BIG WHEEL vs SMALL WHEEL

[twodzusfittings]

I took a winter and wrapped my 26" with Robline cord, mounted my Raymarine Auto Wheel and have used it for the last four years. I recently acquired a 22" Helm Wheel. Now that I'm all winterized, I brought my 26" wheel home, transferred the Auto pilot wheel and clutch system to the 22" with the intentions of mounting it for next season. Now why did I do that? I find it sometimes difficult to maneuver around the helm when needing to go forward or to adjust the boom or trim the sails. My large stomach gets in the way!!! So rather than dieting and getting my waist line down, I'm hoping the smaller wheel will help. Is it harder to steer when heeling with a smaller wheel. Up until my current boat I have only had tiller experience. I sometimes miss the feel of the tiller and the feeling of "being, in one with the boat". May I ask the wisdom of the group, how much difference will it make.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

My boat came with a whopping 40" wheel. I went down to a 28". I wouldn't want to go any smaller even though it gets in the way. You've already done the work of moving everything to the smaller one. Might as well give it a try!

Sailing with a wheel feels sterile compared to a tiller. Or maybe my O'Day just had way more character than my Catalina

 

[Davidasailor26]

Keep in mind the wheel diameter affects not just the leverage you get but also how easy it is to steer from the rail. I sit behind the wheel when motoring, and sometimes running downwind, but sailing to windward I almost always sit to leeward. For me the visibility of the jib and of the water to leeward is much better there. A smaller diameter wheel would make it very hard to reach the wheel from there and that would be a dealbreaker for me. Your boat your choice though, so if you sit behind the wheel all the time (or you’ve got the arms of an orangutan ) go with whichever wheel suits you.

 

[dlochner]

You will lose a lot of leverage by going to a smaller wheel. And as @Davidasailor26 says it will be harder to steer the boat from the rail.

 

[Tally Ho]

My O’Day 322 came with a 40” wheel. I like it. Yes, a little more work to get around the wheel, but I tried a 28” wheel, and found it took a lot more muscle to steer in strong winds, waves, etc.



Greg

 

[colemj]

The 22" wheel will require ~25% more effort to turn than the 28" wheel. Whether that is significant is dependent on the friction, forces, and balance of your particular boat.

The 22" wheel will also be more responsive in the sense that it takes smaller amounts of turning to achieve the same rudder response. If this is too much, the steering will be twitchy.

It all comes down to put the smaller wheel on and see how it works.

Mark

 

[Apex]

i always thought it was more about steering from the rail. Opposite of @Davidasailor26 I steer from the high-side. The coming is slanted just-so and at heel that surface is flat. Note twin wheel ships of today's era....smaller wheels set outboard to allow center access to the transom.

Of course effort will be greater with a smaller wheel (smaller leverage) but with rig and sails balanced wheel effort should be very light or non-existent. THAT is when handling the wheel puts you back in-tune with your boat. Because I love the maths, it is 18.2% more force required to apply the same torque as before. 1/2lb force to hold the wheel? now 2/3lb. 5lbs, now 6. yes a change, but I would summize manageable.

 

[jssailem]

In regards to your hand feel, the choice is very much personal. I enjoyed the feel of the tiller in my hand. The slight release or pull to adjust the angle of attack.

Yes the 22” will feel different. It will require more effort on your part and each degree of turning will exhibit less precision (as explained by Mark in #6 above.) Boats are a series of compromises. In this case ease of movement about the cockpit for a different steering response.

You mentioned your Wheel AP. You may need to recalibrate the AP. Perhaps change from racing mode to cruising mode. You will have to test and adjust till you can achieve your desired results. As for effort the diameter of the wheel AP has not changed. So the effort should be similar on the AP motor. The change it will feel is the difference in mass of the wheel. That is what may affect the steering results.

Good luck. I can hardly wait to hear about your experience in the spring.
Hoping for success.

 

[twodzusfittings]

All good thoughts.

 

[Stu Jackson]

with rig and sails balanced wheel effort should be very light or non-existent. THAT is when handling the wheel puts you back in-tune with your boat.

This is a very astute reply, thanks for that. Yes, sail trim is essential to boat balance and, hence, pressure on whatever is being used to control the rudder. My first two boats had tillers, this one has a wheel. Once balanced, I can sit behind the wheel and touch one of the spokes every so often with my pinkie finger; that's all it takes. And that's all it should take. Going upwind, my boat essentially steers itself. I just really enjoy that sense of balance.