Mast Rake...For Simply Good Looks

[Jack]

The for and aft position of your mast will have a big influence on the balance of the rig. You can see it on windsurfers. It is the only way they steer. Put the mast fwd. and you fall off, bring the mast back and you round up into the wind. The goal is to get a balanced helm, and it is most easily done by moving the mast fwd. or back. If you bring the mast aft (at the top) the boat will try to go up into the wind more (weather helm) That is waht you want a little of, weather helm. What is best is close to balanced with a little weather helm for safety. If you have a problem the boat will head up into the wind on its own. The opposite is lee helm. It can be dangerous to have lee helm, as the boat will be falling off on the gusts and taking off more downwind.
It only takes an inch or two of mast rake to make a difference, depending on your boat. If you like the look of a raked mast, I doubt you will get it far enough back to notice visually, before the boat becomes to cranky on the helm to steer.
I am sure there are many here who can explain it better. But moving the mast does have a major effect on steering. Here is an excellent PDF on tuning you rig.
http://www.seldenmast.com/download.c...=595-540-E.pdf