DOCSLIB.ORG

Sea Kindliness and Ship Design

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Sea Kindliness and Ship Design SEA KINDLINESS AND SHIP DESIGN BY 'CAPTAIN K. MACDONALD, .0.B.E, AND E. V. TELFER, D.Sc., Ph.D4, Vice President A Paper read before the North East Coast Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Newcastle upon Tyne on 2the 18th March: 1938.(Excerpt from theInstitution . Transactions, Vol. LIV) NEWCASTLE UPONTYNE PUBLISHED BY THE NORTH EAST COASTINSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS AND SHIPBUILDERS BOLBEC.HALL. LONDON E. & F. N. SPON; LIMITED, 57, HAYMARKET,S.W.I. 1938. THE INSTITUTION IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE STATEMENTS MADE, NOR FOR THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED, IN THIS PAPER, DISCUSSION, AND AUTHOR'S REPLY MADE AND PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN Printed by J. G. Hammond & Co., Ltd., Moor Street Birmirohatn, and London. SEA-KINDLINESS AND SHIP DESIGN BY CAPTAIN K. MACDONALD, 0.B.E., and E. V. TELFER, D.Sc., Ph.D., Vice-President SYNOPSIS.-/t is suggested that modern progress in ship design has been principally directed to improved smooth-water performance and not suffi- ciently to improved behaviour under adverse weather conditions.Such behaviour as is good is known as "sea-kindliness," a quality not to be confused with seaworthiness. Rolling considerations are used to introduce the subject of sea-kindliness. Sailing ships and steamers are compared and light versus concentrated cargoes are discussed.Various design aspects are mentioned.Next, pitching is considered in relation to cargo distribution and to external form. Particular attention is given to the modern fashion display in stem design, and a preference registered for the old-fashioned clipper stern as having scientific justification.Fine versus full cruiser sterns are discussed. Course- keeping as effected by rudder and stern design, for loaded and ballast conditions, receives some attention, and the adoption of the topgallant forecastles in shelter-deckers and trysails aft is considered in this connection. Adequate engine power to face normally heavy, but not dangerous, weather is next introduced for discussion as it is felt that this aspect of the problem has been seriously overlooked in the modern economy ship.Propeller design is also touched upon. The behaviour and control of ships in really dangerous weather is next studied and reference is made to recent Board of Trade enquiries into the loss of various merchant vessels.The importance of heaving-to is empha- sized and its technique is outlined, various alternative methods being dis- cussed.The difference between sail and steam is again emphasized and a plea is made that the training of officers should compulsorily include training in small steam or sail vessels.Finally, the possible use of model experiments in assisting the better understanding of sea-kindliness and possibly the better interpolation of freeboard between various types of deck erections, concludes the paper. HE following notes are intended to serve as an introduction to -the general subject of the sea-kindliness of ships and its useful discussion before this Institution. Much has been written on the so-called economy ship, and of the immense amount of model experiment that has largely made such economy 228 SEA-KINDLINESS AND SHIP DESIGN possible.Little, however, has been heard of the nautical handling of these vessels, or for that matter of that of their less efficient predecessors. It is quite certain that efficient handling and loading in adverse weather conditions are of an importance at least equal to that of the economy of an economy ship.It is further certain that some ships lend themselves better to efficient handling than others.This fact suggests that ease of handling can be inherently a ship quality which, together with other features of good behaviour, constitute various acceptable aspects of sea-kindliness.In what follows, discussion will first be directed to those aspects of sea-kindliness that appear to depend upon ship design as distinct from those which essentially involve the skill of the navigator. It is, incidently, to be suspected that many of the intrinsic design qualities may be entirely negatived by poor seamanship.This fact must be anticipated in design work, and every endeavour made to reduce the possible relative importance of the human factor, while of course still allowing this factor full scope in the better handling of the ship.Design and navigational skill call for separate and also joint discussion, and the particular joint authorship of the present paper has been undertaken in the hope that extreme diversity of outlook may in itself assist in producing a discussion sufficiently stimulating to excuse any lack of novelty from which the paper, as such, may suffer. 2 Sea-kindliness must not be confused with sea-worthiness. A ship is regarded as seaworthy when her hull and machinery are sufficiently sound, structurally and mechanically, to admit of any projected voyage being undertaken and completed with dispatch, and with complete safety to both ship machinery and cargo. A seaworthy vessel need not, of course, be sea-kindly, although it may easily happen that the deficiency in sea-kindliness is so marked in adverse weather as to result in the vessel's sustaining such structural or mechanical damage that she is rendered unseaworthy.Sea-kindliness is thus a very desirable adjunct to seaworthiness, and for some voyages may even be regarded as a very necessary adjunct.This aspect of the problem is best illustrated by a consideration of transverse stability in relation to seaworthiness and sea-kindliness.Sufficient stabilityin amount and angular extent is apparently essential for seaworthiness.The use of "apparently " here requires justification and qualification since it is well known that too much initial stabilityas is usually possessed by a vessel carrying ore can result in very excessive rolling and thereby exposethe vessel to a greater likelihood of heavy-weather damage than would be the case with a vessel rolling slower and less violently in response, notonly to less initial stability, but probably actually negative initial stability. It is generally considered by sea-going people of experience that a sailing ship is more sea-kindly and seaworthy in heavy seas than a power- driven vessel of the same size, since the sails very effectively prevent heavy rolling, and consequently also prevent the shipping of dangerous SEA-KINDLINESS AND SHIP DESIGN 229 athwartship seas.Accepting that this is so for the moment, it is interest- ing to contemplate how essentially different the sailing vessel is from the steamer in this respect.The former, because of the relatively high centre of gravity, must be designed for a high vertical position of meta- centre.The beam can therefore be expected to be large and the rise of floor pronounced, particularly where beam is restricted or excessive beam is to be avoided. A sailing ship carrying ore has a greater metacentric height than a steamer having the same homogeneous-cargo metacentric height.Despite this, due to the steadying influence of the sails and the more circular frame sections in the vicinity of the waterline, rolling is not severe.Where the beam wind does not accompany the beam sea the sailing ship will, of course, suffer excessive rolling, and it is probable that vessels were usually dismasted under such conditions.In some modern power-driven vessels there is a tendency to design for rounder sections and greater beams.Such forms, although low in wetted surface, must necessarily have large metacentric heights and thus suffer from excessive rolling.Sufficient experience must have now been obtained with these vessels to compare their smooth-water and heavy-weather performance, and it is hoped that such data will be available in the discussion of this paper.Large-beam vessels, which maintain their full amidship beam down to the ballast draughts, suffer extremely from excessive metacentric heights.Their rolling is excessive and it is not improbable that such vessels become unmanageable more frequently than do vessels of more moderate beam. At the other end of the scale, the low-beamed ship, while good for ore cargoes, becomes under suspicion for, say, timber cargoes.The majority of timber cargo vessels trade for at least the latter part of each loaded voyage with either a negative or a very small metacentric height.Such vessels generally develop a list to leeward and then behave in a remarkably sea-kindly manner, and lost deck cargoes represent a relatively small percentage of the total carried.Evidently here also, as in the sailing ship, the wind steadying effect and the long easy roll are factors that contribute to seakindliness.A well lashed and secured deck cargo represents a very material increase in reserve buoyancy and stability at large angles.Provided that the greater vulnerability of the hull at large angles is adequately protected against, the intrinsic safety arising from excellent sea-kindliness in association with ample angular stabilityis fully recognized in the latest international freeboard regulations where increased draught is allowed vessels carrying timber.The design principle here involved is evidently that sea-kindliness at small angles is relied upon to ensure seaworthiness at large angles.This principle appears to be of real importance. 3 In the previous section the subject of sea-kindliness has been introduced and illustrated chiefly by reference to rolling.The next feature of behaviour involving seakindliness is that of pitching.Under suitable sea and swell conditions all vessels pitch, but obviously the manner and 230 SEA-KINDLINESS AND SHIP DESIGN amount of pitching must differ between ship and ship.The worst kind of pitching is that when a vessel heaves and pitches into an on-coming sea. The easiest type of pitching is that of a vessel whose stem is rising in anticipation of the crest of the on-coming swell.The phasing of a vessel's pitching between these limits is essentially a matter of relative swell and wave frequency and pitching frequency.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • SCOW Flying Scot Sail Locker
    Flying Scot Skipper Information File (SIF) Sailing Club of Washington Flying Scot Skipper Information File Adopted by the board: February 10, 2019 1 Safety First! Safety around the marina and on the water is the priority and responsibility for skipper and crew. Rules, regulations, experience and good judgment all contribute to a safe and enjoyable sailing experience. 2 Introduction This Flying Scot Skipper Information File (SIF) sets forth the skipper responsibilities and SCOW procedures for the use of the club’s Flying Scot sailboats. This SIF supplements the SCOW Skipper Requirements and Boat Use Policy, which contain general procedures for the use of all club boats. Skippers are required to be familiar with and follow these documents before operating the Flying Scots. This SIF is intended only to emphasize important procedures for using the Flying Scot. It is not a sailing instruction manual. Each skipper is responsible for being completely capable of launching, rigging, sailing, docking and retrieving the Flying Scots. This SIF is not a substitute for training and experience. 3 Expectations of all Flying Scot Skippers for Care of the Vessels Take pride in our boats by leaving them better than you found them after you sail. Remove all trash, wash inside and outside of the hull, and remove scuff marks. Stow equipment in the appropriate locations on the boat and in the sail locker. All Flying Scot Skippers are expected to participate in scheduled maintenance days. 4 Failure to Follow Club Rules Skippers who repeatedly fail to follow SCOW rules will have their skipper privileges suspended or revoked.
    [Show full text]
  • Tips for Using IYC's Typhoon Keelboat, S/V Peter Lent
    Tips for Using IYC’s Typhoon Keelboat, s/v Peter Lent The Tender This is a small white plastic boat located on the tender rack at the south end of the club. “IYC” is stenciled on each side. Oars for the tender are stored in the shed at the south end of the club. Launch the empty tender using the roller and secure it to the cleat just north of the ladder. When returning the tender, be sure to lean it up against the rack and tie it to the rack and return the oars to the shed. (There is an identical dinghy but with fenders along both sides which could also be used once longer oars have been located for it). Once on Board s/v Peter Lent… 1. Securing the tender and preparing for leaving the mooring • Move one of the mooring lines so that both are on the same side of the forestay. • Secure the painter from the tender to the mooring lines (use a “round turn and two half hitches” knot for this connection). • The dinghy painter should be run through the loops of BOTH mooring lines and all three lines should be through the SAME opening on the bow. • It is easier to cast off if you have these lines and the dinghy on the shore side of the boat. • -Since the dinghy painter is long, you may want to double it up to prevent the tender from floating too far from the mooring. 2. Rigging the mainsail • Remove the sail cover. • Attach the mainsail halyard to the head of the mainsail (if not already attached).
    [Show full text]
  • The Beauty of Heave to Position, All the Bustle and Drama in the Main Or a Trysail and a Storm Jib Set, of a Moments Before Disappear
    SEAMANSHIP HEAVING TO 1 WHAT IS HEAVING TO? ‘To lay a sailing ship on the wind with her helm a-lee and her sails shortened and so trimmed that as she comes up to the wind she will fall off again on the same tack and thus make no headway’. 1: Hove to on a quiet 5: Different hull and stretch of water for a keel configurations spot of lunch. heave to in diffferent ways. In the case of this Hallberg Rassy 352, her 4 & 5: Different displacement and methods for lashing underwater profile your tiller and wheel. lend themself to a hassle free heave to. 2 WHEN DO WE USE IT? boat will try to drive to windward and as it Any time we want to stop the boat in the does so the backed headsail will bring the water. Heaving to is one of the tactics we bow down again and the boat will remain use in heavy weather. In fact in very strong stationary or very nearly so. Every boat winds it may be our survival strategy. But will require adjustment of the sails, the there are other occasions when heaving to amount of sail, the angle of the rudder and is very useful. As long as I am out of the so forth to bring her to a stop. And if she way of traffic and not in a hurrry but with does make any way while hove to, this is 3 enough sea room I will heave to, to stop known as fore-reaching. Once we have for lunch Pic 1.
    [Show full text]
  • MAIB Leisure Craft Safety Digest 2004
    This Safety Digest draws the attention of the leisure community to some of the lessons arising from investigations into recent accidents. It contains facts which have been determined up to the time of issue, and is published to provide information about the general circumstances of marine accidents and to draw out the lessons to be learned. The sole purpose of the Safety Digest is to prevent similar accidents happening again. The content must necessarily be regarded as tentative and subject to alteration or correction if additional evidence becomes available. The articles do not assign fault or blame nor do they determine liability. The lessons often extend beyond the events of the incidents themselves to ensure the maximum value can be achieved. This Safety Digest is comprised of 25 articles written in the past 8 years. For some of that time it was the MAIB’s policy to name vessels. In 2002 the decision was taken to dis-identify all Safety Digest articles so that vessel names are not included. This is intended to encourage more people to report accidents. Extracts can be published without specific permission, providing the source is duly acknowledged. The Safety Digest is only available from the Department for Transport, and can be obtained by applying to the MAIB. Other publications are available from the MAIB. Marine Accident Investigation Branch The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) is an independent part of the Department for Transport. The Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents is responsible to the Secretary of State for Transport. Extract from The Merchant Shipping (Accident Reporting and Investigation Regulations 1999) The fundamental purpose of investigating an accident under these Regulations is to determine its circumstances and the cause with the aim of improving the safety of life at sea and the avoidance of accidents in the future.
    [Show full text]
  • Iiimini Iiiii
    m im m Contents 1 Foreword 2 Introduction to Sailing 3 Setting and Stowing the Sails 5 Courses and Directions 7 Casting Off 9 Casting Off Broadside 11 Tacking 13 Jibing 15 Shooting Head To Wind 17 Near Head To Wind 19 Man Over Board Maneuver 21 Reefing 23 Mooring 25 Mooring Alongside 27 Introduction to the Motor Component 29 Casting Off Alongside 31 Turning In a Tight Space 33 Stopping and Starting On Course 35 Man Overboard Maneuver 37 Mooring Alongside 39 Navigating According To Navigational Mark or By Compass 41 Knots 9780870336324 US $19.99 Mi iii mini iiiii 780870 336324 5 19 9 9 978 - 0 - 87033 - 632-4 Sailing describes two very different ways of moving forward. Heaving To The first kind of locomotion, which even a child understands, This maneuver is an art form which threatens to be forgotten. It is that of an object being thrust leeward by the wind - just as is best for bringing calm to the boat and for possibly being able every beer can dropped in the trade winds south of the Canary to take care of someone in need. If the jib sheet isn't released Islands ends up in the Caribbean.The second kind is created by in the tack, then a back-winded jib results.The mainsail is now sailing into the wind. When positiveand negative pressures exist eased until both sails balance each other out.This way, both sails on a sail and the centerboard or keel resist lateral drift, then a receive wind pressure and the boat will roll less than without sailboat, amazingly, travels forward despite the wind.
    [Show full text]
  • Ocean Voyaging Preparations
    With John Kretschmer www.yayablues.com @johnkretschmersailing John Kretschmer Captain 300,000+ offshore miles 27 Atlantic crossings Record-setting Cape Horn voyage Author Cape Horn to Starboard Flirting with Mermaids At the Mercy of the Sea Sailing a Serious Ocean Sailing to the Edge of Time Seamanship = Safety Preparing for an Ocean Voyage is the First Step in Good Seamanship Situational Awareness is the key to successful, fulfilling, happy, and safe voyaging. SA, developed by the military, is the perfect way to think about merging safety and seamanship. Understanding where the danger points are on a boat, how fittings are loaded, what is likely to happen next – that’s good seamanship and the ultimate way of being safe underway. Developing Situational Awareness while coastal sailing is essential for ocean voyaging. Smiling in Force 10 Spend Time Sailing – Not Just Buying Gear – You Need Skills good helming, keep sails well- trimmed and avoid flogging, use of preventers, organizing fair leads to reduce chafe, practice heaving to and fore reaching fit storms sails Navigation Skills Getting ready for another blow mid-Atlantic Steering Downwind in Big Seas on a January crossing of the N. Atlantic, not a time for learning. Heaving-to Forereaching A Timeless Skill Safety Briefing 138 offshore training passages later, still give the briefing every time. It begins with the topics of management, body and boat, body taking the lead. Body Management. Sleeping, eating, regularity, peace of mind, these things are super important, and in many ways, keys to safety at sea. Can’t underestimate the importance of keeping yourself together.
    [Show full text]
  • Storms and Thunderstorms: Radar Detection and Sailboat Storm Tactics Know What to Do, Have the Right Equipment, and Be Prepared
    Storms and Thunderstorms: Radar Detection and Sailboat Storm Tactics Know What to Do, Have the Right Equipment, and Be Prepared By Tom Lochhaas Storms are one of the most serious dangers sailors face both near-shore and offshore. Sudden, sometimes unexpected high winds can lead to capsize, and in shallower waters waves can build quickly and buffet the boat or lead to broaching or capsizing. Detection of a coming storm and preparations and tactics to employ depend on the boat's equipment and having an effective plan to manage whatever conditions may occur. Watch the Clouds Since times immemorial, mariners have learned to watch clouds for potential weather changes. In summer, most thunderstorms and squalls are heralded by advancing nimbus clouds, often anvil-shaped - big, black clouds that may approach quickly. Big white, puffy cumulus clouds seldom produce a thunderstorm and high wind but may mask nimbus clouds behind them or develop into nimbus clouds. Or the horizon may slowly darken with a deep overcast in which nimbus clouds cannot be seen but which contains storm cells or dangerous downdrafts or microbursts of extremely high wind. At night you may not see the clouds, but most thunderstorms and squalls are announced by lightning appearing on the horizon and growing closer. An experienced sailor never underestimates the storm potential with any of these signs of changing weather. In addition to watching the sky, be alert to any wind change. Shortly before a thunderstorm or squall there may be a momentary lull in the wind as wind direction begins to shift. You may feel a sudden cooling of the air.
    [Show full text]
  • Handling Storms at Sea : the Five Secrets of Heavy Weather Sailing
    HANDLING STORMS AT SEA Overleaf: What is blue-water sailing really like when it’s stormy and big seas are running? Here’s my Santa Cruz 50 hurrying eastward near Marion Island in the Southern Ocean. The ever-faithful windvane is steering nicely while I play with the mainsail reefs and adjust the sails as the boat races through the water and makes great whooshing sounds as she surfs forward on a wave. You know that the yacht will rise up as the next crest comes, but sometimes you wonder if she is buoyant enough. You take a deep breath and say a silent prayer. ALSO BY HAL ROTH Pathway in the Sky (1965) Two on a Big Ocean (1972) After 50,000 Miles (1977) Two Against Cape Horn (1978) The Longest Race (1983) Always a Distant Anchorage (1988) Chasing the Long Rainbow (1990) Chasing the Wind (1994) We Followed Odysseus (1999) How to Sail Around the World (2004) The Hal Roth Seafaring Trilogy (2006) HANDLING STORMS AT SEA The 5 Secrets of Heavy Weather Sailing Hal Roth INTERNATIONAL MARINE / MCGRAW-HILL CAMDEN, MAINE • NEW YORK • CHICAGO • SAN FRANCISCO • LISBON • LONDON • MADRID • MEXICO CITY • MILAN • NEW DELHI • SAN JUAN • SEOUL • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TORONTO Copyright © 2009 by Hal Roth. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. ISBN: 978-0-07-164345-0 MHID: 0-07-164345-1 The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: ISBN: 978-0-07-149648-3, MHID: 0-07-149648-3.
    [Show full text]
  • CSC DINGHY SAILING MANUAL February 2021 Introduction
    CSC DINGHY SAILING MANUAL February 2021 Introduction There's no substitute for actual sailing if you want to learn to sail. This booklet is only intended as a technical reference, to reinforce sailing lessons. If you're new to sailing, relax—you're in good company. Most new members of the Cal Sailing Club do not know how to sail when they join. Put this book down until later, and go sailing. Credits Editor: John Bongiovani Author: John Bergmann Change History Anonymous. First published Edition. The club began about a century ago as an offshoot of a loose association of UC students and professors who were interested in sailing. Perhaps there was a manual—who knows? A manual for sailing was put together using a typewriter and hand drawn pictures, distributed in booklet format. The most memorable part was a cartoon telling how to get onto a Lido from the water, showing a shark. Fitting conveniently in a pocket, most copies were turned into pulp during the new owner's first lesson. Sometime in the 1970s. Various minor changes stemming from disputes over gybing and other pettifoggery. Sometime during the disco era. The advent of the computer in revising the manual, but keeping the same organization. Major discovery: pdf's don't fit in pockets. Sometime in the Clinton era. Major revisions to reflect the end of the Lido, which had served the club (poorly) since 1959. Sometime in the Bush II years V11. Joel Brandt June, 2011 Dinghy Manual. Cal Sailing Club February 2021 Page 2 V12 John Bergmann, updated content and format, added detail on the RS Ventures, March, 2016 V13 Made corrections, added content on Quests, added more figures, and added a table of figures.
    [Show full text]
  • RATING SHEETS and WHY We Have Two Sets of Rating Sheets: One Type for Campers and One Type for Counselors
    RATING SHEETS AND WHY We have two sets of rating sheets: one type for campers and one type for counselors. The camper sheets have no checkboxes and we do not write a camper’s progress on them. Campers are free to take these sheets as a reference. The counselor sheets are only for sailing staff and are designed to stay in a box in the shack. Sailing staff check off what a camper has completed on these sheets and can write comments about how a camper is progressing and what he needs to work on. If a camper wishes to see what he has complete/what he still needs to work on, a counselor can look at this sheet and tell him what he needs to do-- without showing him the sheet. We have done our best to remove the subjectivity involved in sailing ratings for the benefit of both the camper and the staff. For that reason, our understanding is that a camper can receive the ratings of mate and deckhand by just completing the skills on the sheet-- without any judgment on his character or personality down at the sailing department. However, the ratings of helmsman and skipper do involve a character component. Specifically, if a camper is not exhibiting the character traits about at sailing and around camp, the sailing staff should talk to him at least two weeks before banquet and explain how his current actions will prevent his receiving the rating. Skill Explanations Mate ● Properly launch and return to the Small Cove beach under sail ● Sail in a straight line both up and down wind ● Tacking ○ tack from close haul to close haul using minimal rudder
    [Show full text]
  • Shiphandling Under Sail
    Sail Theory Grade III Wind • True Wind is the actual wind force and direction. If you are sitting still this is what you feel • Relative Wind is the wind force you are creating with your motion. On a perfectly calm day, you will feel your relative wind as being exactly contrary to your motion. (If you head north at 10 kt, your relative wind will be a southerly 10 knot breeze) • Apparent Wind is the combination of both. This is the wind you are actually experiencing (Apparent means readily seen or open to view) Apparent Wind • Some points to remember: – If you are going upwind the apparent wind will be greater than the true wind – If you are going downwind the apparent wind will be less than the true wind – Wind direction will also be affected, becoming somewhere in between true and relative wind. – The amount of change in either speed or direction will depend on the relative strengths of the wind, particularly the strength of the true wind • 25 knots of true wind will not change very much for vessels of our speed, 7 knots will be readily affected. Calculating True Wind • You can use vector diagrams to calculate true wind. • One leg will be the vessel’s vector (relative wind), one leg will be the apparent wind as measured, the resultant is the true wind. • For a rough idea you can just look at the waves for wind direction and strength. Sail Theory • When sailing off the wind or downwind then sails just catch wind and get pulled along.
    [Show full text]
  • Why a Tiller Instead of a Wheel?
    Dave Mancini: Cruising Ideas, S/V Swan Outfitting Ideas, Pacific Seacraft 34 Technical Information Why a Tiller Instead of a Wheel? •Fewer things to break. No sheaves, wires, chain, clutches, brakes, gears etc. A broken wire or sheave at sea will ruin your voyage. I know several boats this has happened to. •Better rudder feel. I can feel the weigh on the boat with my eyes closed. •Quicker rudder response. I can move the rudder full starboard to full port in one second. •I know what the rudder position is at a glance, no rudder indicator needed. •The monitor self-steering works better (has more leverage) and is easier to adjust with a tiller. The monitor does 99% of the steering at sea, so it does the long tricks. The tiller is long enough to be easy to wield. Adjustable tiller lines keep the tiller movement within a small range (like on tiller steered sailing ships). •Way more room in the cockpit at anchor (lash the tiller in a vertical position to the backstay). •We can steer from the forward end of the cockpit (under the dodger) instead of behind the wheel where it's wet and windy. •We can steer from practically any position in the cockpit, in fact: sitting down, standing up, forward, aft, etc., just by lifting the tiller. •Easier to singlehand. I can steer no hands, standing up with the tiller between my legs, leaving my hands for sheets, winches, traveler, or my pockets. No pedestal in my way. •Easier to lash the tiller for heaving to or adjusting out weather helm.
    [Show full text]