Hard to steer - balance?

hard to steer as in weather helm? Or as in unstable?

If its the former, rake rudders fore. If the latter, rake them aft.

As in it takes quite a bit of strength to hold the course.

thats weather helm.

Rake your rudders fore. I'd give you more detailed instructions, but I don't know how to rudder rake on a n5.5

That makes two of us. Should not be too terribly difficult to figure out.

a) check that there are no weeds built up on the rudders.

b) check rudder alignment (this can certainly cause difficulty steering)

c) rake mast forward to get the center of effort closer to the balance point of the boat - near the daggerboards.

d) rake rudders forward (this doesn't actually eliminate the helm but it reduces the amount of it you feel by placing the center of lift of the rudders closer to the pivot point).

Before you start worrying about rake and such, make sure that your rudders are going and staying all the way down. It they aren't you'll have to have Popeye forearms to keep the boat straight. Make sure that everything is in good shape and working right first.

Another possibility is that the rudders are on backwards (on the wrong sides). I think that has happened to almost everyone at one time or another -- it certainly has to us, and more than once.

Also, think about your sail trim and your weight balance on the boat. You will probably not be able to trim away excessive weather helm just with sail trim and weight position, but it will help.

Thanks folks, I'll give some of those suggestions a try, starting with the basics.

I did that on my TheMightyHobie18 once too - I had to tack the rudders so I could get back - it wouldn't even tack.

I am pretty sure that is much harder to do on a nacra since the union is bolted to the rudder arm - it won't hook to the tiller cross bar if it's on the other side because the union will be facing outboard.

also make sure that the rudder pull down line goes OVER the pin in the rudder casting.. This pin that I talk of is parallel to the main rudder bolt, and above it.

I've had weather helm on several boats. To reduce weather helm you have to pitch the end of your rudders forward. The easy way to do this is to place a stainless steel washer or two between the top rudder brackets and the hull of the boat. Use 5200 to seal the hole. If you are handy with fiberglass, make a shim from a lay-up the size of your rudder mounting bracket. Make several different thickness to find the optimum setting.

One thought if you have neutral helm on your rudders and fall off the boat it will keep going. I had this happen when a girl I just meet popped off her top when we were sailing, it was such a sight that I feel off the boat backwards. You could hear me for miles yelling push the tiller to the side. Enjoy.

Remember that raking rudders forward does not change weather helm -- it just reduces the "feel" of weather helm.