[alberg30] Re: wheel steering for A-30

[FINNUS505 at aol.com]

From: FINNUS505 at aol.com

Wheel Steering?
I guess that's what makes horse racing-everyone likes something else.
Personaly, I hate steering wheels on boats. I feel you loose all the sensation
of the the helm, and a lot of the excitement of the sail. And getting used to
the helm up to go up thing always takes adjustment when I suddenly find myself
on a wheel boat. Does John Alden look salty in that old picture of himself in
the cockpit of Malabar 2 in the 1930 Bermuda race, stradling the varnished
steering box, a relaxed hand on a spoke of the teak wheel? Sure, and a well
made wooden steering wheel is a thing of beauty. But so is a figurehead, and I
don't think a mermaid gracing the stem of a clean-lined Alberg 30 would be in
place. My preffered image is of a 90 year old Swede, Jules  Hanson,premier
Star and Lightning builder and racer, that I used to sail with in Brooklyn NY
on my Dad's friends 1927 A&R 8 meter sloop. The 48 foot sloop was tiller
steered, and it was magic and artistry at work to watch Jules steer that
beautiful craft upwind with thumb and forfinger on the extreme forward end of
that varnished tiller. No wheels on sailboats for me, thx!:) But, if you have
to make room for that teak cocktail table that mounts on the Edson pedestal,
well, to each their own!!!!:)

Take care, friends,
Lee Trachtenberg 
Stargazer #255

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