Bruce J Loughton
Earleville MD
Boat Name:
Model/Year: C22 70 something
Hull No.
Hailing Port: Bohemia River |
 11/10/2008 2:20 PM Pacific Time
I have a C22 (1977 I think) and need more room in the cockpit. Has anyone converted from tiller to wheel steering or am I on my own here. I am able to do this and have come up with a design but if there is an off the shelf conversion kit with all the hardware I'd be keen to hear about it. I've requested info from Cat Direct but have'nt heard back yet. Also has anyone got a kit for a push down / pull up rod for a swing rudder, again I can come up with something but wonder if theres already something out there.
Thanks. |
David Torrisi
Santa Clara, CA
Boat Name: Dumbo
Model/Year: 1975 C-22
Hull No. 4330
Hailing Port: Santa Clara |
11/10/2008 5:43 PM Pacific Time
Bruce,
Check out this C22:
http://www.catalina27.org/Fleet4/BOAT.html
It had just about everything done to it that would make it more 'big boat'.
David |
Boat Name:
Model/Year:
Hull No.
Hailing Port: |
11/12/2008 6:14 AM Pacific Time
Hi Bruce,
We have seen the tiller to wheel conversion done, but don't know the manufacturer. Issues are the extra weight, small diameter of the wheel, loss of
"feel" and getting around the wheel in the cockpit. Do you need the room while sailing or just when at anchor?
Tom Beaumont
Quixotic, West River, Chesapeake #7555 |
Erv Zimmerman
Anchor Bay Shores, Michigan
Boat Name: Adventuring
Model/Year: 1973
Hull No. 1787
Hailing Port: Anchor Bay, Lake St. Clair |
11/13/2008 1:15 PM Pacific Time
Years ago I "kluged" together a simple wheel steering system for those late autumn evenings when I had to sail 15 miles home alone.
It worked great, didn’t clutter up the cockpit and allowed me to stand inside the cabin out of the cold wind. A major drawback was that it blocked the companionway. On the plus side: It was easily removed and stowed out of the way.
Materials:
1 wheel with a round "drum" on the back
1 piece 3/8" plywood cut to replace the companionway center hatch board
4 small bullet blocks
1 long length of 1/4" line (approx 20ft?)
4 short lengths of 1/4" line (approx 3ft?) to attach the bullet blocks
Mount the wheel/drum to the center of the hatch board and install it in place of the regular hatch board.
Use a piece of the 1/4" line as a pendant to attach a bullet block to each of the stern mooring cleats. This allows the blocks to be located near the forward end of the tiller. My current boat has a stern pulpit, so I just attach the blocks to its base.
Attach the remaining 2 blocks to the base of the stanchions near the rear of the doghouse.
Attach one end of the long line to the front of the tiller, route it through the bullet blocks on one side of the cockpit, wrap it 2 or 3 times around the drum on the back of the wheel, through the bullet blocks on the other side of the cockpit and finally attach the end TO the tiller where you started.
You will need to use a bungee to tension the “steering” line or somehow attach it to the drum so it doesn’t slip when the wheel is turned.
One improvement might be to permanently mount the blocks in their “proper” locations. If anyone feels the need, I could make a simple drawing to show the arrangement.
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Bruce J Loughton
Earleville MD
Boat Name:
Model/Year: C22 70 something
Hull No.
Hailing Port: Bohemia River |
11/17/2008 12:50 PM Pacific Time
Thanks for the responses guys.......I'll take the advice into consideration.
My motivation here is to teach my children to sail (better) I'm trying to get basically 4 big people in the cockpit....my idea is to mount a wheel on the stern with a sytem of pullies to a reverse tiller, if that makes sense. Please keep up with the info and ideas, when I get done I'll post the pics. |
Erv Zimmerman
Anchor Bay Shores, Michigan
Boat Name: Adventuring
Model/Year: 1973
Hull No. 1787
Hailing Port: Anchor Bay, Lake St. Clair |
11/18/2008 12:48 AM Pacific Time
More to consider (or not!) Mount the wheel near the transom, add a quadrant (extending aft from the pintles/gudgeons) to the top of the rudder, forget the front 2 blocks and use a shorter piece of rope for the steering line.
The quadrant keeps the effective length of the "tiller" from changing as the rudder turns. If the port and starboard steering lines do not enter the quadrant 180 degrees apart, the quadrant will need to be more than 90 degrees. You may also want to make it greater than 90 degrees so you can turn the rudder more than 45 degrees each way. Too many degrees and you may run into inteference with the other items on/near the transom.
To coordinate the direction the boat turns with the direction the wheel is turned, all that's necessary is to change the direction the line is wrapped around the drum.
You will probably want the radius of the drum on the wheel to be smaller than the radius of the quadrant. This will make the steering less sensitive and require less force to turn the wheel. If you make it too small, the boat may be difficult to maneuver in close quarters.
Let us know what you finally come up with! |
Austin Cooley
Honeoye Falls, NY
Boat Name: Wings of the Morning
Model/Year: Catalina 22, 1983
Hull No. 11602
Hailing Port: Keuka Lake, Branchport, NY |
11/18/2008 5:58 PM Pacific Time
A tiller is the most fundimental thing in sailing next to the sails themselves. Teach your kids to use a rudder and everyone else to be agile in the cockpit. Your kids will learn to use a wheel when the learn to drive a car. Sailing is something else.
Austin Cooley |
Jim Sherwood
Westerville, Ohio
Boat Name: Who Cares
Model/Year: 1972
Hull No. 2186
Hailing Port: Westerville, Ohio |
11/18/2008 6:12 PM Pacific Time
Austin,
Well said. I agree. Ain't nothing like the real thing!
Jim
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