"John Cairns" wrote:
Pretty clever, if your wheel takes up as much space
in your cockpit as mine does. Don't say anything about
wheels vs. tillers, mine came with the boat, seems
to be the habit amongst most builders these days.

http://www.lewmar.com/news/news_display.asp?newsid=140

Now, that's clever. Why don't they just have an inflatable steering wheel,
that'd get out of the way pretty quick.


wrote:
An alternative on the new-model Beneteaus is to have a pivoting
steering column ("a patented wheel that rotates 90 degrees -
Beneteau's answer to the industry-wide desire to open the passage
straight through the cockpit from the transom, and . . . simpler than
twin helm stations"). See, http://beneteauusa.com/news/323.php

Now that's cool, especially if you can still steer with it rotated to the
side. It's like a hiking stick for a steering wheel!



Lewmar, like Beneteau (in a somewhat different way), advertises "fast
action" in the folding/unfolding mechanism (or, in Benteau's case, of
the wheel's pivoting); and I don't doubt that each has tested their
devices in stressful conditions.

hmmm, not so sure. A lot of times these kinds of things are fine until the
boat is driving hard and then hits a wave, throwing the helmsman's (or a
couple of peoples) weight against it.



Still, I remain skeptical about safety, if one tries to use (whichever
of these) thing(s) while operating the boat boat and, if one wants
wants extra space or relatedly more cockpit ingress/egress while on a
mooring or at anchor or in a slip, why not simply (for most, in just a
few seconds - right?) just unscrew the wheel and lash it to some
secure and more out-of-the-way place?

My wife and I chartered a boat a few years ago that had a quick release
hub on the steering wheel. While it did free up the cockpit a bit for
partying, we both thought it was a stupd feature. Maybe it would make
sense for a live aboard who spent long periods using the cockpit for other
functions. Call me old fashioned, I don't mind that the cockpit of my
sailboat is a bit inconvenient for other things, and less like a suburban
patio or tiki bar, as long as it is efficient & effective for sailing.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King