[alberg30] steering wheel

[Bob Johns]

Hello All,

I feel the same about wheels as Lee does as far in boats the size  of an
A30. We chartered  41 footer in the Caribbean some years ago and I thought
a wheel on that boat was fine. But to put a wheel on a boat that doesn't
need it is not a good thing to do. (I almost wrote 'an abomination' instead
of 'not a good thing to do').

Peter Goeden's question yesterday about how do you service the cables,
quadrant, etc of a wheel system on an A30 indicates the added complications
that a wheel gives you. Compare the reliability of a simple tiller with the
complications of the wheel. When we used to cruise offshore to Maine we
even carried a spare tiller. The thought of dealing with a malfunctioning
wheel steering system appalls me. How many owners of wheel equipped boats
have tried out their emergency tillers? (You all do have them, I assume.)
 :-)   (The 41 foot Carrib I mentioned before had an emergency tiller - the
only problem found was that to steer with the emergency tiller installed
you had to have someone call out every move of the tiller - the tiller was
inside the aft cabin of a center cockpit boat!)

Lee said

>Some people love wheels.  They give more mechanical advantage in steering,
>some argue it is easier to fit an electric autopilot to them,....

A tiller autopilot is as easy to install as an autopilot driving the wheel
directly and much easier to install than one that drives the quadrant. With
a tiller, at anchor the cockpit is completely clear - you don't have to
maneuver around the pedestal, although, as Lee says, you can have a table
mounted on the pedestal. On Wind Call, while sailing with the autopilot the
cockpit is still almost completely clear because we have a tiller that has
an extra hinge just forward of the autopilot fitting. About 18 inches from
the rudder post is all of the cockpit space that the tiller uses when we
are using the autopilot.

>The compass in the binacle is easier to read, and may have less deviation
>than a compass in the step on the bridgedeck.

I agree with Lee that the compass would have more deviation if mounted in
the step on the bridgedeck, bur our compass is mounted on the port bulkhead
and is calibrated to within a degree with no deviation table. That step is
too close to the engine for the compass. (We have the depth sounder there.)

>You can hang thing on the
>binnacle, like sunglasses, a hat, an emergency knife, etc.

Just don't put anything magnetic there. A very experienced sailor in our
club got caught that way. Luckily, it was on a club cruise and there were
other faster boats ahead of him so it only resulted in some confusion.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Regards to all,

Bob Johns,
Wind Call #397




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