Wood and Brass Ship Wheel 36"

With the explosion of mechanical invention during the Industrial Revolution, the ship steering wheel system evolved greatly from the early rope and pulley systems. Instead of manipulating the rudder with unreliable ropes, hard, durable cogs and gears were now attached to the wooden ships wheel. In 1863 the British Royal Navy implemented further innovation, testing the potential of steam power aboard ships. Pitting a manual nautical wheel, which took 78 men, against a steam powered wheel with one man accomplishing the same task, the true might of steam power was discovered. Three years later the first steam powered mechanical amplifier was attached to a nautical wheel aboard ship, a true revolution in ship design. With the addition of mechanical steering, wheels were able to direct ships the size of which the world had never seen. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, as cargo and cruise ships became mammoth in size and grandiose in stature, a single ship’s wheel had to be able to maneuver the vessel. A single helmsman was able to operate the ship, with the power to turn massive rudders created by mechanical force. Giant ocean liners, such as the RMS Olympic, would not have accomplished smooth, accurate sailing without this newest technology. These mechanical ship wheel systems were used until 1953, when hydraulic steering was invented, continuing the evolution of the ship. Although new technology will continue to advance sailing, and ship wheels are not necessarily essential anymore with automated guidance and steering, the nautical wheel itself revolutionized sailing and history, becoming an ever enduring symbol of life at sea.