Poignard
Well-known member
Here is the lovely "Excelsior" .
19.06 metres long and tiller steered.
19.06 metres long and tiller steered.
Tiller Vs Wheel?
- Thread starter thvoyager
- Start date
fredrussell
Well-known member
Last edited:
Stemar
Well-known member
Indeed she is lovely, but I reckon you'd want Geoff Capes on the helm in a blow rather than Twiggy, though it's quite possible the same would apply if she had a wheel
srm
Well-known member
Not in the same class as "Excelsior" but after university I booked a 2 week single berth on a charter boat on the west coast of Scotland, "Gay Pandora". I can not remember her dimensions but must have been around 45ft. She also had a tiller and none of the mixed crew had a problem steering.
The big working boats with tillers like Excelsior could also rig a "relieving tackle" to take most of the strain off the helmsman.
The big working boats with tillers like Excelsior could also rig a "relieving tackle" to take most of the strain off the helmsman.
mattnj
Well-known member
i've always had newer wheel boats for 10+ years, just changed to a Sigma33 with a tiller, and I wont be getting a wheel boat again 
With a decent tiller pilot (B&D SD10 all hidden away?) its just better all round (and more simple)
With a decent tiller pilot (B&D SD10 all hidden away?) its just better all round (and more simple)
Last edited:
Buck Turgidson
Well-known member
It's a bold man who dismisses a tiller without ever having used one.
I've used both on many different types and have no hard opinion as each has their merits depending on the boat and type of sailing.
My twister would be ridiculous with a wheel.
I've used both on many different types and have no hard opinion as each has their merits depending on the boat and type of sailing.
My twister would be ridiculous with a wheel.
UK-WOOZY
Well-known member
i've always had newer wheel boats for 10+ years, just changed to a Sigma33 with a tiller, and I wont be getting a wheel boat again
how does that attached to a tiller boat without a quadrant, my tiller is connected to the rudder post which is encapsulated in a post through the boat
Graham376
Well-known member
We've had two of each. I prefer wheel for cockpit space but tiller used to be good for sailing onto mooring, steer with hips, furling line in one hand and sheet in the other. Unless close quarters, we're on inboard pilot these days anyway.
Buck Turgidson
Well-known member
Many modern race boats with tillers also have quadrants for AP connection.
mattnj
Well-known member
thats a good question and I dont know the answer...i know of a Sigma with one, and Im about to order one to connect up on mine, but I'm not sure how just yet
, Im hoping the B&G chaps at the boatshow can explain all.....Still on the tiller pilot for the next few weeks...a bit like this...
Attachments
Last edited:
Chiara’s slave
Well-known member
The rudder pivot runs through the sugar scoop on ours, there‘s no chance of using anything but a normal tiller pilot, but as she steers with a finger and thumb grip, it’s not too much of a problem.
Marceline
Active member
lovely - what type of boat is this one ?
srm
Well-known member
Originally a sailing trawler.
More info in the link below:
The Excelsior Trust - Lowestoft, Suffolk - Home
Poignard
Well-known member
I've sailed in Excelsior and she wasn't difficult to steer. I think the tiller was about 8 feet long and it had relieving tackles for use when necessary.
Tomaret
Active member
Short handed you may be right, but with a full crew steering all the way across isn’t an issue.
geem
Well-known member
Are you planning long di've always had newer wheel boats for 10+ years, just changed to a Sigma33 with a tiller, and I wont be getting a wheel boat again
I have done the trip several times short handed and wouldn't dream of steering. I know of 40 ft boats having to steer due to lack of power to run the autopilot. They were a crew of 4. They described it as a nightmare trip.
OK on a big race boat with 12 crew where you have 2 hrs steering a day. Most on this forum have small boats with small crews doing short handed sailing. An autopilot is an essential part of most cruising boats equipment.
mattnj
Well-known member
Yep, Solent to Canaries, probably a load of it alone.
geem
Well-known member
Last year whilst crossing the pond we broke our Duogen towed generator due to a 30ft piece of discarded fishing net hitting it. Over night it's fantastic for keeping the batteries charged. During the day our 720w of solar would do OK and fully charge the batteries but with the chart plotter on at night with no Duogen we needed to conserve power just for the health of the batteries. For the last 1000nm we used the Windpilot exclusively and at night used an ipad with AIS feed. In addition to the Duogen failure, we also broke a gear on the autopilot drive. I couldn't easily repair it. Hence Windpilot use only. Neither of these issues caused us any concern as we had redundancy in our systems. Shortly after arrival in Antigua, the generator developed a fault. These things have a habit of coming in threes. The moral of the story before doing such a passage is to analyse thr what ifs. What if your autopilot fails. Can you steer all the way?. What if the engine fails. Can you charge? What if the watermaker fails. Do you carry enough reserve? What if you have rig failure. Do you carry fittings, etc to repair and carry on?
One of my latest mods is to install an alternator from a bus. It's huge at 155amps @24v but it would allow us to run the 220v watermaker via the 3000w inverter with the engine on and not deplete the 24v batteries.
Star-Lord
Well-known member
I used to fancy that Duogen wind gen hybrid that would reverse into towed mode... Big bit of kit and the wind bit is apparently useless but seems unbreakable.
Graham376
Well-known member
Anyone with an old type 1 linear drive (IIRC pre- 1996) should update it with the gear kit.
Friend heading across the pond had his windvane shear, then his linear drive and last option of tiller pilot on emergency tiller arm couldn't cope. The two of them hand steered for 600 miles.