Steering considerations

Designer Ian Farrier provides various options for the steering system on the F-39. Unfortunately, none of these meets my needs.

There are two kinds of sailors: those who like tillers and those who like wheels. Like almost everything in boats, the wheel-versus-tiller debate is highly subjective and both systems have their own pros and cons. I have always had boats with tiller steering, and that alone is a good reason for a change. One of the key advantages of a tiller—simplicity with only a few moving parts—does not really apply in the F-39 centre cockpit. In practice, a tiller here would still need some kind of mechanical transmission to reach the rudder stock, just like wheel steering does.

Then there is the matter of space. A tiller divides the cockpit into a starboard and port side. In a relatively small cockpit this compromises access to the coveted space under the dodger. A wheel, on the other hand, divides the cockpit into a forward and aft part, giving the helmsman a dedicated area. I much prefer that to a sweeping tiller. Standing behind a wheel while manoeuvring in close quarters is, in my opinion, more comfortable than having a tiller between your knees. Personal taste, of course.

So, for me there are enough reasons to go with a wheel.

Next question: what size? A wheel small enough to easily walk past is not what I want—otherwise I would have bought a sports boat. So I went as big as possible, which turned out to be a 900 mm wheel with the centre at +800 mm.

With these basic choices made, the next step is the hardest one: selecting the transmission system. Roughly there are four basic types, in order of my preference:

1. Rack-and-pinion steering – robust and straightforward, with good rudder feel;
2. Transmission steering – robust, with good rudder feel;
3. Cable or rope steering – in my opinion too prone to faults, therefore not an option for me;
4. Hydraulic steering – no rudder feel, therefore also not an option for me.