oakleyb
Well-Known Member
Is it possible to fit wheel steering to a transom fitted rudder
Wheel steering
- Thread starter oakleyb
- Start date
Salty John
Well-Known Member
Yes, there are a couple of systems available. Here's one from Edson:
http://www.edsonmarine.com/ecatalogs/sail/00013.htm
http://www.edsonmarine.com/ecatalogs/sail/00013.htm
Athene V30
Well-Known Member
I used to think wheel streering was the best solution fir any boat but not so sure now.
To my mind you can loose the "feel" of the boat when under sail and then in harbour there is this 3 foot disc in the middle of the lounge!
To my mind you can loose the "feel" of the boat when under sail and then in harbour there is this 3 foot disc in the middle of the lounge!
Dyflin
Well-Known Member
I spoke to a guy who ran his own sea school and at the time had a Sadler 32. He had retrofitted a wheel as he reckoned that for long distance sailing (8 hours to 2/3 days) it was much less tiring to have wheel than a tiller. Depends on the sailing your doing I suppose.
Talbot
Well-Known Member
On the other hand, it frees up considerable cockpit space when sailing. One of the problems of changing from tiller to wheel is the position of the winches. Not a real problem until you try to single-hand.
You could always remove the wheel when in harbour.
You could always remove the wheel when in harbour.
Athene V30
Well-Known Member
Agree
Most of my sailing is single handed so cockpit space is not an issue. When the sailign is good I hand steer, when it is boring the autopilot goes on!
Most of my sailing is single handed so cockpit space is not an issue. When the sailign is good I hand steer, when it is boring the autopilot goes on!
Fr J Hackett
Well-Known Member
Yes some Rustler 36s have it from memory the linkage has to go through the transome on both sides of the rudder which are presumably connected to a quadrant above the cockpit floor or in some sort of drained locker. Sorry to be vague but the short answer is yes.
PaulR
Well-Known Member
yes - my freedom 35 had a transom hung rudder and whitlock cobra steering with a solid push rod that connected to a fitting on the side of the rudder and ran under the cockpit floor to the underside of the wheel binnacle
saltwater_gypsy
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 13 Jan 2008
- Messages
- 1,946
- Location
- Now back in Scotland . Boat for sale
Vetus do neat hydraulic systems for transom rudders but the cost of an autopilot is generally higher for a wheel steered system. I would reckon that the benefit for a yacht of less than 35ft is debateable.
Adamastor
Well-Known Member
PaulR has the right idea. Just 2 little issues: the shaft of a wheel-stand is usually 720mm above the sole of the cockpit, and your wheel won't be less than 30" in diameter. Make sure you have enough space between your proposed installation and any lockers/seats nearby.
I really like the idea of a draglink system for your installation: look at the Edson CD-I system, which has a lever on the end of a shaft from the bottom of the pedestal that drives a shaft which connects to a lever on the rudder. You chuck the tiller out, and get a bracket fabricated that puts a pivot-pin about 6" off to one side of the rudder, and then the draglink arm sticks through the transom, waterproofed with a concertina-boot like stinkboats use on their steering-cables. I would look at beefing up pintles and braces in an installation like this, though, 'cos a wheel system can hammer out ft/lb's more efficiently than your tiller!
I really like the idea of a draglink system for your installation: look at the Edson CD-I system, which has a lever on the end of a shaft from the bottom of the pedestal that drives a shaft which connects to a lever on the rudder. You chuck the tiller out, and get a bracket fabricated that puts a pivot-pin about 6" off to one side of the rudder, and then the draglink arm sticks through the transom, waterproofed with a concertina-boot like stinkboats use on their steering-cables. I would look at beefing up pintles and braces in an installation like this, though, 'cos a wheel system can hammer out ft/lb's more efficiently than your tiller!