Boat and ship wheels - symbol, style, innvovation

A ships wheel is probably the most recognisable symbol of boats or ships around the world

It is therefore understandable as to why the European Union chose to use the symbol of a ships wheel to indicate the compliance of boat equipment with the Marine Equipment Directive (also known as M.E.D. 96/98/EC and often called M.E.D/MED)

While aircraft now use joysticks and "fly by wire" technologies to "steer" them, pleasure boats generally still use the a wheel for primary directional control. With boats from over a hundred years old still in operation and new models appearing every year, the boat wheel manufacturers, between them, have worked to supply boat wheels for all generations of boats.

There are three general styles available: traditional spoke wooden wheels, contemporary round-rimmed wheels and a blend of the traditional and contemporary.

Vetus Traditional Style 6 Spoke Boat or Ships Wheel in Mahogany

The traditional wooden (usually mahogany) six-spoke boat wheel is still very much sought after. Where the new versions excel in in their underlying strength provided by a steel frame to which the wooden parts are attached. The steel frame of the traditional style boat wheel also provides a strong mount hub to ensure that the wheel and the steering input shaft remain intact even under the worst conditions.

The contemporary style boat wheels, often made of polished stainless steel, are both affordable and very durable - virtually indestructible one could say. A variation of the contemporary style are the powerboat steering wheels made of modern reinforced plastics.

The blended style, combining stainless steel of contemporary boat wheels with the smooth polished spokes borrowed from traditional boat wheels and mahogany rims, really look sophisticated and would grace many a boat - whether a sailboat, yacht, motorboat or powerboat.

One special version of the contemporary boat wheels is the Goiot Steer'n Go™ range for sailboats/yachts. These are a really great idea, as they are designed to be removed and mounted on the safety railing when the boat is moored, giving freedom of access from the cabin to the stern. This is of course really useful for Mediterranean sailing when mooring stern-in is close to the norm.

Outboard Shear Pins are essential spares

For those of us who use outboards for or around our boats, the reliability of modern models is so good that it's almost feels natural that they will run successfully forever. As engines they may seem to do so but the external world sometimes reaches out and makes itself known quite unexpectedly - like the outboard engine propeller hitting an unknown or unseen solid object underwater.

Or, with things mechanical, the loading of the propeller, through the shear pin, may gradually find a weakness in the pin material, leading to an unexpected fracture. Result in both cases - lots of sound and no motion; "disaster"!

Holt Outboard Motor Shear Pin-Blister-Pack

Now it really doesn't have to be like that; there is a list of essential spares for your boat and it's equipment and a shear pins are one them. Paradoxically they are cheap to buy yet have really high use value and may be reasonably considered an item of safety equipment when weighed against a bad sea and no propulsion.

When replacing a shear pin, there are a few simple actions you can take to ensure the best result. Firstly, as part of your pre-season maintenance programme, prevent a future stress fracture by ensuring the shear pin hole in the propeller shaft has no sharp edges at the hole edge; the simplest way to remove any burrs is to use a round needle file and patiently work around the hole at both ends to create a small radius on the hole edge circumference; with tools to hand this should only take 15 minutes to complete; and secondly, replace the propeller retaining nut lock split pin (if one is used); every time a split pin is bent over, it's metal is subjected to loads that can lead to a stress fracture failure over time.

So don't delay if this blog reminds you to stock up; Holt Marine Pre-Pack / MPP aftermarket shear pins are available for a number of popular outboards that includes these brands and models (2 per pack): Suzuki, 2 HP, 4 HP; Tohatsu, M4, M4A, M5, M5A; Tohatsu, M8, M8A, M9.8, M9.8A, M12, M12A; Yamaha Mariner, 2 HP, 6 HP, 20 HP, 25 HP; Johnson/Evinrude/OMC, 2 HP, 4 HP, 20 HP, 25 HP, 40 HP.

May your days out be sheer joy.