Wheel conversion

[Phoenix of Hamble]

Well, I've gone and done it, and bought a pedestal, wheel, quadrant, cable etc etc...

I still need to drop the rudder, cut the rudder tube, and fit a stuffing box..plus any additional support needed for the rudder... so I probably won't do it until the boat comes out of the water in the autumn.... don't fancy cutting the rudder tube, even if it is above the water line, with the boat in the water! be a bit of a disaster if I can't fit the stuffing box after I've cut the tube!

 

[castaway]

Don't do! Fit wheel steering I mean, I really cant understand why a guy with a dinghy background would want to do this.

Particularly on a 3/4 tonner only 33ft, you will loose all that lovely feel and feed backand gain nothing.

All IMHO naturally!

Regds Nick

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

Its all about the kids!.....The tiller is a bit much for them..... any weather helm, and they struggle, whereas, I think a wheel will be a bit more manageable... I know that I can trim weather helm out, but thats after the event! ..... It also defines the cockpit space a bit more clearly... allows me to more sensibly mount the liferaft outside, which I prefer from a safety point of view, and finally, it gives me a better mount for the compass and a future planned radar display....

Plus, as an aside, I don't think it'll do the re-sale value any harm....

I do however agree... I will miss the tiller... but not too much I suspect!

 

[FullCircle]

neil,
its like buying a Reliant and fitting a front axle to it!
Kids will soon get used to weight of tiller - if not put two of em on it!

Still strugglling with my new Jen on the wheel

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

Well.... wasn't a 4 wheeled reliant robin called a kitten /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Seriously though..... its the first boat bigger than a dinghy that I've sailed with a tiller, and while I don't mind it at all.. I think I prefer a wheel... I guess its just what you are used to....

 

[Talbot]

The original Victoria 34 was designed to have a wheel, and yet I know one customer who insited on having a tiller. The result was a real mess - not cause it cant be steered with a tiller instead of a wheel, but because the cockpit and winch positions was designed to be operated with one person on the wheel, and others able to operate the winches without getting in each others way, the tiller changed the ergonomics considerably and not for the better.

I know your boat is different, but the change from wheel to tiller is only part of the story, and you need to consider the overall impact as well.

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

Talbot quite agree....

Fortunately the cockpit is pretty well set up for a wheel...

There is a seperate helmsmans well aft and this fits the wheel nicely... everything else, winches, etc are in the main well forward of that, and the traveller is effectively a bridge on the seperating section between the two wells, ideally accessible regardess of tiller or wheel...

I suspect that the layout was designed for a wheel originally anyway.... little clues like the angled sections on the side of the bottom of the aft well.. typical wheel bracing positions, and less applicable to a tiller steered boat...

So while I am planning on a bit of relocation of winches, cleats etc anyway, I don't foresee a problem...

 

[awyatybw]

We converted our Victoria 34 from tiller to wheel and it has been a great success (after sorting out all the b***ks that the yard made of the job). It certainly redefines the cockpit space which is mostly good.

Two points which are particularly useful. It is very easy to lock the wheel at any time, and she will sail all day on a fetch like that. It easily facilitates a permanently-connected autopilot and the ability to engage this with just a press of the button is useful when short-handed in the cockpit, for example, to do a bit of sail trimming.

When circumstances require manual steering, however, standing behind the wheel (unable to work out a suitable arrangement for a usable seat, as yet) one is beyond any protection that the sprayhood might offer.

Certainly the feel is not the same as with a tiller but, with the Whitlock system we have, it is pretty good.

 

[Talbot]

The original Vic 34 with wheel had a contoured seat across the back so that its highest point was in the centre. B. uncomfortable when running before the wind, but allowed some degree of comfort when heeled over. IIRC it was hinged at the back and thus gave access underneath.