> Uh huh. "come here so I can whack you with my paddle" eh? :-)

> There's more to it. Hull shape plays some to. But as a general statement,
> the further aft you place the center of mass, and the further forward you
> place the center of effort (from weather), the worse the boat cocks to
> leehelm. Which is why sailboats don't place their mast up at the bow,
> usually. Reverse it, and you've got weatherhelm.

Ok... So perhaps I don't understand the terms leehelm and weatherhelm. To simplify, given: a boat is symmetrical and whatever the rocker is, is symmetrical from the center of mass, and the trim is balanced evenly between the center of mass, then will a beam wind blowing from east to west blow the boat evenly toward the west? If the center of mass is aft of the center of the boat, which way will the bow turn? east, or west? And given that the center of mass is forward of the center of the boat, which way will the bow turn? Doesn't it follow if the bow turns into the force of the wind (east)the forces (wind) acting on the boat are either stronger on the stern, pushing it more to the west, or less on the bow, in essence producing the same effect? As I understand it, weathercocking means the bow turns toward the direction from which the wind is coming.

Something isn't making sense to me. Maybe I'll go back to just one bottle of Pinot for lunch. thanks again, Tom