Tiller vs wheel steering practicalities

catlotion

catlotion

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I'm thinking about buying a Jeanneau with tiller steering and having only sailed a yacht with wheel steering I was interested in some advice. Please excuse my ignorance!

I expect to often be sailing/motoring alone so some of these things are particularly important. The boat would be used on an inland lake (Windermere in the UK).

- How much attention does the tiller need? i.e. does it self-centre or stay where it is if you let go? On our wheel-steered Beneteau you could set it on a course (when motoring anyway), then leave it and do jobs (getting another beer from the fridge for example!) - what would happen to the tiller if you did this?​
​
- I've noticed that people attach shock-cord to tillers - presumably this is related to the question above to keep it centred?​
​
- I imagine these differences are amplified when sailing...?​

thanks, Toby
 
Here's my view have had both.
The tiller I find is better for sailing with - you gey more feel and it is quicker to react. The down side is if you sail alone. Yes there are devices which lock the tiller inplace for a short while but for any longer you need to hook up the autopilot. unless you have a hydraulic auto pilot then you have to clip on the auto pilot and set it up. With a wheel you can just lock it off or just kick in the autopilot. I still prefer the tiller to sail with but the wheel makes life easier when sailing alone
 
Directional stability and load on the tiller will vary enormously yacht by yacht. Don't think there's an easy answer!

It's also normal to have some prop walk such that the yacht tends to steer in a circle given a chance. It depends on the position of the prop.
 
My Beneteau is wheel steered. The steering pedestal takes up a lot of space in the cockpit. A tiller lifts out of the way leaving the cockpit completely clear giving much more useable space. A benefit of the wheel is I mount plotter/instruments/cockpit table on the pedistal.
 
slipknot said:
My Beneteau is wheel steered. The steering pedestal takes up a lot of space in the cockpit. A tiller lifts out of the way leaving the cockpit completely clear giving much more useable space. A benefit of the wheel is I mount plotter/instruments/cockpit table on the pedistal.
Click to expand...

I've had this dilemma for several years of ownership. My boat is tiller steered and 12 metres long, with the rig set up properly it's never been a problem and I confess I preferred it particularly when I raced, much better feel.
I've had a pedestal, wheel and all the linkages in my garage for several years thinking when my race days are done I'll convert but frankly, for me, a pedestal and wheel is a waste of usable space now we're cruisers as it would take up half the cockpit.
As mentioned above, with the tiller up clipped to the backstay in port or at anchor (or if we're motoring) there's much more room.
I do have a 'proper' gyro AP though

cockpit.jpg
 
Depends on the size of the boat.
For actual sailing I'd say wheel above about 34ft, tiller below.
A tiller gives you more flexibility of where you sit. You may be able to reach more controls.
A wheel makes it easier to get guests to have a go at helming. That's a big plus in my book.
 
On a bigger boat with plenty of room in the cockpit and long sea passages, the wheel is an advantage. For a smaller boat, short trips and a need for space in the cockpit, the tiller is great. The tiller will stay in position if the sails are balanced in the same way as the wheel. The tiller is more sensitive, will provide instant feedback and will respond better. Also, using an autopilot for a tiller is cheaper and simpler.
 
I can see the sense in having two smaller wheels if the boat is wide enough, as seems to be the current trend, even on race boats. I delivered a Hanse 505 from the factory to Hamble a while back and it kept me warm in the chilly April Baltic weather walking from one wheel across to the other !
I don't know what counts as a 'bigger' boat but it's just personal preference really. I'm sticking to a tiller then when age overtakes me and I have to give up, the wheel may come out of the garage if it helps sell the boat !
 
I love the feel of a tiller but singlehanding it’s on the autohelm most of the time - and they are really cheap now - so I can play with the sails and get a hot drink or whatever.
 
There is no reason why a boat's ability to steer itself should be different between wheel and tiller, unless the wheel linkage introduces enough friction to act as a steering lock.

A wheel can be made lighter to use in a boat that is not well balanced
Most people find steering to windward better with a tiller.
Most people find steering downwind easier with a wheel.
A tiller takes up less room in most cockpits and allows for a larger cockpit table.
Both can be made to work with a quadrant operated autopilot.
It is easier to lock the steering with a wheel, also useful when moored if there is movement.
A varnished tiller looks nice.
You can steer with a tiller between your knees and hold a sandwich and a drink at the same time.
 
catlotion said:
I'm thinking about buying a Jeanneau with tiller steering and having only sailed a yacht with wheel steering I was interested in some advice. Please excuse my ignorance!

I expect to often be sailing/motoring alone so some of these things are particularly important. The boat would be used on an inland lake (Windermere in the UK).

- How much attention does the tiller need? i.e. does it self-centre or stay where it is if you let go? On our wheel-steered Beneteau you could set it on a course (when motoring anyway), then leave it and do jobs (getting another beer from the fridge for example!) - what would happen to the tiller if you did this?​
​
- I've noticed that people attach shock-cord to tillers - presumably this is related to the question above to keep it centred?​
​
- I imagine these differences are amplified when sailing...?​

thanks, Toby
Click to expand...
Your wife (?) will prefer a wheel.

Also easier to steer astern.
 
johnalison said:
There is no reason why a boat's ability to steer itself should be different between wheel and tiller, unless the wheel linkage introduces enough friction to act as a steering lock.

A wheel can be made lighter to use in a boat that is not well balanced
Most people find steering to windward better with a tiller.
Most people find steering downwind easier with a wheel.
A tiller takes up less room in most cockpits and allows for a larger cockpit table.
Both can be made to work with a quadrant operated autopilot.
It is easier to lock the steering with a wheel, also useful when moored if there is movement.
A varnished tiller looks nice.
You can steer with a tiller between your knees and hold a sandwich and a drink at the same time.
Click to expand...

I would add that tacking without AP single handed is normally easier with a tiller in my experience as the outside of a thigh can be used to hold it over freeing both hands to Smoke, hold butty, slosh tea and work the sheets. :-)

I don't mind either to be honest but a tiller looks nicer to my eyes.
Easier to rig sheet to tiller steering too.
 
I would have preferred a tiller on the sort of size boats I was looking at, and they are second nature to me after years of narrow boating but somehow ended up with 2 wee hydraulic steering wheels instead. Going to take a while to get used to the lack of feedback and the emergency steering setup is ..interesting. Have to say the autopilot is nice and quiet though compared to the grindy screechy noise of tiller pilots.
 
ryanroberts said:
Wheel inflation seems to have been a thing with yacht design over the years.

View attachment 85906
Click to expand...
That's about the minimum size worth having. Although that looks not to work well in that cockpit.
I despise small wheels which look like they came off a mini cooper, except on a motorsailer.
The question is, can you sit down and steer comfortably, and see past the pram hood?
With a tiller (and extension), you'd be sat on the coaming with a good view.
With a big wheel on a race-derived boat, you can often sit with the wheel between your knees, steering without needing your arms at a stretch, which is very tiring after a while.
You should consider the whole ergonomics of the cockpit.
Can you reach the sheet winches from the wheel?

I also strongly dislike instruments and plotters in binnacles, because only the helmsman can see them, but with a wheel on some boats, it's a joke trying to push the buttons on displays which are anywhere else.

Some of these boats, you wonder why they don't get rid of the helm entirely, just have a couple of pushbuttons, because they're clearly not intended to be hand steered.
 
Personally, I prefer a tiller. I have sailed and owned both, on boats between 14' and 50' and I believe that boat with any pretense as to performance and up to 40' is better off with a tiller; there are exceptions such as centre cockpits. As others have said, a tiller gives instant feedback, you always and instantly know rudder angle, weather helm and steering is easier and, to me, more intuitive.

Single handing is is easier, IMO, as you can hold the tiller between your knees and have the hands free to fiddle with the sheets, if the boat is properly set up.

Tiller steering is simple, straight forward and a lot less likely to fail and the inboard rudder can be steered by a below deck autopilot.

In the past there were all sorts of solutions to locking the tiller, such as a pin rack or even using a simple lanyard. In port or under auto you just fold the thing out of the way.

On long passages I have enjoyed sitting in lee and steering with my feet which I found less tiring and more comfortable.

I have found wheel steering to less satisfactory. One boat I helped deliver had a hydraulic wheel with ten turns, hard to hard. We got caught out in strong winds and steering downhill in the huge waves felt like being trapped in some terrible wheelchair race. My last boat had 5 turns H to H and my present one has 3.5; still don' like it - too much like driving a car.
 
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I have mostly sailed with a tiller but I had a Mystere 26 with a wheel for fourteen years. The one time I regret not having a wheel is on a broad reach, when I get an awful rick in the neck after the first few hours and no possibility of changing sides, in boisterous conditions.

Folding a tiller away is only effective in quiet conditions. On a mooring or at anchor in tidal conditions it is almost always necessary to fix the helm, at least overnight, otherwise the rudder will move back and forth, often noisily. Worse is a fixed mooring in a tide, when the helm may slam across when the tide turns. The only answer i have found is to tie the tiller in its steering position, preferably with the addition of a bungee cord.
 
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