Has anyone had experience replacing the tiller on a 22 with a wheel? Opinion? Advice? Information? Thanks in advance…
Eliot
Hi Elliot, I converted mine many years ago. I used all Edson parts that they used from the factory. Edson had all the specs. My 22 was an outboard model so I had to contend with the outboard well. Wound up cutting a piece of the intenal section of it out so the parts could fit. I ran the throtle and fwd and reverse back to the motor with cables. worked like a dream. hardest part was getting a proper motor mount for the Yamaha 9.9 that i used. Boat was Adagio, I think hull #50
Eliot,
Why would you want to change from a tiller to a wheel? I would give anything if my Nonsuch 30 had a wheel. I would be glad to discuss the benefits of a tiller with you. My # is in the directory.
ron<<
Serenity II
Nonsuch 30 U 479
Gulfport, FL
I agree! In our marina, I prefer a tiller. Another reason for a 22 is attached.
Roger Mongeau, NS22 #27
Thanks for your note, Ron. The short answer about “why” I might prefer a wheel to a tiller is that I have a defective right shoulder (that will remain defective, I’m told) and imagine that a tiller might aggravate it more than I want to bear.
However, I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that if I do wind up with a 22 (vs. a 26) I’d prefer the tiller (and rely on an autopilot for relief on long hauls). Over the years that I have owned larger boats with wheels, I have missed the intimacy of my earlier days racing and beating about in small boats with tillers where the sailor is much more “at one” with the boat. (I recently purchased a Mini-Cooper S convertible with a stick shift and while whipping that thing up through the gears and downshifts rediscovered the fun of driving like I haven’t known it since I “graduated” from various true sports cars back in the '60s and '70s to fancier machines that all but drove themselves. I see the return to tiller-guided sailing as analogous.) Thanks again for your reinforcement of this inclination…
Eliot
SOLD!!!
Thanks.
Eliot
don’t forget that the tiller opens up the cockpit and does not create a ‘barrier’ that one must squeeze around in order to gain access to the back end of the cockpit.
Sashay
NS33 #7
Burlington ON
Very true. Is a nuisance even on larger boats such as my current Cape Dory cutter (now for sale to clear the way for a Nonsuch) to the point that I have considered a folding wheel. Thanks for your input.
Eliot
(Blame my iPhone for typos)
Having owned three tiller-steered, and two wheel-steered cruising sailboats over the years (41), my observations are:
1. When underway, a tiller fills up the pit in the cockpit which must be left clear so the tiller can move wherever it needs to go. When underway, a wheel occupies its own discrete space, leaving the rest of the cockpit clear.
2, At anchor or otherwise at rest, most tillers can be raised up, freeing the entire cockpit for legs, knees, feet, and movement toward the stern. At those times, the wheel remains in the same discrete space, blocking movement, and leaving the same space clear as was clear when underway.
3. There is comparatively little feedback in wheel steering as compared to tiller steering. If you race around the buoys or sail "by feel" rather than "by the numbers" you will surely prefer a tiller, at least for a couple of hours, but not so much for a long day or overnight.
Joe Tierney, /Allegro,/ 1992 NS33 #64, Annapolis, MD
Elliott
I have just had the right rotator cuff repaired and know what your concerns are as well.
Our NS 22 Joy has the Tiller and it works very well if you recognize your limits. When I single hand, I use our tiller pilot and just relax!. The cockpit room with the tiller is really much better especially with Guests! The ability to get around is much enhanced. A small teak table works fantastic for snacks and cocktails! Tie the tiller up and enjoy!
Beautiful. Much appreciate the reassurance!
Eliot
Nicely balanced assessment. Thanks, Joe.
When in dock or at anchor I remove and stow the wheel. The binnacle doubles as a drink holder. Really opens up the cockpit.
Brian
N30u Katmando
Whitby.
When we are not sailing we remove the wheel and tie it to the lifelines, no more squeezing.
Bob Ulwick, Wharf Rat, 30C, Scituate, MA
Edson sells a nice (and expensive) gadget to secure a wheel for storage on the rail. Some years ago a friend had one which malfunctioned, dropping the wheel forever into the briney deep, never to be seen again. My friend got to test his emergency tiller under real life conditions. The good part was that Edson replaced the lost wheel free. Maybe they have improved the design since then.
I don’t like removing my wheel because it involves disconnecting my Autopilot (Raymarine) which has a relatively flimsy electrical connection which has already deteriorated. I don’t look forward to buying a replacement plug from Raymarine, soldering those tiny wires, making the connection waterproof, and leaving enough slack to plug it in again.
Nothing’s perfect!
Joe Tierney,� Allegro, 1992 NS33 #64,� Annapolis, MD
Question : does anyone know of a SMALL wheel which will not create the barrier.
I do not need the leverage of a big wheel (even in 40 knots etc) and would prefer a more compact (car) wheel.
Jon Matthews EVENSONG 30U 266 Toronto
Lewmar makes a folding wheel available for around $700 that becomes very narrow with a twist of two knobs. It’s available in several sizes, so one can get a fairly large one and enjoy the leverage and/or the ability to easily reach the wheel while leaning outboard for a better view of the sail(s), yet flip the folding sections in once at anchor.
Eliot Daley
Hello Eliot -
I believe that you have decided to “stick with the tiller”. Atta boy !!
I came at this circumstance from the opposite direction - My N22 Outboard arrived WITH a 1 year-old gorgeou$ly installed Lewmar Cobra pedestal and rack and pinion wheel system with a 28" inch destroyer wheel (big enough for a real destroyer). The entire system can comfortably deal with a 37 foot sailboat.
MOUSTACHES also came with every bit of ‘previous owner’ documentation (lucky me) and I found the bill for the components and the installation, done in Oakville, Ontario in the summer of 2011. This little system set the previous owner back over 5 grand.
Granted, these components are, in my modest opinion, the BEST one can find. Furthermore, the work (and it was a fair bit of work) was perfectly executed. But, both of my previous boats (a Tanzer 22 and a wonderful old but fast Carter 30) had tillers and could turn on a dime. And… you could "feel’ the boat. And… you just swung the tiller up and/or out of the way.
I sail alone most of the time, assisted by “Juanita”, my tiller pilot. Wouldn’t be without her…
Now I had a new boat that I had to jump all over the cockpit to clear the wheel (I 'm not kidding) and I was looking at a very costly (and less reliable) wheel pilot installation, etc. So, I spent one hour and took the sucker off. I re-installed the tiller and the tiller pilot fit right in.
I’m a happy guy. Tillers rock !!!
Best
Ernie Abugov
Toronto
Hi, Ernie…
Great post! Thanks. Yes, I’m eagerly looking to “regress” to a “stick shift” Nonsuch 22.
The story you tell about de-wheeling Moustaches reminds me how much I love it when people have the good sense to abandon what seemed, at the time, a fine idea and return to the status quo ante instead. The example that is nearest to my heart (as a bay-area Californian long-since transplanted to Princeton NJ and mid-coast Maine) was the decision by the city of San Francisco not to complete, and even to demolish, the Embarcadero Freeway which had been constructed in a way that cut the city off from the waterfront. It was never completed and remained an eyesore and a bone of contention for decades with various parties for it and against it, until a rally of 200,000 citizens finally put a stake in its heart, and it was torn down in 1991 but not until after God boosted the cause of the anti-freeway forces by initiating the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989 that gave a nudge to the demolition.
More than you wanted to know, I’m sure, but it makes the point!
Happy sailing.
Eliot
Hiya Eliot -
Yup, I do actually remember some of the events that you refer to. I love the Bay area and would crtainly enjoy sailing out of there.
Have fun with your manual-transmission !!
Best Ernie in really rainy Toronto