[alberg30] Re: wheel steering for A-30

[RABBIT649 at aol.com]

From: RABBIT649 at aol.com

Regarding wheel steering on the Alberg 30. I bought Ashwagh #23 with wheel
steering and Dancing with Waves in my yard in NJ also had it. Both were
installed 2/3 of the way back from the front of the cockpit bridge.
	But I agree with George that the tiller is the way to go on the 30 if only
because of the size of the cockpit. Probably the minimum size wheel you can
get away with is a 20", and even with that, you're going to have trouble
getting around it to go forward or to operate the winches (depending on where
you install it). I sailed a lot in a friend's boat (Twilight, recently sold)
which has tiller and I enjoyed it much more.
	I've often thought of designing a tilting pedestal that would swing
Port/starboard both for getting aroung the pedestal and for a more upright
position of the wheel on a heel. The pivot point would be in a small self-
draining well in the cockpit floor so that the pedestal would pivot
port/starboard around a point below the deck. The shaft on which the pedestal
pivots would be hollow and would contain a splined shaft. That splined shaft
would be able to shift fore and aft with a hand or solenoid operated yoke. The
motion fore and aft would allow the splined shaft to simultaneously engage or
disengage a 45 degree bevel gear beneath the deck (which would drive a
crescent) and a  pulley in the bottom of the pedestal which would be toothed-
belted to the wheel at the top of the pedestal. When disengaged, it would
allow the whole pedestal to be tilted 45 degrees port or starboard on it's
hollow shaft and then reengaged with the steering linkage or left disengaged
while in port for easy passage past the pedestal.
	But that's a lot of precision machining and I haven't had the gumption to get
past the napkin-drawing stage.
	I'd love to hear from anyone with any other ideas for making a wheel more
viable on an Alberg. Wheels are cool.
	But it's better to go with the right system for the boat.
Paul
Ashwagh #23

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