Wheels. Why so large? Why two?

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by Tillsbury

Helmsman not a lookout? What are you thinking?

I like to helm a lot of the time. Sure, I flick it to auto every now and then to have a coffee, muck with sails, that kind of thing. I'd say on any passage of more than 24 hours I'd be actually helming for at least half of the time I'm on watch. Enjoying the sailing, feeling the wind and picking the best angle, or making life more comfortable for everyone else when running with a rolly sea.

And I'm certainly a better lookout when I'm helming than any other time. It's when you're really concentrating on things outside the boat rather than within.

Under US regulations the helmsman is not a lookout. Makes the whole singl handed thing a tough question. This rule is mostly enforced for commercial vessels, ignored for us lowlife.

Our boat is 40 tons, 58 feet. In big sea state it is work to maintain heading for long. Over any significant time, Auto does way better than I can. I can’t imagine hand steering 1500 miles from the Cheasapeake to Antigua. Besides, when dolphins show up, everyone heads for the bow.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by waterman46

If someone was to give me a boat with two wheels, I would immediately remove one pedestal and install a big cockpit table or instrument panel in its place. The reason for two wheels is to give a racing helmsman a view from the lee side, underneath a decksweeping genoa jib. Cruisers have high clewed genoas for roller furling so there is no need to steer from the lee side - center position is just fine. And if we want to race, we usually just crew on someone else's boat who can afford all the go-fast rigging, gear and breakage that racing entails.

Umm... I'm a cruiser, albeit with a performance oriented cruising boat. I have a fairly high clewed genoa, and its tack is up a ways to boot. When not heeled, I can see to leeward from the center helm position. But, when heeled much at all, this is not the case, and in some traffic situations, I choose to steer from the leeward rail, peering under the sail. In such situations, I'd love to have dual wheels. Our stern is wider than an IOR boat, wider than a CCA boat, but not so wide as a modern "pizza slice" boat... the kind that come with dual wheels. So I deny that cruisers can not benefit from dual wheels in a modern cruising boat... I think they are appropriate for such designs and are appreciated by the owners thereof, and not just because they think they look "cool".

Jim

[bensolomon]

The other reason for twin wheels may be twin rudders. Better rudder "bite" when heeling.

[Dr. Sea]

O my Beneteau 50 I had twin wheels. On my Oyster 55 I have a single wheel. The Oyster is a more serious cruising boat, and we have sailed some long blue water passages on it, but I still prefer the twin wheels. I could see the sails better from the rail and it was easy to get comfortable leaning against the split backstay. Sometimes I preferred to steer from the windward side and sometimes from the leeward side. Docking and access from the stern were easier with the twin wheels. It’s true that you don’t steer from the wheel much when you are well offshore, but cruising boats come to shore every now and then.

[JeffH]

Originally Posted by billknny

I took the key off the shaft on "her" wheel...

Gee! all that effort just for her not to be your partner. 8^( [emoji19]

[JeffH]

Originally Posted by billknny

LOL, ...



Of course if you really want to steer my boat for my next 1000 mile passage, I am sure I would enjoy watching that more than I enjoy watching the autopilot...

I’ll sail with you, Bill. When do we leave?

[barnakiel]

Wheels sell boats to car drivers.


b.

[cyan]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Wheels sell boats to car drivers.
b.

I thought tillers were there to sell boats to car drivers.
Really old car drivers...

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by cyan

I thought tillers were there to sell boats to car drivers.
Really old car drivers...

Indeed, Sir!

http://krisdedecker.typepad.com/.a/6...010e687970c-pi

And this one is actually not just tiller steered but even ELECTRIC (sic!)

O tempora! O mores!

Cheers,
b.

[LEOCAT66]

I never tire of the KISS method and apply it in all challenges in life if at all possible.

We enjoy the tiller for instant response and total feel combined with simplicity. In our particular boat, the tiller actually allows more room in our cockpit than a wheel would. Very OLD SCHOOL, aboard "ROSA". Full keel, Minimal electronics, small GPS plotter, debth sounder, no auto pilot, paper charts, manual windless, etc.

[David B]

Originally Posted by Jammer

I rather like tiller steering. On sailboats, I've used nothing else.


As we contemplate switching to a considerably larger boat, I'm trying to figure out what's up with wheels. So many of them just seem huge. Take up all kinds of space in the cockpit. Hard to move around. And for what purpose? The whole idea of a wheel is that there are gears or sprockets or pulleys or whatever and the whole affair can be set to any desired gear ratio, so that a boat can be controlled with modest effort without the wheel having to be seven feet across.


So, what's up with these huge wheels?


Does it make sense to retrofit a more sensible wheel on boats so equipped?


And two helm stations? I don't get it. Help me out here.

Seems to be a bit of emotion getting into this discussion, but from our perspective, we prefer twin wheels.


We have sailed single and twin-wheeled boats, and the openess of the cockpit with twin wheels is a big plus - tucked away right over to either side it gives more usable space and a clear walk-through from the stern.

I also like being able to sit or stand right out on the appropriate side when sailing, and again, twin wheels win there. For tight docking, with the engine control only on the port side, there is no big plus, but what is good is to be able to have a crew-member ready to take over on the other wheel if I need to get to something. I would not want to go back to a single wheel, but that's our preference, not everyones.

[LEOCAT66]

Two wheels, on an extremely beamy boat, are, to me, a sign that newer boats have far exceeded the normal safe limits of long respected views on basic safety. I have no desire to be thrown 15 or more feet while down below if a breaking sea hits the high side or if she falls off of he wave. Seems that most modern designs are very busy selling floating condos to wives rather than sailing boats these days.
If I needed that much room think I would stay home.

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by LEOCAT66

Two wheels, on an extremely beamy boat, are, to me, a sign that newer boats have far exceeded the normal safe limits of long respected views on basic safety. I have no desire to be thrown 15 or more feet while down below if a breaking sea hits the high side or if she falls off of he wave. Seems that most modern designs are very busy selling floating condos to wives rather than sailing boats these days.
If I needed that much room think I would stay home.

Do you ever question what you think you know?

[LEOCAT66]

Originally Posted by daletournier

Do you ever question what you think you know?

Are you suggesting that you dispute those long standing facts? If so please read more well documented instances of injuries related to those conditions, where many have suffered, from being tossed across very beamy boats. Very simple, the further one is tossed, the more damage is caused by the sudden stop.

[daletournier]

Im suggesting things move on and beliefs change. Im currently sitting in madagascar, do you know how many 40 year old double enders are anchored around me? Zero! Do i have a problem with older designed boats? No! But statements such as yours suggesting modern designs arent seaworthy shows a lack of adapting to the times.

Yacht design has changed considerably over the decades , modern boats safely and quickly are crossing oceans every year in far greater numbers than your idea of how a yacht should be.

I accept boats of yesterday, their fors and there limitations, maybe you can explore , or entertain the advantages that come with modern designs, you will find them crossing oceans and seas all around the world, some even have two wheels.