Sailing history - wheels and tillers

[sgr143]

We were looking at the most recent PBO, with its article by someone building a ship's wheel as a lockdown project. A question arose - when did sea-going vessels go from being tiller (or oar) steered to being wheel steered?

Obviously it will depend on the size of vessel, and vessel size increased as the centuries progressed; so it may simply be that there is a critical tonnage, length or height of freeboard that would provoke the change. As far as I know, large C15 vessels like the NIna, Pinta and Santa Maria were wheel-steered, but before that?

Even late on (C18, early C19 ... later?), the tiller was still there below decks, of course, with the wheel operating it via ropes, drums and so on. Hence, I think, the term "Steerage" for the lowest class of accommodation, with a great baulk of timber swinging about over your head.

Any way, a sailing history question / point of discussion. Thoughts?

Steve

 

[dombuckley]

Wheels came in much later than you think, somewhere around 1700. Up until that time, steering on large ships was by whipstaff: a sort of tiller-extension arrangement which led vertically through the deck. The main drawback was the very limited travel in the arrangement (about 4-5 degrees), so rudders were really only used for fine-tuning: major course changes were made by altering the balance of the sails.

At the NMM there is a model dating from 1705, where the whipstaff has been replaced by ropes leading to a winch, while the now-familiar wheel makes its first appearance a few years later.

 

[sgr143]

Thanks Dom! So was the Mary Rose steered by whipstaff?