Compensating for boat turning toward outrigger
An outrigger canoe has a tendency to turn toward the outrigger side. Other than compensating by keeping the rudder at an angle, are there any other ways to correct the course?
Regarding a tacking outrigger canoe, could one change the angle of the outrigger hull, for example, moving the outrigger hull bow towards the main hull a small amount?
Which would have the least drag, compensating with the rudder or changing the angle of the outrigger hull?
Compensating with the rudder will have far less drag than attempting to compensate by angling the ama. The reason is twofold, the rudder is a much more efficient lifting surface than the bow of the ama and being situated at the extreme aft end of the boat, the rudder has a greater turning moment so less ‘compensation force’ is required.
You can also compensate for ama drag by using an asymmetrical vaka. Using a static means of compensating for ama drag, such as asymmetry, will never provide perfect balance in all conditions, so you will still need to compensate with the rudder to some degree, one way or the other.
Something else worth thinking about is to move the rig away from the centreline of the vaka, towards the ama. This may be a simple means of providing more even balance on each tack.
An outrigger canoe has a tendency to turn toward the outrigger side. Other than compensating by keeping the rudder at an angle, are there any other ways to correct the course?
The best bet is a rig trimmed to place the CE forward of the CLR to create a bit of lee helm to balance out the weather helm caused by the ama. The traditional crab claw rig is very well suited to this, so much so that a proa with a crab claw rig up can often be steered upwind or on a reach by sail trim alone with no rudder whatsoever.
Regarding a tacking outrigger canoe, could one change the angle of the outrigger hull, for example, moving the outrigger hull bow towards the main hull a small amount?
Actually, that would only make the problem worse. The windward yaw moment is caused by the drag of the ama acting at a very large distance from the boat’s center of mass, like turning a stubborn bolt with a long handled wrench. Angling the ama would only increase that drag and by extension increase the yaw moment.