Classical wooden ship's wheel of the type used on large sailing vessels
A ship's wheel is the modern method of adjusting the angle of a boat or ship's rudder in order to cause the vessel to change its course. Together with the rest of the steering mechanism it forms part of the helm. It is typically connected to a mechanical, electric servo, or hydraulic system. In some modern ships the wheel is replaced with a simple toggle that remotely controls an electro-mechanical or electro-hydraulic drive for the rudder, with a rudder position indicator presenting feedback to the helmsman.
Helmsmen on older ships used a tiller (a horizontal bar fitted directly to the top of the rudder post) or a whipstaff (a vertical stick acting on a tiller).
Early ships' wheels (c. 1700) were operated to correspond to the motion of the tiller, with a clockwise motion (corresponding to a right tiller motion) turning the rudder and thus the ship to the left. Eventually the control direction of the wheel was reversed to make it more consistent with the action of a motor vehicle's steering wheel[citation needed][dubious – discuss] The design of ships' wheels probably influenced that of the modern steering wheel.[citation needed]
