Do you lock your wheel?

[Sailm8]

Labor Day weekend we were anchored for 4 days. Every evening there was a hellacious storm with high winds and sharp waves usually building against the tide. My boat was wildly swinging from side to side on a 10:1 rode. My pedestal does not have wheel lock so the wheel freewheels from side to side as the boat swings. During the last storm Sunday night I decided to tie the wheel to see if that would damper the swinging.

Unfortunately, a large ketch anchored close by, drug anchor down on us (close but no hit) and I got distracted and was never able to evaluate the result of tying down the wheel. What is your experience? Does this over stress the rudder?

 

[Stu Jackson]

I've had evenings, even when it's calm, that the wheel wants to spin. Whenever i use the wheel lock, I never tighten it to the threshold of pain, but just snug. Saves the brake pads.

Without a wheel lock, your idea of tying it off makes sense. You could always rig up a quick release knot (like a highwaymans) or just a loop and a carabiner.

Here are the tradeoffs:

--- little stress on the rudder when the wheel is locked - it's not fighting anything more than you'd throw at it when sailing, right?


--- NOT tying it off means you ARE stressing the entire rest of the steering system.

I'd suggest tying it off.

 

[Joe]

Stu and 'm8... would something with a little give, such as nylon line or elastic cord change the dynamic... perhaps a little less stress on the system? or No? I'm a tiller person but the same thing has happened... the boat will wander... tried the anchor sail method, which helps but the tiller still wanders with passing boat wakes.

 

[slaume]

I lock my wheel whenever the boat is at rest. The system was designed to handle the stress of steering but I just don't want the wear and tear of the rudder flopping back and forth while pushing the steering system around. I sit on a mooring all summer so it would be constantly working the rudder and wearing away at the rudder bearings.

It just seems right to keep the movement to a minimum, Steve.

 

[Scott T-Bird]

I just center the rudder and snug the wheel down with a bungee. I loop it around the pedestal and hook the spokes. Not so tight that it doesn't move at all. Just tight enough to let it wander a little bit.

When I need to steer (without removing the bungee), I can easily override it as the hooks slide up the spokes to the hub when I turn the wheel hard over. I find that no matter how sloppy the boat wakes might be when we're anchored, the rudder is always centered with just a slight amount of movement to ease the stress. The rudder never slams against the stops like it would if the wheel was untethered.

I think the lock makes it too rigid, which also might add to stressing the system, besides it simply isn't necessary.

BTW, I also deploy it when I'm sailing, or even motoring at lower speeds. When the rig is balanced, I find that I can leave the wheel alone and she'll stay on course. The only time it doesn't work well is when I motor at cruising speed ... my offset prop shaft overrides the strength of the bungee to hold the boat on course.

When I'm steering a normal course, it is deployed but doesn't affect my movements. When I let the wheel go, it will eventually wander off course, but normally, I can get enough time to leave the wheel for quick tasks, even making it to the head and back on occasion. Basically, I have my bungee restraint deployed about 95% of the time. I generally remove it only for docking maneuvers. So I have it fixed to the pedestal ready for use at all times. I find it simple and very effective. It relieves the need for autopilot to a great extent.

I will sometimes drift with the wind in a particular direction by positioning the rudder and deploying the restraint. The boat will actually sail along at drifting speed in a straight line. I'll point the boat in a specific direction downwind, but generally across the wind, let her drift and read a magazine as a cooling breeze keeps the cockpit comfortable. With the bungee restraint, I can make the boat drift in a very specific direction.

 

[Lee Hadjiosif]

If you have a wheel lock you should always use it. At anchor and at the slip. Otherwise, the constant rocking of the rudder will stress the entire system.
Lee

 

[capta]

We lock the wheel when at anchor all the time. I really don't want it swinging lock to lock to come up hard against the stops whenever the boat swings or a wake hits us. There is no value in allowing any movement on the steering when it is not in use; it just adds wear to the system.
I haven't noticed that locking the helm reduces swing at anchor. On a mooring or at anchor, if you do not have a proper pedestal wheel lock, be careful not to incapacitate your vessel by tying the wheel so you can't get underway quickly, in an emergency.

 

[Davidasailor26]

For 29 years we kept the wheel locked at the slip, at anchor, and whenever casually sailing or motoring if we didn't feel like holding the wheel constantly. The brake and steering system were just as healthy the day we traded the boat in as when it left the factory. I'd imagine that the force on the system from the boat moving around at anchor is no worse than holding the wheel by hand while under sail, and certainly much less stressful than letting everything bang up against the stops.

 

[Jackdaw]

We lock the wheel when at anchor all the time. I really don't want it swinging lock to lock to come up hard against the stops whenever the boat swings or a wake hits us. There is no value in allowing any movement on the steering when it is not in use; it just adds wear to the system.
I haven't noticed that locking the helm reduces swing at anchor. On a mooring or at anchor, if you do not have a proper pedestal wheel lock, be careful not to incapacitate your vessel by tying the wheel so you can't get underway quickly, in an emergency.

This.

But a well designed wheel lock can always be overridden by simply turning the wheel.

 

[Sailm8]

Thanks for the responses. It looks like locking the wheel is the preferred procedure while at anchor. I like the bungee cord method since my wheel does not have a locking mechanism and would be easy to disconnect in a hurry.

 

[Rich Stidger]

I use a bungy to keep the wheel centered without using the wheel brake. My wheel brake on my Whitman Steering system squeaks when the rudder tries to turn the wheel. The squeak is very annoying, so I use a bungy. The attached picture is quite old. I now tie the bungy to the forward console guard and hook the end hooks onto the vertical spoke when the wheel is centered.