#double wheel

Wheel of the russian wooden frigate Oleg, which accidentally sank by the Ironclad Kreml 1869

A sailing frigate was steered with a double wheel that controlled the tiller two decks below. Each wheel had 10 spokes and handles, and they were connected by the rope drum and mounted on a pair of pedestals. A continuous rope was wound around the drum and the two ends made fast to the ends of the tiller. When extra help was needed beyond the capacity of the men on the wheel, then relieving tackles could be added to the actual tiller. Although the ship’s wheel was the primary means of steering it was not the sole determinant and the set of sails had considerable influence, so that once sailing on a course at sea the wheel, and hence the rudder, added only minor corrections. The rudder would come into its own at slower speeds, manoeuvering in or out of harbour, in battle or during bad weather- times when the ship was at its most vulnerable.