Boats over 30 feet with tillers. Elan 333

[Kelpie]

From my rather limited experience/observation, it seems that a wheel often leaves the helmsperson stood up at the far end of the cockpit, exposed to the elements. Whereas a tiller, suitably positioned, can allow you to sit much further forward up under the sprayhood. Far more civilised, IMHO.
I agree that above a certain size of boat, depending on how well balanced the rudder is, tillers can become hard work. Our 33ft boat has an unbalanced and rather shallow rudder and whilst she is finger light when upwind, it can be a bit physical at other times.

Personally the greater simplicity, better ergonomics, and clearer cockpit space makes a tiller a no brainer.

 

[pyrojames]

I have a tiller, 50' and 20 tons, and the rudder isn't balanced even a little bit. It's rather more a matter of how balanced the boat is!

 

[lpdsn]

Or

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUxe3YmKgvs

Downside 1: you may have to pull off a few armed robberies to afford it.

Downside 2: IRC hates it so really only any good for cruising.

 

[Tranona]

I'd prefer a tiller any day of the week and no reason not to have one on larger boats, particularly if the rudder is of a balanced design. My 32' tiller steered boat is a joy to sail, the 39' Sealord with a wheel is a compromise (wheel could do with being bigger to reach it from the cockpit sides but seating does not allow that - perhaps I can fit a tiller extension to the wheel ) Both boats have unbalanced rudders.

Think your views on the merits of wheel steering would change if you had the opportunity to try some of the newer boats with better mechanisms and more room around the wheel. Your Sealord is a good example of layouts determining a particular type of steering that then introduces all kinds of compromises which have negative effects - cramped cockpits, long runs of cables etc. On the other hand many of the latest boats have wheels almost directly above the rudder(s) and solid linkages plus space enough to fit decent size wheels and still move around without jumping onto side benches. Such boats are a delight to steer under sail (well at least mine is!) as I know from my own experience.

 

[roblpm]

Don't think so. There's a tillerpilot nipple on the aft sweep of the tiller, and the socket for the other end on the corner of the seat in the background:

Pity really - I'd happily go back to a tiller on a boat where it made sense, but I'd still want a below-deck linear drive that engages with the press of a button rather than manually hooking up loose chunks of machinery.

Pete

Aha good spot. Yes not perfect. But looks a lot less cluttered than the wheel version!

 

[roblpm]

Or

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUxe3YmKgvs

Downside 1: you may have to pull off a few armed robberies to afford it.

Downside 2: IRC hates it so really only any good for cruising.

I am constantly revising my bext boat budget downwards as life events intervene.....! This is about as good as it is going to get!

 

[richardbrennan]

My Westerly Ocean 33 has a tiller and is a joy to sail. If it loads up you either need to reef or the sails are badly out of balance; I am not sure you would get this feedback with a wheel. At the end of the day you just push it up to vertical and have a totally clear cockpit, the downside is that if you want to have a plotter stuck in front of your nose, there's no where convenient to put it!

 

[RupertW]

From my rather limited experience/observation, it seems that a wheel often leaves the helmsperson stood up at the far end of the cockpit, exposed to the elements. Whereas a tiller, suitably positioned, can allow you to sit much further forward up under the sprayhood. Far more civilised, IMHO.
I agree that above a certain size of boat, depending on how well balanced the rudder is, tillers can become hard work. Our 33ft boat has an unbalanced and rather shallow rudder and whilst she is finger light when upwind, it can be a bit physical at other times.

Personally the greater simplicity, better ergonomics, and clearer cockpit space makes a tiller a no brainer.

A wheel and binnacle takes up maybe 9 inches of the the cockpit rather than a large amount swept by a tiller with the rest of the benches aft and fore free to sit on. A permanent cockpit table would be difficult with a tiller and as the main place to have breakfast, lunch and dinner it would be hopeless without one. So for enjoyment of living on a boat I would not have a tiller in a larger boat.

For sailing though I love the feel of the tiller in my 24 footer and love steering from the cockpit side on the very big wheel on my 42 footer as long as we are a fraction overpressed. In light winds it duller of course under plain sail.

 

[roblpm]

A wheel and binnacle takes up maybe 9 inches of the the cockpit rather than a large amount swept by a tiller with the rest of the benches aft and fore free to sit on. A permanent cockpit table would be difficult with a tiller and as the main place to have breakfast, lunch and dinner it would be hopeless without one. So for enjoyment of living on a boat I would not have a tiller in a larger boat.

For sailing though I love the feel of the tiller in my 24 footer and love steering from the cockpit side on the very big wheel on my 42 footer as long as we are a fraction overpressed. In light winds it duller of course under plain sail.

Two boats????!!!! Excellent

 

[pagoda]

Two boats????!!!! Excellent

I have sailed a Sunrise 35 quite extensively with a tiller - and found it light and very responsive. About as easy to handle as some of the racing dinghies I have helmed. I never needed to think about steering as my brain is happy with a tiller- it just works instinctively. Also helmed a 44ft pilot cutter - almost 30 tons with a tiller. Equally nice though less flighty!
Our current boat is 42 ft and has wheel steering. I'm getting used to it slowly, but finding going astern hard work unless I am also facing astern. I think nobody should worry about a tiller if the rest of the rig is well balanced. With a tiller you can feel the water passing the rudder directly- and adjust to sail loading without extra thought.

 

[johnalison]

I have sailed a Sunrise 35 quite extensively with a tiller - and found it light and very responsive. About as easy to handle as some of the racing dinghies I have helmed. I never needed to think about steering as my brain is happy with a tiller- it just works instinctively. Also helmed a 44ft pilot cutter - almost 30 tons with a tiller. Equally nice though less flighty!
Our current boat is 42 ft and has wheel steering. I'm getting used to it slowly, but finding going astern hard work unless I am also facing astern. I think nobody should worry about a tiller if the rest of the rig is well balanced. With a tiller you can feel the water passing the rudder directly- and adjust to sail loading without extra thought.

A good wheel system should be equally direct, but some of the sensitivity is lost by the hearing needed. It is very evident on my boat's tiller when I engage the astern gear to lock the folding prop, for instance.

My only grouse about my tiller is that there is no simple way to lock the helm when not in use for those occasions when tide or wind are causing it to move overnight other than to tie it across in the lowered position.

 

[pagoda]

My only grouse about my tiller is that there is no simple way to lock the helm when not in use for those occasions when tide or wind are causing it to move overnight other than to tie it across in the lowered position.

Parking the tiller - either across the aft end or on a spliced figure 8 to the backstay is the proper recipe for a quiet night. it also reduces the tendency for a yacht to hunt around on wind shifts. I spliced a figure 8 to park it upright parallel to the back stay.

 

[Kelpie]

The PO of our boat had made a little stick that attaches to the fittings for the autohelm, and holds the tiller securely amidships. Takes a second to clip in place. The only downside is that it leaves the cockpit a bit cluttered, but when you sail in Scotland cockpits are for steering, not lounging around once you've stopped.

 

[PlankWalker]

The Rustler 36 a heavy displacement long keeler, and still in production after 30 years, is offered in both tiller and wheel version.
63% of them are of the tiller version.

Plank

 

[RupertW]

Two boats????!!!! Excellent

The opposite alas. The 24 footer has all the marina fees and time spent on upkeep but multiple attempts to sell it failed so it gets two daysails a year for a lot of money. It's a glorious sailing experience for me but I'd sink it tomorrow if I could.

 

[westernman]

This is a 64ft (length on deck boat) which is tiller steered.

Check out just before the end (as well as several other places where you can clearly see the tiller).

 

[ex-Gladys]

As a youth I sailed on both the Ocean Youth Club 70 footers, "Scott Bader" and "Falmouth Packet". They were tiller steered, Bader had an offset prop shaft as well, and always took two people to helm under sail, Packet was only a bit better

 

[H35]

35ft, tiller and a splendid take-down cockpit table solution. Rudder with skeg, but well balanced boat so not heavy.

-Anyone on a tight budget shopping for a sailboat should look for boats with a tiller, and avoid the more modern "wife-walk-onboard-open-stern". Since these boats seem to cost a lot more than traditional tiller steered boats. Better handling is another bonus! :encouragement:

 

[johnalison]

Parking the tiller - either across the aft end or on a spliced figure 8 to the backstay is the proper recipe for a quiet night. it also reduces the tendency for a yacht to hunt around on wind shifts. I spliced a figure 8 to park it upright parallel to the back stay.

Parking the tiller to the backstay doesn't work on my boat. The tiller is free to rotate within any manageable tie, and the adjacent backstay adjuster would damage the varnished tiller. Apart from the ensign staff, the tiller is the only bit of exterior varnish I have, so scuffs are not welcome. In order to get sufficient leverage to park the tiller effectively, it has to be in the sailing position or nearly so.

 

[RobF]

If the loads are getting too high on a tiller, it's probably a warning that the boat isn't properly balanced. As aforementioned, a wheel (particularly with hydraulics) tends to hide this. Without wanting to start another argument, I wonder if people who started their sailing on dinghys find a tiller more natural than those who started on charter yachts (at least to begin with - clearly most people can naturalise).