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On 4 Sep 2004 20:41:54 -0700, (Rolf) wrote:

In the last few years there has been a trend on sailboats boats over
40 ft to go to dual ( smaller) steering wheels, one on each side of
the cockpit. Presumably this is to avoid the problems of getting
around the wheel and easy access to the back. Many large racing boats
of course have had dual wheels for a long time, to give the helmsman a
better view.
What are the pros and cons of two wheels instead of one wheel?

How effective is it to use smaller wheels?

What are the mechanical pitfalls of having two wheels? I realize that
Pilot house boats nearly always have two wheels and therfore I don't
expect too many mechanical problems?

Rolf

The extra gear means, of course, extra wear and maintainence
without any advantage. I use a single wheel and stand/sit on the
windward side. The larger single wheel gives better response with less
strength.
The only advantage I can imagine is marketing and eye-appeal to
charterers. Two wheels certainly take more space, both topsides and
below, than a single larger wheel.
The only possible real advantage would be having two totally
seperate steering systems. In the rare case of a steering failure, you
would have a back up system. Most boats carry an emergency tiller
rather than having two complete systems installed.
Our windvane steers via the wheel. But our auto-pilot drive
connects directly to the rudder stock, giving us a back up system if
the wheel system fails.