Building a ship's wheel.

[HarryH]

I would like to build a functional wheel for a 23' inboard and am looking for inspiration. I see the Bookstore here has "25 Woodworking Projects" by Spectre with plans for a ship's wheel therein, but before I buy the book it would be nice to see a pic or two.

I prefer a good looking but practical wheel, as it's home will be more pleasure/working boat than yacht. Where can I find plans/ideas?

[Ian McColgin]

Regardless of the exact plan, one very good winkle is to build a really stout pivot for a router.

Usually you have 6 spokes. The circle of wood that embraces the spokes is usually made up of three layers of six parts each, butt joints staggered so on the outside of each face you see the butts between the spokes and middle layer lands against the spoke which, where it goes through this wooden wheel, is left square.

Here's a helpful trick. Once you have the 12 planks laid out in their straight shapes screw them together from one side (use the final pattern of screw holes) into a good stout bit of particle board with a nice verticle rigid pipe up from the center. From this you can make a pivot for your router and nicely shape the wood in several passes from each side. The two outer layers are proud of the spokes but often not by their whole thickness as this can look clunkey. The inner layer is proud (along the radius) from the outer layers, giving a pleasing aspect.

I'll bet Dave Flemming has some ideas on good porportions.

At anyrate, the pivot and router allow good control for rounding the four male and two female curves you'll want to make both inside and outside.

I think there was a WB article that came out a bit after a friend built his rather elegant wheel just this way.

G'luck.

[holzbt]

"A YANKEE WAY WITH WOOD" by Phyllis Meras has a very good chapter on wheel building. The book should be available through your library. Hubs are available from EDSON (http://www.edsonmarine.com/traditional/index.html).

[ 12-04-2004, 04:59 PM: Message edited by: holzbt ]

[mmd]

"Build a Traditional Ship's Wheel" Parts 1 & 2, WoodenBoat editions 107 & 108. Can't do better'n that.

[HarryH]

wow....you guys certainly live up to the rep of this board for providing timely and experienced help...

Much thanks...I am going to run down those articles/books.

Ian, nothing better than woodworking tips from one who knows...thank you.

_H

[Dave Fleming]

Dunno if you are after a spoked(handled) wheel or a destroyer wheel type.

Either way for a good design, I like the one John Guzzwell shows how to make in his well written book.

Modern Wooden Yacht Construction: Cold Moulding, Joinery, Fitting Out
ISBN: 0877421064
Pub: International Marine 1979

For a boat of that size I dunno if I would want a Handled Wheel. I lean more to a Destroyer myself.

To a certain extent the proportions will be governed by the wood chosen.
Time to get out the drafting paper, compass,trammel set, dividers,rule and sharpen the pencils, I'm thinkin'.

[Ian McColgin]

Spoked v spoked with rim v destroyer.

???

I always thought I wanted to have a rim on my spoked wheel on Goblin. I moved that wheel to Granuaile after Goblin's demise, replacing the destroyer wheel Grana came with, more for nostalgia and beauty but I really like to handle it better.

My friend who built a beautiful spoked wheel for his boat but a rim on it to prevent sheets from fouling and to avoid anything too painful should he fall against it.

I've lots of friends with destroyer type wheel.

What I've learned:

I've yet to foul sheets on the spokes of a wheel. Occasionally one might foul a sheet on the axel of a wheel but that could happen with any wheel. I heard of one person who fouled a sheet because it was layhing across the top of the wheel and the spokes carried it to wrap around the axel when he turned. I cannot begin to imagine why the sheet was across the top of the wheel or why he did not clear it. I do not consider the risk of fouling a line on the spokes a hazard in a well laid out cockpit with moderatly alert crew.

Painful landings. At first this seems an actual issue, especially if you're furling the sail while straddeling the helm box and you look down at those phallic shapes just waiting to enter some bodily cavity. But in the normal run of things, one is rarely above the wheel in conditions that might foster a fall and rarely so far to weather that you'd have dangerous momentum in a fall. Usually you're ahead of or behind the wheel when something aweful happens, like a massive boarding see poops you and slams the helmsman into the wheel, breaking ribs and such. Still, not the spokes that do the damage.

I don't see that putting a rim outside the spokes really adds to safety, despite the theoretical possibility that it should.

The open spokes are lovely for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it's easier to teach the one spoke rule. New helmsmen always over steer. Say you're on a beat - easiest place to learn a straight course. Usually the king spoke - the one that's straight up when the helm's amidships and thus the one you lathed a couple of grooves in so you can tell it by feel on a stark and dormy night - is a bit to weather and the next spoke is about upright if your weather helm is normal. Anyhow, have your helmsman hold that upright spoke in his or her best hand and not let go. All course corrections should be made with small enough motions that the dexter hand need not leave the spoke.

Destroyer wheels and rimmed wheels are normally marked with a turks head or something where the king spoke ould be and you can tell the helmsman to keep his or her hand in one place but it's just not the same.

On my boats, I found that in a fast tack or gybe I could turn the spoked wheel faster with one hand than I can even with two hands on a rimmed wheel. Sorta like the old (now mostly illegal) sissy knob on a '50's vintage automobile. I sail alone a lot so it's good to have one hand free for the sheets. Two hands even, as the spoked wheel lends itself more readily to being handled by feet.

You can turn a rimmed wheel one handed or by foot, but not quite as handily.

Finally, I personally abhore shaft breaks on wheels. They are never firm enough to hold the rudder if you're backing anyway. They shake loose when you're hove-to, usually somewhere in the thirteenth hour of misery. I keep a three becket lines available to secure the helm. One is just a line. One has a very heavy rubber snubber worked in. And one has some lighter bungee worked in. When the boat's at her mooring or hove-to I use the plain line and heavy snubber to really secure the helm but give just a little shock absorbtion, which you only need on one side. When sailing, I set up the lighter bungee from the weather side to the top of the wheel go give a bit of return spring but still allow the wheel some motion so Grana can hunt her wind a little.

Yeah, you can lash any wheel. But with a spoked wheel you can use the tuggy's hitch which is easy on, easy off, never jams, and won't shake loose.

Finally, having this rig allows for a new order prior to any evolution: "Cast off the beckets," will give the already cocky skipper that extra swagger that in a mere mortal would be over the top.

[Mike Field]

Originally posted by Ian McColgin:
All course corrections should be made with small enough motions that the dexter hand need not leave the spoke.So you'd say this little chap's over-steering a bit would you, Ian?

http://www.woodenboatfittings.com.au/public/smiley-helmsman.gif
.

[Dave Fleming]

Silly me, I thought we were talking about a inboard motor boat steering wheel!

For a sailing vessel...depends on the boat. Some will be best with a spoked wheel whilst others a destroyer type.

Either way it is a challenge to do right.

Spoked, with the layup of 3 layers of felloes, setting the spokes, installing the hub.

Destroyer, lots of googe lamination etc..

It all comes down to good layout, jig construction, wood selection, assembly, finishing.