[alberg30] steering wheel

[finnus505 at aol.com]

Hey Pete,   Welcome aboard!

Some people love wheels.  They give more mechanical advantage in steering, 
some argue it is easier to fit an electric autopilot to them,
The compass in the binacle is easier to read, and may have less deviation 
than a compass in the step on the bridgedeck. You can hang thing on the 
binnacle, like sunglasses, a hat, an emergency knife, etc.
You can have a small cockpit table mounted on the for face of the binnacle, 
ready to fold down into position any time for drinks or food, or reading, 
etc, etc.

But, I don't like wheels on a sailboat!!  The most important reason, is that 
I loose a lot of the feel of the boats motion, balance under the current sail 
plan, the feel of the rudder going through the water, and the pressure on the 
rudder, again , an indicator of sail balance, boat balance, etc.  The wheel 
and pedesal take up alot of room in the cockpit.

There's that famous photo of John Alden steering one of his Malabar 
schooners. He must have been in one of the Bermuda races   in the 20's or 
30's.  There he is sitting on the varnished wheelbox, one hand on one spoke 
of the traditional wooden wheel, surrounded by all the varnished cockpit 
coamings, and the wood blocks and wooden booms overhead.  Sure, he looks 
great sitting there, the sun on his weatherbeaten face, his loose white 
cotton shirt luffing in the breeze.  He looks more like a pirate than a 
cruising sailor!!

So sure, a wheel may look nice too, even if it a SS destroyer type wheel, 
attached to a white binacle, which has its own plastic engine controls, and 
stainless steel pipes going verticaly to help hold up and protect the wheel 
and binnacle.

If the boat is properly balanced, meaning the mast step position and the rake 
of the mast, and the choice of sails for a given wind and sea are all 
correct, not much  force should be needed at the tiller. So unless the 
skipper has very distinct tastes, or has a disability which is of course a 
valid reason for choosing any piece of gear that can help. I personaly would 
never choose a wheel.  If a boat I wanted to buy, because she had everything 
I wanted, had a wheel, I would remove it, and install/reinstall a tiller.

But that's just my opinion :)

Lee
Stargazer 255




 961192918.0