the boat up into the wind if you drop the tiller in an emergency and improves upwind sailing by creating hydrodynamic lift (more on that later if you like). Sorry this is so long. Good luck.PeterH23 Raven