LESSON 1: ABOUT STEERING

THE MECHANICS OF STEERING

A boat is steered by water flowing past the rudder. The rudder on a boat and the rudder on an airplane are both in the back ("stern" is what we call the back of a boat). The rudder on an airplane sticks up in the air. The rudder on a boat sticks down in the water. It's not so easy to see. The handle attached to the rudder is called the tiller. On boats such as Easy Wind, instead of having a tiller, the rudder is attached to the steering wheel. The tiller or steering wheel pivots the rudder to the right or left, causing a little drag on the side toward which it has been pivoted. Because there is drag on one side and not on the other, the boat turns toward that side.

When steering with a tiller, to deflect the rudder to the right and also steer your sailboat to the right, you move the tiller to the left. When steering with a wheel, to deflect the rudder to the right and steer your boat to the right, you also turn the wheel to the right.

Figure 1: A common boat rudder. Figure 2: Moving the rudder to the right creates a drag on that side, causing the boat to turn right. Figure 3: Moving the rudder to the left, creates a drag on that side, causing the boat to turn left. Figure 4: A picture showing the stern of a boat with rudder and tiller.

HOLDING A COURSE

To get used to steering a boat, practice heading for a fixed point way out in front of you. Aim the boat for that place and keep it pointed there. You will be "holding your course" - steering a straight line across the water.

Even if there is nothing to aim toward, you can still hold your course if you have a ship's compass in front of you. Some point on the compass will line up with the front (bow) of the boat. If you happen to be sailing from Newport, Rhode Island and entering Long Island Sound, for instance, that compass point would be West. Keep "W" on your ship's compass lined up with the front of your boat and you will be holding your course, due west.

CHANGING COURSE

Once you learn how to hold a steady course, you are ready to learn about changing course - steering in a new direction. Changing course in a sailboat can be a lot more complicated than just turning (like you would in a car or on your bike). When you turn a sailboat onto a new course, you have to be aware of the direction of the wind and how it will affect the sails while the boat is turning and when it is headed on its new pathway. This understanding is the main point of the next lesson.



On to Lesson 2: About Wind Angles -->