I was doodling about steering with a single wheel, and it seemed to me that if you did that, then turning the wheel clockwise would cause you to steer starboard on one "tack" and port on the other. That would get really confusing if every time you shunted, you would have to steer the opposite direction. Am I wrong on that?
I was assuming that the twin wheels would be locked 90% of the time, functioning like a single wheel, with the option of adjusting the rudders individually when in the mood for extra speed.
But if it's more complex than that (such as locking is easier said than done), a single wheel is fine with me. The simpler the better.
I look forward to the Sol2 developments. I've always liked the whipstaffs on the Etap monohulls, and was excited to see them on the rapscallion rendering. If there's a way to make them work, that would mean taking up even less space, plus more of the feel of a tiller.
- Mike
Rob Denney wrote:Twin wheels are not much fun if you are going to do a lot of shunting. Better is to have both rudders connected to a single wheel. Means you can't use them to crab sideways, but this is not a big deal. If you wanted to do this, then a seperate control could be added.
A whipstaff takes up less space than a wheel, but as you point out, they struggle with the 360 degree turning circle. I have a few ideas for this using adjustable length steering lines, which will be tried on Sol2, where cockpit room is at a definite premium.
rob