Tiller or wheel - what's your preference and why ??

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Tiller or wheel - what\'s your preference and why ??

............. on a 35ft cruiser/racer. I have only really used a tiller on a 26ft'er, like the "feel" it gives and like the fact you can instantly see the direction the rudder is in, and also the fact they can be flipped up to allow more room in the cockpit. I know wheels look better, but what are your thoughts ...... ??
 
Re: Tiller or wheel - what\'s your preference and why ??

Tiller. More natural. More direct link. With a tiller you know exactly where you are and thus how much drag you are creating.

On the other hand, although it means more room in the cockpit when moored, it can actually be a pain in a busy cockpit if you have to move people out of the way to put the helm hard over. (My cockpit is tiny.)
 
Re: Tiller or wheel - what\'s your preference and why ??

Its a Boat size thing really.
over 35` a wheel gives a better mechanical advantage.
my Boat 37` o/all 4 ft wheel with lock to lock 1.75 turns, we do get feed-back because of this system.
also with an inbuilt A/h onto the quadrant its very effective & convenient
 
Re: Tiller or wheel - what\'s your preference and why ??

at 35' you are just at the changeover point in my book but I would still go for a tiller. Wheels are being fitted to smaller and smaller boats to let the owners pretend they have something bigger (it's all about the ego) but in comparison to a simple tiller there is more friction and you lose a huge amount of feel. As for the number of sub-50' boats that are now being offered with twin wheels (to male them look a bit more sporty) don't get me started!

As long as the tiller can be tilted up and out of the way when not sailing there is plenty of room in the cockpit and certainly no wheel in the way.
 
Re: Tiller or wheel - what\'s your preference and why ??

It also depends what you are used to. To me a wheel is natural because I have always sailed wheel steered boats. As for sub 50 foot boats with twin wheels I can only say that my 45 footer has them and they have two big advantages, Firstly I can sit or stand behind whichever one gives the best view forward, secondly as I nearly always moor stern to, the twin wheel arrangement gives unobstructed access to the pontoon.
 
Re: Tiller or wheel - what\'s your preference and why ??

Cross over point in size. If it has a large spade rudder then a tiller may not give enough mechanical advantage. Good wheel systems hove high gearing (mine is one turn lock to lock) and do transmit some feel. You soon get used to it and it does usually free up cockpit space.

BTW twin wheels are not just for posing - modern 40 ft up boats are so wide at the stern that a central wheel gives poor visibility - and twin wheels allow an easier walk through the cockpit. Unnecessary on smaller boats.
 
Re: Tiller or wheel - what\'s your preference and why ??

Tiller for me, anytime.

Within reason, I don't see what the size of boat has to do with it. I spent a few days sailing in the Lowestoft sailing trawler Excelsior and although she is 77 feet l.o.a., and has a tiller, she was very easy to steer.

[web page]

ps very pleasant way to spend a few days, by the way.
 
Re: Tiller or wheel - what\'s your preference and why ??

As others have said you are right on the crossover.

I think it depends a lot on the sort of sailing you are going to do. Even on bigger boats some prefer tillers for the feel upwind, note the TP52s have gone to tillers!
The drawback is downwind in big waves a tiller is exhausting, if not down right impossible.

I race a 37 footer, and 9 times out of ten I'd probably prefer that it was fitted with a tiller, but then it blows 25kts and we pop the kite, and that's when I love the wheel!

If you are doing long trips then I would go for the wheel as with a follwing sea you'll have a much easier time.
 
Re: Tiller or wheel - what\'s your preference and why ??

Twin wheels are fine so long as they have twin engine controls. Otherwise you spend half your life on the wrong wheel when berthing.
 
Re: Tiller or wheel - what\'s your preference and why ??

IMHO:
Advantages of wheel:
Take up less space when sailing
Will easily support a cockpit table and electronic paraphanalia
More natural for a novice to take the wheel (my wife prefers the wheel for this reason)
Mechanical advantage


Disadvantage of a wheel
Sometimes less "feel"
Takes up space when not sailing and divide the cockpit in two on smaller boats
Helmsman more exposed in poor weather - further aft and therefore less protection from spray hood
Not so good when singlehanding - on my boat I cant helm and comfortably operate the genoa sheet winch
More expensive and more to go wrong

To sum up for me - for single handing and pure sailing pleasure I would go for wheel steering.
For family and social sailing I prefer wheel.
 
Re: Tiller or wheel - what\'s your preference and why ??

Funny that, I think a tiller is easier to learn on. When I was learning I used to loose track of where the rudder was.
 
Re: Tiller or wheel - what\'s your preference and why ??

homa - your summing up is completely at odds with your comments. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

CPD may not have a lot of choice - most later production boats of that size seem to have wheels.
 
Re: Tiller or wheel - what\'s your preference and why ??

In many cases the better option is whichever the boat was designed for as in many cases the cockpit is too wide for the helmsman to brace himself at a tiller, and in other boats the cockpit is ruined by the presence of a wheel. My 34 is designed for a tiller and has a semi-balanced rudder to match. I have sailed a friend's sister-ship with a wheel and while it was quite nice to sail, it was awkward to move around.

Another consideration which I am coming to is my increasing discomfort when helming for a long time on one tack (at the tiller) due to turning my head the same way, now that my neck is getting decrepit. Although I am unlikely to change boats soon I believe I shall be looking for a wheel when the time comes.
 
Re: Tiller or wheel - what\'s your preference and why ??

We have a tiller and the boat is 28 foot. When the cockpit enclosure is up it means I have standing headroom and can still manouvere the boat. It also flips up when not in use so you can benefit the whole size of the cockpit. Our friends have a 34 foot boat and I find the cockpit crampt with the wheel. To get behind the wheel you have to walk along the seats meaning the cockpit enclosure is then awkward when using the boat.

Nothing beats standing behing a big wheel, hard over but practicality is the tiller.
 
Re: Tiller or wheel - what\'s your preference and why ??

Definitely prefer a tiller for reasons stated in previous posts but advantages of a wheel not mentioned so far are:

Wheel less likely to be pulled from your grasp when going astern.

Friction in wheel system means less immediate and dramatic results if you let go momentarily in conditions where you have weather helm.
 
Re: Tiller or wheel - what\'s your preference and why ??

As others have said - cross-over point.
What hasn't been raised yet (or if it has I missed it) - what kind of rudder? Transom hung, skeg or spade?

From previous experience I've always found that it's harder work (a lot - especially in more sporting winds) using a tiller in conjunction with a spade rudder.

So, if it's a boat with a spade rudder, I would go for wheel steering. Otherwise no real preference.
 
Re: Tiller or wheel - what\'s your preference and why ??

[ QUOTE ]
Wheel less likely to be pulled from your grasp when going astern.


[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, going astern, and generally maneuvering, is much more easy with a wheel
 
Re: Tiller or wheel - what\'s your preference and why ??

Interesting points re rudder and going astern. Its actually a spade rudder on what I am looking at.
 
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