Agreed. it depends on boat size and also depends on the underside of the cockpit sole to see if there is adequate room to install the wheel apparatus if the rudder post is inside the boat. If the rudder is hung on the transom, there are other types of wheel apparatus for those applications. On a smaller boat, or a boat that one races, perhaps, the tiller does give you a more finite feel and the response time is less than with a wheel. But, if the boat gets too large, and has a very large rudder, one person handling the tiller can be a chore in extreme conditions. Sometimes you have to have a few peeps hanging on. With a wheel, there is some built in mechanical advantage so that difficult steering is pretty much non existent, with the exception of dealing with big waves, but that is not a matter of the wheel itself, as it still works the usual way - that is a matter more of skill and technique. Most helmspeeps not versed in that situation tend to over steer and swing the wheel back and forth as each wave hits the boat. In reality one can find a sweet spot and let the boat find itself on course as the wave action varies. When racing, pushing the rudder to and fro only slows the boat, but finding that sweet spot is best for more consistent boat speed. Sorry - I digress. The cockpit itself has to be considered in terms of how much space the wheel or the sweep of the tiller requires or takes up. And, if you get a big wheel, getting around it can be more difficult if you have to climb over the cockpit seat to get behind the wheel. Young people don't complain about such things, but older sailors might. The larger the wheel, the more room it takes up, and the easier it is to steer. Downsizing a wheel won't make that much of a difference in steering, unless it's tiny, but you can maybe walk around it. The T-shaped cockpit was designed with this in mind to accommodate the wheel better. There are also collapsible and oddly shaped wheels to deal with getting around them - it is a matter of choice. Of course the collapsible wheels are only collapsed while at the dock or swinging on the hook and not while sailing. So, if you need to get around the wheel while underway, the collapsible wheel won't be of much help in that situation. My guess is the question was initially asked either because someone is either thinking about going one way or the other on an existing boat, or they are shopping and wondering what emphasis they should apply to that criteria. If you find a boat with a wheel, then it makes sense to leave it that way. Some boats come standard with a tiller and have a wheel upgrade available for extra $$$. Besides the addition of parts, sometimes the deck mold is different from the deck where a tiller is used and so that can change the price too. Someone mentioned twin helms. That applies usually to larger and much wider boats where one wheel in the middle is swapped for a wheel on each side of the boat. That way the helms person can sit or stand in either position and get a better look at sail trim that might not be so easy with a wheel in the middle (and you don't want to leave the wheel to look at a genoa trim, for instance). Someone also mentioned stops on wheels and that tillers don't have stops. Well tillers do when an outboard hung rudder head hits the transom, or the tiller hits the stern rail (examples). Newer and more modern boats with wheels take only a few complete turns to go from stop to stop, where older boats will have wheels that will rotate many more times to go from stop to stop. That is a matter of design and improvements in technology. But, I've never heard anyone complaining about a well found boat not being able to turn adequately when using a wheel under 99% of usual operation.
