Tiller

The tiller when sailing boat is the long lever with which the rudder is operated, ie a boat is controlled. It is firmly attached above the deck with the rudder stock and is usually made of wood or aluminum.

In dinghies and smaller yachts up to about 35 feet (about 10.5 meters ) has the tiller usually a tiller extension (or simply extension arm ): At the end of the tiller comes with a swivel joint attached to a stick, so that the tiller of this extension can be moved. It may be, for example, will still operate when the tax man for better weight transfer to the outside leaning ( " riding "). Cantilevers are usually made ​​of plastic or aluminum.

Moreover, many small motorboats similar control is referred to as a tiller. In this case is then moved with the lever not the rudder, but the outboard motor; also located on the tiller then the throttle grip and a shift lever with which the speed and direction of thrust can be controlled.

A crab -like construction was on the cogs of the tiller.

Difference to the steering wheel

A steering wheel instead of the tiller is On larger vehicles mostly used. The tiller is different from a wheel, especially the fact that they ship with the rudder ( the control system) is directly connected; the movements of a steering wheel, however, be transmitted via cables to the rudder.

This acts on the tiller a greater pressure than on the steering wheel. Therefore, the taxes with tiller requires especially for larger vehicles and strong winds and / or stronger currents more power. Since the tiller acts as a lever, the force transmission could indeed be facilitated by an extension of the tiller; as was used on the sailing ship Pride of Baltimore, a seven-foot long tiller. However, longer crabs require larger control movements, similar to the stronger movements at the end of a long rocker as opposed to a short. This is the tiller steering impractical and ultimately impossible with large and heavy vessels with larger boats. Such ships therefore have steering wheels with a more favorable force ratio.

In addition, the direct connection causes a forward moving boat to starboard ( "right") to rotate when the tiller to port ( " left ") is placed and vice versa. With control wheels, the direction of rotation, however, is deflected, so that a ship's effect on the direction of rotation of a ship as well as a drive wheel to the traveling direction of a car.

Upon failure of the mechanics of the steering wheel, however, even with larger boats a tiller on the upper end of the rudder be installed ( the " rudder quadrant "), which is operated as a tiller.