Steering Wheel V's Tiller

[Guest]

I seem to recall it took someone's wife a good deal longer than that to become confident steering a narrow boat. But maybe we expect less of the little ladies, eh.

 

Gender doesn't come into it - strange how you often seem to fall back on that issue to prop up your arguments.

 

Anyway I seem to recall also we were were relatively infrequent hirers initially which of course affects how much practice one gets. If she still had lacked confidence and hadn't had somebody who could teach her I would have said the same, pay for a boat handling course which is something we very nearly did, but in the end decided it was an unnecessary expense.

 

 

 

 

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Edited January 25, 2012 by MJG

[Biggles]

That is a relatively cheap way of doing it but, if you have a stub visible from the steering position (I'm assuming that you will mount the wheel on the back face of the cabin but I may be wrong), then you could always just fabricate a pointer that goes on the top of the stub of the rudder stock (removable to fit your emergency rudder if required). Some large hotel barges that I have seen do something like this with decorative fish etc acting as the pointer. The only other downside to the gravity gauge that you mention and the pointer that I have suggested is that they aren't illuminated which can be of use in tunnels (the locks in many parts of France close in the evening so I doubt that you'll be doing much night boating). I'm not sure how long the self-adhesive fixing for your gravity gauge would last if your wheel is mounted externally and exposed to the weather either but it might be OK.

Roger

 

 

The stub is on the other side of the dodger and the wheel under cover. I think I will just get a gravity gauge to start with and see where I go from there.

[Timleech]

I think I will just get a gravity gauge to start with and see where I go from there.

 

Some manual hydraulic systems lose their coordination between wheel & rudder if overwound, presume the gravity indicator will then tell you porkies?

 

Tim

[Albion]

Some manual hydraulic systems lose their coordination between wheel & rudder if overwound, presume the gravity indicator will then tell you porkies?

 

Tim

Ah, good point Tim (confirmed in my post #24 so it does happen and isn't just my speculation). That why the normal indicator, sensed from the rudder stock, is always true no matter where the wheel is. I have certainly found that the helm wheel creeps a bit on my hydraulic system; not hugely but it does happen to some extent.

Roger

 

Edited to add that I have just noticed Kevin that the next poster on the DBA to the one that suggested the gravity device said that it only works on a mechanical steering system so that suggests that they are aware of the situation of wheel creep with hydraulic systems. Just a thought.

Edited January 25, 2012 by Albion

[Biggles]

Ah, good point Tim (confirmed in my post #24 so it does happen and isn't just my speculation). That why the normal indicator, sensed from the rudder stock, is always true no matter where the wheel is. I have certainly found that the helm wheel creeps a bit on my hydraulic system; not hugely but it does happen to some extent.

Roger

 

Edited to add that I have just noticed Kevin that the next poster on the DBA to the one that suggested the gravity device said that it only works on a mechanical steering system so that suggests that they are aware of the situation of wheel creep with hydraulic systems. Just a thought.

 

Hmm! that's a good point. Surely on balance the creep will even it's self out.

 

I will email Davis and see what they say.

 

ETA. From their information. Suitable for boats with mechanical and single station hydraulic steering systems

 

Mine is single station.

Edited January 25, 2012 by Biggles