Are You Sitting Comfortably?

When I first went to sea, ships were always steered by a person standing up at the helm. This was a bit of a throw-back to sailing ship days. I suspect that if you were standing up, you did not fall asleep at the helm. Standing up was designed to keep you awake. The steering wheels were always vertical, and the system worked. Sailboats still use the vertical wheel and standing at the helm in most cases. But us power-boaters have gotten a bit soft and it seems that every boat with an engine now has a seat at the helm.

The captain’s chair can be quite a feature on many motor yachts and again that is part of tradition. When I was working on ships, the only chair on the bridge would be the captain’s chair -- the place where the captain could sit during long hours on the bridge. Everybody else there had to stand up.

Still around. So, where does this leave us today? Amazingly, the vertical wheel still survives. You can find it on most yachts over 40' (12 m), particularly on trawler yachts and slower boats. I find it hard to understand the logic of matching a vertical wheel with a helm seat and I think that every motorboat in this category is now fitted with a helm seat. So often you will find two or even three seats at the helm so that controlling the boat can also be a social occasion.

Steering While Seated

Trying to steer the boat using a vertical wheel when sitting in a helm seat has to be one of the most uncomfortable positions I know, and you cannot be in full control. I know that many would argue that once you are out at sea then you switch the autopilot on and that takes over the steering and that you can stand at the wheel when you want manual steering but that does not explain why we still use vertical wheels.

I have seen many vertical wheels when I have been doing sea trials and some of these demonstrate the inconvenience of the helm seat matched to a vertical wheel when you see your helmsman using his/her feet to turn the wheel. The location of the vertical wheel means that it is much more convenient to use your feet to turn the wheel as this does not disturb your comfort sitting in the helm seat. Even then you possibly have to sit on the edge of the seat so why do we persist with the vertical wheel when we want to combine steering with a comfortable seat at the helm?

Apart from the challenge of trying to control the steering when a vertical wheel is installed, the helm seat has to be set back from the wheel to allow room for your legs and in turn, this can make it more difficult to reach the other controls. This is particularly the case with the controls for the electronics where I have often found that you need to get off the seat and stand so that you can reach many of the controls that are laid out on the dashboard.

Changing the Angle

Most European-designed and built express cruisers have found an answer to this because you cannot easily stand up in one of these designs. The solution is to angle the wheel so that it is like the steering wheel in your car or perhaps an even better angle is found by comparing it with a truck driver’s steering wheel where the wheel is a bit more horizontal. Here you can put your feet under the dash and the steering wheel comes comfortably to hand so that you feel in full control.

It’s even better if there is a footrest where you can brace your feet to help stabilize things when the boat is bouncing in waves. In these sport boats, you commit to sitting down and the design makes things work. You can also find this type of angled steering wheel on many center consoles and here they can work equally well when you are sitting or standing.

I note that on most flybridge boats, there is the same commitment to sitting down at the helm. It works well here with the commanding view that most flybridges offer. You see this type of flybridge helm arrangement even on quite large yachts. So if the designer can do this up on the flybridge, why not adopt the same type of layout at the lower helm? It gives a much better feeling of control.

We have gotten used to helm stations on motorboats and yachts where the person at the helm sits in a chair facing the dashboard. It is the way we drive our cars and the way most transports on land or in the air controls operate but you have to wonder if this is the best solution for boats.

Standing While Steering

Most veteran skippers we know like the option of standing and sitting while operating a powerboat for a lot of reasons.

• First, it’s good to change positions and get circulation moving in the body.

• Second, it is easier to read gauges and screens, and as has been pointed out, to reach the dials, switches and touch screens.

• Third, it is hard to back down into a slip from a seated forward position.

• Fourth, when running through rough conditions even at a slow speed, it is usually more comfortable to stand, and better on your spine as well.

Why European designers insist on designing boats that can only be driven from a seated position has never been adequately explained to us – other than the boat looks lower and sleeker that way. And it does. And, we say if you want something low and sleek, buy a Lamborghini. If you want to buy a boat, buy one that you can stand at the helm without having to pop your head through an open sunroof.

Harder to Control

At higher speeds, the motion of the boat can make control difficult because the control of the hands and arms of the driver will be affected by the movement of the boat. This is where boats differ from other forms of transportation because the boat is operating in waves that can be irregular in pattern. You might find the same problem in a 4 x 4 driving over rough ground, but the movement of the boat can make it difficult to have effective control. You can find yourself using the steering wheel as a handhold rather than for steering the boat and operating some of the minor controls such as the flaps and the trim can be difficult.

There is also the question of access. Ideally, you should be able to reach all of the controls including those for the electronics from the seat without having to stretch unduly. This is rarely the case on modern dashboard designs so that operating the boat can be both difficult and uncomfortable. The ergonomics of the average helm station are generally very poor.

Other methods. It is because of this that some builders are starting to look at alternatives. I have come across some modern motor cruiser and sports cruiser designs where the main controls are mounted on the arms of the helm seat instead of having all the controls mounted on the dash. The result is that you can now operate the yacht, the electronics, and all of the important systems, such as controls on the seat rather than having to reach for the helm. As the driver is firmly located in this seat, the control of the yacht can be much more positive.

Easy Access. The main steering and engine controls are in a single joystick on the right-hand side. At speed moving, this joystick forward controls the speed, while a touch of the lever to one side or the other controls the steering.

The trim tab controls are also mounted on this arm of the seat. On the other arm, there is the switch panel that controls the operation of the radar, the electronic chart, and the autopilot. Both Raymarine and Simrad now have this type of compact, multi-functional control panel that can be fitted remote from the displays.

There is still a conventional dashboard in front of the helmsman, but this only has displays and no controls. There aren't any of those fancy touchscreen controls that in my experience do not work very well when the boat is bouncing in waves although they do impress when you see them at a boat show. There is no steering wheel and some of the switch controls are also in the arms of the seat.

It is great for controlling the yacht when you are out at sea, but not so practical when maneuvering in the harbor as you need to stay sitting down, which can restrict the view. Also, it is not easy to steer a boat with a joystick tiller system when you want subtle course changes, such as when trying to maintain a course. Then the pundits would argue that you get the autopilot to do that.

Commercial Applications

This type of armrest control is a step in the right direction, but we need to look at what is being done in the commercial sector to get a vision of what the future might hold. Many modern lifeboats have already moved over to seat armrest control systems at the helm station. This has been achieved by making a full commitment to electronic controls and displays.

Lifeboat skippers that I have talked to are full of praise for joystick steering and joystick maneuvering, even in the sort of emergencies where a lifeboat has to operate. Here, the skipper of the lifeboat has everything at his fingertips. Not only are the main controls close by and available, but things like the towing winch and the fire monitor can also be controlled from the helm.

We are seeing the same thing happening on the larger ships that operate in the offshore oil sector where fine control and maneuvering can be vital to safe operations. Electronic specialist Kongsberg in Norway has developed a special helm seat to meet these requirements. This seat not only has all the controls built into the arms of the seat, but the important displays are attached to the seat.

There is one display on a mount extending out from each arm of the seat. While these might be used for monitoring the dynamic positioning offshore or other functions, they could equally well be used for the radar and the electronic chart displays.

With such a seat you can be master of all you survey but the location of the seat needs to be chosen with care. An all-round view is vital because in spite of the capabilities of modern electronics you still need a visual lookout. To help give a better view when maneuvering in a marina the seat could be made to rise with a hydraulic lift. Or, better yet, you could stand and look around, the old-fashioned way.

Once you make the switch to a seat control system, several possibilities open up. In all of the advances in modern motor yacht design, the helm station layout has been neglected but it is now time that the helm was given the priority that it deserves to improve the control and the safety of the yacht.

Why No Seat Belts?

While still on this question of seats why do we not use seat belts on powerboats? When the boat is moving unpredictably in waves you need to hang on tightly even when sitting in a luxurious captain’s chair. Think how relaxed you could be when you know that you are being held securely in the seat and you can concentrate on controlling the boat.

You do not need seat belts as you do in a car which is to hopefully save injury in the event of a crash and the car type of seat belt will not work well in a boat anyway. If you are going down the seat belt route, then you need the full harness type as they use in racing and rally cars and you do need one with a quick release. These can be a bit of a pain to put on but the joy of having a seat belt to secure you in the seat is a new experience if you have not tried it.

When we have been doing long-distance record runs, we have used sea harnesses and they have been worth their weight in gold although you do need padding under the shoulder straps to prevent chafe. There are now a lot of fancy helm seats on the market and some even have springing incorporated to reduce shock loadings, but I don’t know of one that incorporates a seat harness system. Perhaps it is time that we gave more thought to helm seats and harnesses and maybe the time will come when we see the back of the vertical wheel.