One for the Instructors: Learning to helm

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BlueSkyNick

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One for the Instructors: Learning to helm

WHat's the best method for training a novice to handle a wheel?

Took my sister (sailed before, only with a tiller) and her boyfriend (never sailed at all) out for the weekend. Saturday was blowing too hard to throw them in at the deep end.

SUnday, tried 3 times:
- on a beat, there are tell tales, wind instrument, windex atop the mast, burgees, aim at a point on the land (not good in a strong tide), gut feel - I use a combination of any or all of these myself, so found it difficult to teach just one or two.
- broad reach. The boyfriend mastered a steady course by concentrating on keeping the genoa full, ie not blanketed by the main. Sister couldn't get used to turning the wheel smoothly, or in anticipation of the wave motion.
- beam reach, flat sea up S'oton water. Again sister struggled to get the hang of turning the wheel. A tiller gives much more feel to a novice.

So what's the recommended method for teaching this in a structured way?
 
Re: One for the Instructors: Learning to helm

Easy Nick

Don't expect too much of them. Give them a piece of cloud in the sky or a land feature to aim to for starters, then gradually bring the direction of the wind or compass course to their attention.

Make sure they do at least a 360 degree turn in both directions under power before you put the sails up to give them initial steering confidence. Praise them and get them to relax a bit by looking the opposite way whilst they turn as though you haven't a care in the world.

And don't ever grab the helm off them unless it's a proper 100% catastrophe in the making.
 
Easy

Easy. i learnt by first driving a tricycle up on two wheels wheel (aged 4-6) and progressed to sitting in the middle of an bench seat in ancient vauxhall victor doing the steering for about 2000 miles aged 9-10, then wrecked a few bicycles and motorbikes and cars, and later rented sail and power boats with crash damage penalties i couldn't quite afford, nearly killed the entire family with a few excusions, and finally honed my helming skills when i bought a boat with insurance excess of five grand.

A good rule is you'll only relax when the helm is fully insured OR can afford to pay for a massive crash OR they get all your (remaining) money anyway OR they could teach yo a thing or two for starters OR they wil respond to a bit of jeez chrissakes i've toldyer once! OR letem sail anywehere, you don't care just sail about a bit. Your sister or boyfriend don't pass on any of these measures yet. Get them to make the teas.

OK, you havbe to show them the diffrent points of sail first off . When they know "what it does" they can be in control . They can't really be in control but be told to HOLD IT LIKE THAT - they have too know to avoid a gybe frinstance, first thing really, and then drive around a bit. Holding a course comes later, i wdve thought.
 
Re: Easy

I agree with you both, it should be easy really. WHat didn't help was when they wanted to quit because they couldn't handle it, I was saying they were doing absolutely fine. SWMBO then gave me ear ache for not letting them stop if they wanted !! All a bit of a mugger's buddle - and a giggle - in places, hence this post.

Its like lots of things - teaching others to do what is really easy is a skill in itself.
 
Re: Easy

It's a bit scary for some. I had been a hang-glider for years before I helmed a yacht and found hanging on to a tiller the first few times with a bit of weather helm more worrying than jumping off a hill. The slowly slowly approach works for a lot of people, bit of helming, lots of deck work/trimming etc
 
Hang gliding

Hm, this explains a lot! Here we were thinking you had a mad mad mad mad boat, when all the time you're there thinking it's actualy a lot more sensible and safer than ...hangng gliding. Argh!
 
Re: One for the Instructors: Learning to helm

I used to teach sailing and so am probably the most qualified to respond to this post.
Before you get down to the nitty, let them steer the boat without sails up so they can get the feel of the wheel and its responsiveness
Get them to aim at something on the land and start off with a nice safe beam reach so there's no problem with either pinching or getting into a tricky situation near the gybe point.
Check what they are aiming at - a student of mine once chose a cow, which was walking slowly and steadily from Left to Right.
Set the sails to suit conditions and be prepared to handle the mainsheet yourself so if its gusty you can dump the main and avoid the boat trying to luff.

As you can see - I'm just brilliance when it comes to this kind of stuff.
Bite size chunks, simple tasks to start with, build up the complexity, then as soon as you both feel comfortable, step back from the situation a bit and allow them some relative independance.
 
Re: Easy

[ QUOTE ]
I had been a hang-glider for years

[/ QUOTE ]

For years! Don't make me laugh, you're only 12 now! You'll be telling us you going to write the story of your life next! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Re: One for the Instructors: Learning to helm

When I was an instructor I also allowed the students to make mistakes - and realise that there was no drama if they did pull the tiller or turn the wheel in the wrong direction (if conditions permit). Accidental tack? No problem - the boat is still floating and we are in no danger, so lets take a couple of minutes and talk through what happened and why - and then try again.

I found that the students' anxiety often prevented them from learning. Building up their confidence as Clamore says, and showing them that it is really no big deal to make a steering mistake, breaks down the anxiety wall.

tcm is also right - if someone doesn't want to learn, no amount of teaching is going to help.
 
Re: One for the Instructors: Learning to helm

I agree Claymore.

For what is worth I never tell students which way to push or pull a tiller. Get the boat in a clear bit of water and (either on a beam reach or under power so it doesn't matter if they stray completely off course) I give them the tiller and let them find out which way to push or pull it. If you've never done it before you soon find out what makes the boat go one way or the other. Students also internalise the process much much quickly by finding out for themselves.

With a wheel, the 'way to turn' is usually more instinctive.

There are two things I usually say. Firstly 'I won't let you hit anything - so relax' (and then stay close enough to ensure that they feel ok) and secondly after they have had a go for a few minutes and because wheels tend to be on bigger boats that are slower to respond to the helm, 'Try to use small amounts of wheel and wait for it to respond'. The normal novice problem is overcorrecting and producing a big 'snaky-wake'.

I am not sure that I would want to put a novice on the helm trying to sail to windward, or downwind in any sort of sea state.... Novices have enough of a problem steering a straight course when under engine in a flat calm.
 
Re: One for the Instructors: Learning to helm

This possibly does not a apply to sail as much as power,
but students expect the helm to react like a car,
so I say,
Imagen its great aunt Ethel in her zimmer frame, first she has to put the frame where she wants to go, then she shuffles round to follow it, if its not enough just a another zimmer frame shuffle round.

Its seems to work on power boats. and get them to watch the bow spit as a reference point.
worth a try /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif.
 
Re: One for the Instructors: Learning to helm

another way for those ppl learning the rudiments of boat driving without an auntie ethel, or if they have maybe shes not lucky enough to have a zimmer frame - is to give them lessons in tank driving first, as the controls are similar to a twin screw vessel its amazing how quickly they can adapt. only problem then is to wean them off the idea that they can go where they want when they want and mow down anything in their way (see stinky/raggie discussions in other forums)
 
Re: Easy

[ QUOTE ]
They can't really be in control but be told to HOLD IT LIKE THAT -

[/ QUOTE ]

"Hold it like that" is an ambiguous instruction for a novice. It could mean:

- with two hands

- with the wheel at that angle

- with the boat pointing in that direction.

Certainly start steering under engine to get used to tiller/wheel, but don't spend too long that way. First attempts at sailing can be on a reach, so that small errors don't cause a tack or gybe. Forget the sail trim until sailing a steady course is mastered.

For people who are used to wheels, a tiller can be described as like a wheelbarrow; you push the handles left to turn right.
 
Going straight

Red button, bottom right of the grey square. Labelled "Auto" or something. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
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