Rudder amidships

[abcnemo]

Yesterday I learnt in the guides the tip about locking the helm by leaving it with right click. But, Is there a way to trim it so that it is exactly amidships? TIA

[abcnemo]

Thank you!

[Thundercracker]

Originally posted by abcnemo:

Yesterday I learnt in the guides the tip about locking the helm by leaving it with right click. But, Is there a way to trim it so that it is exactly amidships? TIA

there's a little "knot" at the base of the spoke on the wheel that's supposed to be on top, centered, when the rudder is centered. there's not a command to auto center it, but if you're anywhere close to the middle, it's not the rudder that's going to turn you.

i've also noticed that the dhow and 2MJ (al' ankh and emerald starters, respectively,) tend to get blown off course by the wind itself, and i've found that it's generally best to just leave the rudder near center and free.

the cog is the one starter that can really benefit from locking the wheel. i find you need to lock the rudder to avoid drifting while under power from only the jib.

i havent messed with the sanbuq, but i have never really needed to lock the wheel on the 3MJ. on that ship, i use wheel lock to turn around in a bay, like assuming you entered dragon cliffs from the north, and you are planning on leaving to the north as well.

the brig is much heavier than the cog, and isnt pushed around by the wind quite as much. locking the wheel in the same conditions as you do a cog does not seem to have much effect.

[abcnemo]

I'm using the dhow, seems tricky enough for a beginner, so I'll take your advice about not locking the wheel and see how it behaves. Thank you!

[Gunthrek]

I generally tend to ignore the helm unless I'm making a major adjustment. In all vessels, it is the sail itself that is useful for fine direction control. If you need to adjust to port or starboard, play around with sail adjustments until the bow points on exactly the heading you want. A good rule of thumb is use the helm to get you close, then adjust to sails to get precise.

[abcnemo]

Awesome, all my practice with sails had been in Naval Action, so I guess I'll have to adapt, lol. I assume we're talking sheet winch mainly here to adjust for course. I guess more advanced ships than the dhow must be more complicated, but I'm not there yet.

[JPL 1138]

So long as your wheel is close to zeroed out (knot at the top) and it isn't locked, the sea will act on it, rather than the other way around.

The rudder is a trim for the keel, the keel defines the range of angular motion.

I almost never lock my rudder. It's rarely need. Except for the starter Dhow and Cog you shouldn't ever need to lock your rudder for cruising.

[abcnemo]

Thank you all for the tips. I've decided I'm not currently interested in Asian or African ships, so I started again in Aestrin with the cog. After watching the cog maiden voyage video on youtube I kind of came to grips with tacking with it and am currently docked at Fort Aestrin, ready to cheat-buy that beautiful brig. I love this game.

[Gunthrek]

The brig is certainly my favorite ship so far. :)