On 24 Sep 2005 06:42:01 -0700, "~^ beancounter ~^"
wrote:

After 25 years of wheel-mania, however, things may be changing, just a
bit. I saw that a brand new Jenneau SO 32
http://www.cruisingworld.com/article...=395&catID=565

nice info "R"...i always pictured a tiller as a firmly attached antenna
protruding
up, and out of the rudder...throwing out all sorts of useful
information...i guess
on boats under 35 feet, or so....tillers would be better, coupled w/a
great auto
pilot system....

Better for some, not for others. There's nothing wrong with a wheel
even on a 27 footer or so, but the tendency has been to install wheels
in all cruisers and some racers without actually thinking of the solid
advantages a tiller possesses, and ignoring some of the potential
downsides of a wheel.

That said, if my boat had come with a wheel and not a tiller, I highly
doubt I would have torn it out. My biggest ergometric problem is that
I have to crouch a bit and blindly feel for the gear shift when I'm
docking, as the engine controls are low in the side of the port
cockpit locker. With a wheel, they are almost always immediately at
hand.

R.