Wheel Steering/Ericson 29
- Thread starter jamescio
- Start date
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- Tags
- steering or ericson wheel
Jim Baldwin
Member II
I say no
I gave it some serious consideration for my E27 but decided against it. For the smaller boat, it cuts the cockpit space in half. You have to climb around it. If you have a wind dodger, the tiller allows you to sit well forward under it's protection. You can also remove the tiller at anchor and have the whole cockpit to walk around in. One weekend at anchor in a small boat and you know what I mean. Even with the wheel off, (a nice little option), you still have the pedestal sticking up. I know there are some very neat things about putting your hand on a wheel and looking down at your $300/$1,200 compass mounted right there on top. My wife though, hates that stick, (tiller). She wants the wheel. She still hasn't figured out why left is right and right is left. Still, I think you should think hard before you spend $2,000.00 or more to buy that Edson unit. Don't forget, after it comes in the box, you still have to install it. My wife may win yet, but I still say no.
I gave it some serious consideration for my E27 but decided against it. For the smaller boat, it cuts the cockpit space in half. You have to climb around it. If you have a wind dodger, the tiller allows you to sit well forward under it's protection. You can also remove the tiller at anchor and have the whole cockpit to walk around in. One weekend at anchor in a small boat and you know what I mean. Even with the wheel off, (a nice little option), you still have the pedestal sticking up. I know there are some very neat things about putting your hand on a wheel and looking down at your $300/$1,200 compass mounted right there on top. My wife though, hates that stick, (tiller). She wants the wheel. She still hasn't figured out why left is right and right is left. Still, I think you should think hard before you spend $2,000.00 or more to buy that Edson unit. Don't forget, after it comes in the box, you still have to install it. My wife may win yet, but I still say no.
I have an Ericson 29 and for a while considered adding a wheel, in the end I chose not to for the following reasons.
1. Loss of cockpit space, this was noted in a previous reply.
2. Better steering feel with a tiller than a wheel.
3. Simpler system, one less thing to break.
4. It's hard to fit a good sized wheel in a cockpit which isn't T shaped.
5. Expense. It's not just purchasing the gear. I think you need to do some re enforcing where the pedestal mounts and figure out how to mount and re enforce the various blocks. Started to sound very expensive to me.
Stuff to consider.
1. Loss of cockpit space, this was noted in a previous reply.
2. Better steering feel with a tiller than a wheel.
3. Simpler system, one less thing to break.
4. It's hard to fit a good sized wheel in a cockpit which isn't T shaped.
5. Expense. It's not just purchasing the gear. I think you need to do some re enforcing where the pedestal mounts and figure out how to mount and re enforce the various blocks. Started to sound very expensive to me.
Stuff to consider.