Equipment

New post from Simon Whiteley

Stiff steering on Hansa boats

I was getting complaints from our young or less mobile sailors that the streets  gone the Hansa boats was stiff. Tweaking the tension in the ropes (about an inch of play normal to the rope run seems to be about right) helps, as does making sure the lines are properly under the joystick quadrant (use cable ties), but only marginally.

Eventually I found the right solution. The steering lines on the Hansa boats as supplied by the manufacturers use a cheap 4mm rope that stiffens with age. Coupled with blocks that are sometimes not properly in line with the rope run, and (on older boats at least) use plain bearing blocks, it isn’t surprising that the steering can get stiff- too much for a young or less mobile sailor.

The solution is to replace the rope with a good 3mm braid on braid. The thinner line helps round the blocks, and good quality limits stretch.

I know how hard it is to find just the right rope. We are lucky in having these suppliers just down the road from us, and this is the specific rope we used https://www.rotamarine.co.uk/product/polyester-braid-on-braid-pre-stretched-2/ . It is I think a Turkish made rope, and seems to perform well.

https://sailability-forum.uk/equipment/stiff-steering-on-hansa-boats