Gunning-yacht hard on the helm in strong winds

Especially Alcyone’s and Cormorants build before 1965 are hard on the helm by windforce above 4 Beaufort. These boats build up quite a large bow wave and when heeled, the lee bow wave is considerably larger than the windward one. This naturally pushed the bow up to windward. Max Gunning wrote in April 1965 there were 2 ways of remedying this, one being to reduce the displacement at the bow and the other to reduce the resistance to any flow from the lee-side to windward side, underneath the keel or skeg, right forward. So Max changed for Cormorants the design of the forschip by lifting the bow to reduce the displacement there and with it the bow wave. Banckert was the first Alcyone with the bottom -and keelplate drawn up nearly to the waterline forward. This seems to be helpful.
The Valentijns assured Max Gunning modify the older Alcyone’s by cutting off a part of the bow was to difficult and expencive. The fault can be mitigated by not overcanvassing the boat and reefing in time by windforce 4 Beaufort and more. Our own experience is also to use just a small jib. Both actions proved to be a success.

However through all years some owners think out other modifications. By example Henk van ‘t Hull † of Vita Nova tried out a new welded steelplate on both sides of the lifting steelprofil that filled all the space between the hinge point of the skeg to the keelplate with the rudder in lowest position. He told us Vita Nova was steering better with windwardness and was less hard on the helm. Perhaps Elco Leemans, the present owner of Vita Nova could tell us once about his own experience with that.
Peter Hoogenberk modified Adriana van Texel (now Hotspur) with a backwards placed second small centreboard. He told us now he could steer his boat with his little finger! We will hear more about that from Michiel and Relinde.
Also Bert Glazenburg was searching for a solution to steer his Cormorant Woest maar Kalm more easily, we think in the same way Henk did with Vita Nova. He wrote an article about that for our members, illustrated with photo’s. Some weeks ago Bert tested out his modification and also noticed the effect.
Hereby enclosed his interesting article.

Kindest regards,

Arjen van Boekel & Joost van ’t Hull
Board of Alcyone Circle

Note: we found in our archive a letter of the Valentijns from 1964 about windwardness in not technical Dutch

Naar aanleiding van de omstandigheid, dat de in N6wsletter nr. 2
“News about Ships and Owners”, punt 1 vermelde wijzigingen in het ontwerp

van de “Alcyone lil en de “Alèyone II” klasse door ir. Gunning zijn gesteld in
technisch Engels is het misschien dienstig een Nederlandse omschrijving van
deze wijzigingen te geven.

Met het doel de loefgierigheid te verkleinen is in het ontwerp een stuk
van het voorschip onderwater “weggekapt” en de oppervlakte van het midzwaard
verkleind. Dit “wegkappen” omvat bij “Alcyone 11″ (dit schip is reeds gewijzigd)
het wegnemen van de kiel bij het voorschip. Deze ~~jziging vergt twee werkdagen
en kost ongeveer f. 500,–.

Bij nog te bouwen schepen omvat het “wegkappen” bovendien het optrekken
van de vlakplaat.

Bij “Alcyone 11″ is de ankerlier verplaatst naar bakboordszijde van de
van de mastkoker en bevindt de kettingbak zich nu in de achterste hoek van de
W.O. Hiermede is ruimte in het vooronder gewonnen~