Wooden Half Ship Wheel 25"

By 1715 the ship steering wheel was standard on deck, though it was placed behind the mizzen mast, severely limiting the helmsman’s vision. As the antique ships wheel utilized rope systems to turn the rudder, it took until 1730 for them to become sophisticated enough to place the wheel in front of the mast. Further developments became necessary with the repositioning of the ship steering wheel, as problems arose with the tiller rope assembly. With lengthy voyages becoming increasingly common, tiller ropes were often stretched unequally causing the wheel to incorrectly affect the center of the ship. In the 1740s ships often had dual wheels, allowing two sailors to steer simultaneously for a more correct path, as well as aiding in control of the ship during harsh weather and rough seas. It wasn’t until 1771 that a new rope system allowed the wheel of a ship to steer more accurately. Developed by a Master Boatbuilder at Portsmouth Dockyard by the name of Pollard, this new system greatly impacted the use of the wheel. With a design of “sweep and rowles” as well as higher quality rope, the wheel was able to control the ship better with less force. Pollard’s system ran the tiller ropes through eye bolts and rowles attached the ship, then across the sweep or curved piece of wood that was a steadying and guiding track for the rudder, making for smooth steering with a more constant rope tension on the wheel. In conjunction with more durable rawhide ropes replacing the easily stretched hemp ropes, the classic ship steering wheel had finally arrived. By the end of the 1700s proper wheels were standard aboard Danish ships, and Britain adopted them as well by the 1820s.