Steering sticks

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Bat21

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The new HR31 mk11 and the HR 342 both have tiller steering as standard. The awb market seems convinced that wheel steering is a requirement even on their smallest models.

Personaly, I think HR have got it right, I have never been a fan of the wheel on sub 35' sailing boats.
Why do ben,ban,jav, legend insist on wheels? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
Because most buyers prefer wheels I guess. But also since it aids boarding via the transom, is comfortable for people of different heights, standing or sitting, means the autohelm can be tucked away, increases cockpit sitting room (though getting past a wheel in a bit of a pain often). I agree there's much to be said for a tiller too but I'd be very surpirsed if the tide were to turn in favour of tillers.
 
The original cars were steered by a "tiller". Imagine it now! I think they call it "progress" /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
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wheels also "obvious" to use for almost anyone on boat too i suppose

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This is the important thing for the non-boaty (call me SWMBO), plus the fact that it needs less muscle.

Two more points (for the old salts).

a. More steering positions for the helmsman so you can rest your hands (one at a time /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif).
b. Wheel stand makes a nice navigation centre (for instruments, drinks etc.) and provides an easy to unfold cockpit table.
 
Tillers tend not too break (and can usually be fixed easily if they do).

Wheels, OTOH, break linkages fairly often (relatively speaking), and they can be pigs to fix. Emergency tillers on wheel steered boats sometimes aren't that usable.

Because they are geared, wheels require less effort on bigger, or hard-mouthed boats. And they are intuitive, at least for someone who has never stepped on a boat before.

Just as an aside, it seems roughly that hi-tech long distance racing splits wheels for fully crewed/tillers for one or two handed affairs.

PS for one handed wheel steerers, tillers can be used with no hands, provided you're equipped with at least one pair of inner thighs.
 
Don't let me be misunderstood. My boat has a tiller and I don't plan or wish to add a wheel. I 'll stick to the stick.

On the other hand, last year on a 8-hour F7 single tack Kythnos-Faliro I did wish I had a wheel.

BTW what is the correct form, "I did whish I had", "I did wish I have" or else? In general I would appreciate if you corrected my English (and I promise to do the same with your Greek /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif)
 
I wished I\'d had

Not easy at all! Tk correct but imho better to use a different construction if in any doubt or if it sounds clumsy.

"I found myself wishing we had fitted wheel steering" keeps the correct tenses.

And of course, it uses verbs which would have soundeded more interestinger, er...
 
Re: English

Tillers are definately preferable sub 34/35 foot upwind, much easier to keep the boat in the groove, much easier to realise when the boat is becoming unballanced.

However, this all changes downwind, when I'd far rather have a wheel, especially in breeze, when you require more muscle to keep the boat on track.

So over 32ish foot I'd be looking for a wheel on a cruiser racer.
 
80% of it is image- aimed squarely at Walter Mitty.

To tell whether a wheel is practical or for show, look at the size. Big wheels are only needed for hard-mouthed boats where you need the extra leverage and racers where you need to be able to steer while sitting on the side deck. Anything over 2 ft diameter is pointless on a cruising boat and only serves to get in the way of people moving around.
 
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Anything over 2 ft diameter is pointless on a cruising boat and only serves to get in the way of people moving around.

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You'll have mighty big muscles if you have a 2 foot wheel on any boat!

Having a small wheel on a boat so it's easier to move around is rather akin to putting the mainsheet on the coachroof to keep it out of the way. Both comprimise how easy the boat is to sail. Pesonally, I'd much rather have more control over my boat, and be able to helm so I can see the teltails. After all, helm better, sail faster, be in the pub earlier.
 
Hmm- not sure about your argument that any wheel over 2 foot is too big on a cruising boat. I like to helm, sitting on the cockpit coaming or down on the lee side of the cockpit of our centre cockpit boat so that I can see the luff of the genoa. The biggish wheel that we have allows me to move outboard to see the sails better.

Why should it be only the racing boys who want to sail efficiently?

As far as moving around is concerned, we have a large 'hand nut' (if that is the right expression!) which we can undo easily without tools and remove the wheel for when we are in harbour and entertaining in the cockpit. Mind you I am always worried about dropping the wheel overboard when we take it off...
 
The reason I hate big wheels is the problem of having to climb up out of the safety of the cockpit to get to and from the helm position in heavy weather. My most recent trip in a boat equipped that way was cross channel with F8 on the beam. It felt b****y dangerous!
 
Having moved right through the range of boat sizes from dinghies to 20ft to 41ft cruisers and sailed on bigger, I can honestly say I much prefer a wheel to a tiller.

A tiller will sweep the cockpit in use and can even trap a crewmember by the legs in a tack.

Several boats I have sailed have the gear lever in a position that is difficult to reach without putting the tiller hard over so that you can reach it, makes for interesting berthing.

OK you can sit on the side of the cockpit on the lee or windward side to watch the genoa telltales but it needs a tiller extension to do so and these are often rather flimsy and certainly are one handed affairs, not very good on a boat that is heavy to steer as often older designs are.

A wheel of a decent size allows you to sit comfortably on the chosen side and steer easily one handed. On our boat we have a big diameter wheel and can sit and steer from the side with just two fingers, light and positive.

In rough conditions the helmsman with a wheel has something substantial to hold on to.

It is easy to gear down a wheel if necessary by selection of quadrant size and wheel diameter to give you light loads whereas a tiller needs to be excessively long to lighten the effort.

Contrary to TK's comment, I have had 2 tillers break (actually one tiller and one tiller hinge/connecting bracket) and never had (touch wood) a problem with a wheel. If our wheel or it's cables were to fail, we have an emergency tiller that does work, albeit not elegantly, but we can also continue by using the autopilot which drives directly on the rudder quadrant and is independent of the wheel or it's cables.

However, I would accept that below 30/32ft a tiller is cheaper and good enough and really a HR 342 isn't a big boat especially, probably only a 31/32 in effect with a swim platform stuck on the back.
 
I always learned that when it becomes harder to steer, you are overcanvassed. Big wheels only help you put more pressure on the rudder. Instead I would reef early when using a tiller or a smaller wheel. By the way, I hav a smallish wheel on my 36 footer and when swmbo can't hold it anymore, it's time to reef.
Victor
 
Are our opinions fixed by in the time warp that we started sailing?

When I bought our 1st big boat after dinghy sailing (with a tiller) I insisted it had to have a wheel. We started looking at 32' but finally settled on a 36'.

Possibly in a similar way that others criticise wheel steering I criticise twin wheel steering on cruising boats as pretentious and pointless. The engine controls are rarely duplicated so it forces people to berth often from the furthest point from the pontoon. I accept it enables the helm to sit on the side of the boat but that raises another debate -to windward looking at the sails or to leeward looking under the Genoa for what you may otherwise hit!
 
I'm happy to steer with pretty much any configuration but do prefer a tiller when trying to get the best out of a boat. Looking after the throttle and the tiller at the same time whilst parking is a bit annoying and in my case involves a lot of throttle kicking.

The boat I sailed mostly on in my late teens was an old centre cockpit boat which had a vertical tilller connected to steering wires like a wheel. Surprisingly easy to get used to and had none of the cockpit clutter that either a wheel or conventional tiller has, but I've never seen the arrangement on any other boats.

I actually really like the double wheel arrangement, though, if you often need to moor stern to. You have a free passage from the main hatch to the stern, just walking around the (folded) table.
 
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