tiller to wheel switch

[taoist]

I have an interested buyer for my Tartan 37 who would prefer a wheel rather than a tiller (personally I prefer the tiller). I'm sure some have made this transition - any ideas about cost and possible issues?

[tkeithlu]

Never done it, although i did build my own steering system.

No one has spoken up, so let me make a suggestion. Fisheries Supply offers guidance on this task. This is a cut and paste from within their discussion of mounting an Edison pedestal:

QUOTE "Designing a steering system and selecting the proper components requires product knowledge and experience.
Luckily, Edson has steering system designs and lists of components for hundreds of production sailboats available. Call Fisheries Supply at 800-426-6930 and we can answer your steering system questions, guide you through the process of designing a system, or connect you with an Edson engineer who can help you with the finer points of purchasing the right components."

[taoist]

Many thanks for passing this along.

[BilgeRat]

I prefer wheel on anything over 30'. And hydraulic at that. There is usual no backlash with hydraulics. Plus, it's much easier to integrate an auto pilot.

For hydraulic, just the steering with pedestal is around $8-10K depending on the manufacturer, then another $2k+ for auto pilot.

And yes, there is feed back from the rudder if there is a changeable bypass in the system to allow it.

Cable steering would be about 25% less.

[coopec43]

I designed and installed the wheel steering on my mid cockpit 43ft ketch. I didn't find Edson much use at all as they cater for smaller yachts.

Of course there are many yachties who have been down this track. Here are a few links.

https://www.jefa.com/ftp/steering/in...eel_manual.pdf

https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ing-16640.html

https://www.sailnet.com/threads/conv...o-wheel.37108/

(I'm surprised you prefer hydraulic steering as most people I have spoken to hate it because they say they don't get any feedback)

[cat34shamrock]

I changed my 30' S2 from tiller to wheel. Suggest you talk to Edson, they were very helpful to me. I believe many Tartan 37s were wheel steering. Should be a straight forward project.
Jim

[Sailshabby]

Try contacting Edson. I did one decades ago on a boat and they had instruction (and parts) sheets for various boat models.

[waterman46]

Originally Posted by coopec43

I designed and installed the wheel steering on my mid cockpit 43ft ketch. I didn't find Edson much use at all as they cater for smaller yachts.

Of course there are many yachties who have been down this track. Here are a few links.

https://www.jefa.com/ftp/steering/in...eel_manual.pdf

https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ing-16640.html

https://www.sailnet.com/threads/conv...o-wheel.37108/

(I'm surprised you prefer hydraulic steering as most people I have spoken to hate it because they say they don't get any feedback)

Good links, but disagree about hate for hydraulic. Who wants to fight the helm (feedback) on a heavy boat, even for short periods when not on autopilot? Heavier boats require more force at the wheel, or more turns on a wheel with cable steering. At 15 tons we are very happy to have hydraulic steering and never having to worry about a cable jumping or jamming. I'd guess if the boat is 10 tons or less then having feedback would be a good thing.



A lot depends on the use of the boat. Racing, always tiller if possible. Day sailing, short trips, tiller or wheel. Long distance with autopilot, best with wheel on mid to large boat.

[double u]

Originally Posted by taoist

I have an interested buyer for my Tartan 37 who would prefer a wheel rather than a tiller.....

1500$ for counselling would be better spent than for a conversion (...if something is a "downgrade", then tiller-to-wheel is)

[Boatyarddog]

Originally Posted by taoist

I have an interested buyer for my Tartan 37 who would prefer a wheel rather than a tiller (personally I prefer the tiller). I'm sure some have made this transition - any ideas about cost and possible issues?

Depends a bit on the boat.
The cost may steer them back to a tiller.
Pedestal,quadrant, wire kit, pulleys, wheel.
Gets pricy, the feed back is better with a tiller.
As is Autopilot installs.
Boatyarddog

[zstine]

You should try posting on the Tartan owners forum.. previously yahoo group

tartanownerslist@groups.io

[roverhi]

I crossed the S&S designed Tartan 37 off my list because it didn't look like conversion to tiller would be easy. The rudder post came up in the lazarette and would have had to sacrifice the lazarette hatch to make it work. Curious how they did a tiller on your boat unless it's not the S&S 37 but the Hood designed Black Watch Tartan 37.

[captnknopf]

I have had and installed both tillers and wheel systems on boats. I think docking is much easier with a tiller as there is more feel and under way it does not matter as I am on autopilot. I installed a short SS tiller that faced the rear for the tiller pilot and sailed with the tiller hooked to the back stay most of the time, opening up the cocpit.

[sinnerman]

Pedestals and wheels are very expensive, unless you can find a salvaged one that is not all corroded ..

To me the hardest part would be the installation of the quadrant / radial wheel which attaches the steering cables to the rudder shaft. You need one that exactly matches your rudder shaft diameter. Then comes the "joy" of installing it in a very tight space..

Once that is done, the installation of the pulleys/brackets/cables would be time consuming and knuckle scraping, but pretty straightforward.

I rebuilt my steering pedestal with new parts from Edson. Take a valium before you look at their prices.

Cheers.

[Bowdrie]

Originally Posted by sinnerman

I rebuilt my steering pedestal with new parts from Edson. Take a valium before you look at their prices.
.

Quite correct and have someone standing by to catch you when you faint from sticker shock.

The OP would be miles and dollars ahead to knock-off a few bucks in price to enhance/sweeten the deal rather than deal with a steering conversion that could easily become a huge burden in cost and labor.
Let a new owner shoulder the burden.