Steering with a Wheel

Steering a ship with a wheel seems such a universal concept that it is hard to imagine a time when it was not done. But in fact, Columbus sailed the ocean blue without one, Magellan circumnavigated the world unaided by it, and the Mayflower safely landed the Pilgrims at Plymouth unassisted by one. The introduction of the ship’s wheel in the first decade of the 18th century was just the latest, and perhaps the most significant, step in the history of steering ships.

The February 2017 Naval History included an excellent recounting by retired U.S. Navy Commander Tyrone G. Martin of the early history of steering (“Steering a Ship with a Pole,” pp. 8–9). He outlined the evolution of mechanical aids, from the use of a special oar mounted on the counter of vessels in the ancient world, to the whipstaff—the “pole” of his title. As ships grew in size, their steering mechanisms had to evolve as well. When medieval sailing ships appeared, they were too large to be controlled by steering oars, which were replaced by a rudder hung from the stern post and controlled by a tiller.