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Check out my later videos on EMU. These show better how I set the lines up. Also read the John Letcher book available for free download from the Jester website.

i have crossed the Atlantic using these methods, and not always light winds. See my other videos and the book that is linked to below for details of how to set up the bungee so that it works in all wind strengths.

start by reading the John Letcher book which you can download for free from the Jester Challenge site. My later videos on EMU show more detail about how to set up the system for each point of sail, why it works and how to tweak it so that it is reliable when the wind strength changes.

I was on a high as it had kept a perfect course throughout the day and evening. The stars are always best far offshore and the words of the Bob Dylan song came to me "Sara, Sara glamourous nymph of radiant light. The neumonic came later. Simple And Reliable Automatic Helm. With the bigger boat I needed an arrangement to tame the tension in the jibsheet. Thus the Sheet Tension Lowering Lever Arrangement. It had to have a female name as I was channelling the late James Wharram who advocated sailing with a 2 girl crew. So I need STeLLA and SARAH.

@@scallywagII :) cheers for the recollection. Whilst I've got you! do you think this does away with need for a wind vane entirely or is there still a place for them. I'm very much a novice but looking at a boat now that has a wind vane but I find them ugly things and as I really am not going to be doing these sort of voyages for a while like this clean approach.

@@AthelstanEngland I had such good results on Scallywag that I didn't bother with wind vane or autopilot on my bigger 27' boat. I did though try it out before setting off on a big ocean passage. Hand steering for 1000 miles does not appeal. Wind vanes and also autopilots will usually oversteer more than these methods. More movement of the tiller will slow the boat down, as will the drag of the pendulum rudder, though these might be slight effects. On a small boat, the effect of weight at the extremety of the boat is not helpful for stability. Check out the John Letcher book which you can view on the Jester Challenge website. My later videos on EMU also explain the methods and how to set them up reliably. Wind vane gears may be better in some conditions, particularly running before a storm under bare poles.

@@scallywagII thanks for the detailed reply. Much appreciated... good point too about wind vane and bare poles though - I hadn't even considered that. I'll check out the book. Thanks again.

What kind of boat is it? Any conventional sailing monohull should develop moderate weather helm which increases with wind speed. If that is the case these methods should work. They are guaranteed not to work if you don't try. For larger craft the headsail sheed tension would be too great, so you can use a means of reducing that. See my other videos with EMU for detailsof what worked for me. Read the John Letcher book for explanations of how it works and other methods for larger sails. I had not read that book when I did this trip but had figured out what worked by trial and error. When you have tried it out, come back and comment again.

@@scallywagII Hans 311 with short fin & self tacking jib.Tiller steered. In 18 years from new I am now on my 7th auto pilot as it burns them out or they do not perform properly. For instance the raymarine av100 will not stop the boat broaching through 70 degrees. At that point the autopilot cuts out & the helm stays hard over. If I am below & do not notice the boat suddenly gybes. Not fun in a 2 metre sea coming over the stern quarter in f7. My aeries does not cut out & will bring it back on course eventually, but it does sail an "S" course that means I cannot use it to run down wind I have been experimenting with different steering methods on my boats for 50 years so I do have some experience. I cannot let go of the helm for more than 2 seconds so I find that even trying to set up a tiller to sheet system is extremely difficult. For instance this boat will not heave too like other boats do. so I have to keep sailing all the time.

Thank you

bungee and block are spares from the boat's equipment. Levers were home made from offcuts in the shed.

Unless the wind changes, no adjustments should be necessary. Unlike humans, it doesn't get sleepy at night. For the other points of sail, initial tensioning of the bungee is important for the system to be reliable with changing wind strength. I have tried to explain the principles on the other videos but check out the John Letcher book for fuller details. I have been days and nights on end without having to readjust, but that is on long ocean passages. With coastal passages, sea and land breezes often have a big influence so bring about wind shifts at night. With a smaller lighter boat, watch out for changes of balance due to shifting crew weight. So if you plan to have a lie down on the lee side, best to sit on that side in the cockpit while you set things up. Otherwise the additional heeling when you below may bring you head to wind.

yes this is more of a problem with smaller boats and lighter winds. If planning to go below for a rest, I found it best to sit on the same side while making adjustments as I would be resting below. I go into more detail about this and other matters on my later videos with EMU.

Bigger horizons are more important than a bigger boat

@@scallywagII Fair enough, just thought it would be more dangerous with a small boat. If you can do it, great..

@@KrunchyJD A larger boat is usually faster and more comfortable, but that is not the same as less dangerous. I changed from Scallywag to a slightly larger boat (26') because it had more headroom and could carry more stores. It is also much better to windward with one long keel rather than three shallow ones, but that does not make it any safer. The closest I have been to disaster at sea was on a coastal passage on a 600 ton brig. That was scary.

@@scallywagII Oh okay, I just imagine that the ocean could have huge waves and it would be dangerous. Ok, I stand corrected. I used to sail many years ago, just a dingy, a Lazer actually, so I know the basics of sailing. I have thought about getting a small yaught, if I can afford it. Kind of thought it would be for sailing around the lake, thought it might be dangerous in the ocean, perhaps not..

Sorry, should have read the other comments...

Yes I have a lathe and turned a stepped washer from delrin, but failing that you could use flat plastic washers and a repair washer outside to spread the load. Grease the bolt if it is metal to metal. On the inside I used a repair washer and nyloc nut.

Scallywag II is a Robert Tucker T23+. Do you also use Letcher's methods?

@@scallywagII I built a horizontal vane with fishing line through plastic tubes going down to an auxiliary rudder with trim tab. Took me from Portugal to The Gambia and back up to Britain via The Canaries and Madeira.

@@scallywagII Before I built the wind vane I crossed Biscay with sheet to tiller, inner jib slightly backed with sheet leading to tiller and bungee compensating. On a Folk Dancer 27.

It is much clearer on my 2018 challenge videos which I did in three parts for different points of sail. There is a better explanation of how to set up the system so that it will be reliable when the wind strength changes. It is worth putting in the time to study these in full and read the John Letcher book so that you get this right.

See my video about the lever: ruclips.net/video/Fp4dUlWfARo/видео.html Note this setup might not suit all other boats. Find or devise a system that works with your existing sheeting arrangements. The Letcher book has lots of other suggestions

same here!!! wind correction for the airplane sucks

Hi Raymond, many thanks for your feedback, which really made my day. I am sure the late John Letcher would have also been pleased. I wish I had read his book before doing this trip, as I had figured this out by trial and error. His notes about setting up the bungee tension so that the system will adjust for differing wind strength maks life much easier. On my next boat, I had that knowledge and could easily set up a reliable system. Those later videos on Emu explain this much better.

@@scallywagII Good on you for getting it going from scratch! Yes Letchers book was a massive help. I had 2 buddies doing the crossing with me and we were able to get the system down in a few days. So at least always had someone to watch over it during shifts.

Strong winds have not been a problem, though I try to route around them if possible. I have used this setup with a beam reach in F8 gale, using no mainsail, just the heavily reefed foresail with sheet to tiller. For other points of sail, see the other videos, Parts 1 and 3. Also most importantly study the Letcher book referenced for the basic principals and see how to apply it to your own boat.

It would be difficult with the stretch and friction of your multipart sheets. I think that may be why Blondie Hasler who developed Western Junk Rig also came up with the servo-pendulum vane gear. Going upwind a locked helm or bungee alone could be worth trying. Downwind it is possible to fit a jib flying and use that as the steering sail. Shape is not too important so a budget used sail could do. Alternatively try fitting the lower block of either junk sail sheet to a line with a single block where it would have been fitted, then to a turning block on the windward side. That way you have minimum friction so best chance of success. Post another comment when you have tried it. Good luck.

I imagine it would, provided you had a suicide knob protruding perpendicular to the elastic bands at the top of the wheel.

Thank you for your comments. The blocks there may have been for spinnaker sheets, but by all means use them if they provide a clear lead. Sheet tension on an 11m sloop would be too great for this method except in very light winds. Check out STeLLA on my more recent videos for one solution. Many other options are outlined in the John Letcher book

scallywagII I can see the wear on the tiller,those blocks had to be used in the mix some how,she’s a blue water heavy displacement vessel with multiple poles for down wind reaching Im guessing,I’m new to this vessel and have only had 2x21ft light displacement yachts.Financially I don’t want to spend the money on the Hebridean system just yet but may go that way if I can’t master the sheet to tiller system.cheers and happy new year to you young fella from Oz.

Going to windward if you get a little weatherhelm, and that increases with more wind, then it may work with a bungee alone or lashed helm. For reaching courses you could use one end of the mainsheet pulling to weather against a bungee centering the tiller. In practice the extra friction and stretch in the multipart sheet means it might not be sensitive enough. Cost you nothing to try it though. I think Blondie Hasler may have developed his wind vane gears because of the difficulty getting sheet to tiller to work on a single sail junk rig. On a broad reach a jib could be set flying and should self steer reliably if set up correctly. Shape is not critical and you could pick up a suitably sized old jib very cheaply. See the more recent videos with Emu for better descriptions of setting up and read the John Letcher book. jesterchallenge.wordpress.com/articles/self-steering/