I'm ready to set up my steering. Because I built my wheel before the boat I'd like to use it, at least for a while. The tiller is simpler, but does sacrifice space in the cockpit. That said, does anyone have a simplified method for installing the steering shaft? The plans are kind of vague, no angle specified to drill through the shaft support plate, oiled felt as a bearing. Any clarifications or tips? I want a setup that lasts, and is fairly sturdy. To me, the shaft bearing is crucial, as well as the attachment of the end of the shaft to the stem, to allow it to turn. Those may be the two weakest points in the entire set of plans! Any help appreciated!
Dave
PS:Â My comment about the weakness of the design is in no way an indictment of the Stevensons and their excellent plan!
Dave:
I actually incorporated a bunch of ideas from the Stevenson's pedal cars into my steering.
The shaft should end up more or less parallel with the tiller - it's one of those things you just have to "eyeball".
The shaft itself is made of galvanized pipe with a floor flanged used to connect to the wheel. Â Because I wanted to have less turns of the wheel for steering, the center piece of the shaft is a larger dimension pipe. Â I drilled holes through each of the fittings and put in a nail to keep things together.
I put a reducer on the end of the shaft that goes down to a size just slightly bigger than the pivot bolt. Â There's a pivot bolt sticking through the transom of the boat with a spacer block on it that the shaft sits on.
To install it, the pivot bolt is mostly removed, as is the floor flange. Â I insert the shaft, screw in the pivot bolt and spin on the wheel. Â A cotter pin through the floor flange and wheel keeps that in place.
To hold the line in place on the shaft, I screwed on a small metal clip.
I think the pictures below are worth a few thousand words.
I like the wheel on mine. One rotation of the wheel will get you full rudder throw, and it is easy to get used to turning the wheel instead of a tiller. I occasionally sail other people's boats with tillers and the I find that using the wheel all the time on my boat does not erode the intuitive use of the tiller on other peoples' boats. I don't think cockpit space with a tiller is an issue because you can make it so it hinges up when switching sides.
The only time I wish I had a tiller is when I am sailing in higher winds by myself, I would like to lean out further but then I can't reach the wheel. A tiller with an extension would make this easier. Other than that the wheel is great and looks nice too. I'm not going to replace it.