How to Steer With the Tiller and Rudder on a Sailboat

Sailboats are steered much the same way that any other boat is steered, through the tiller and rudder assembly. The instinct of most people is to steer a boat the same way that they would steer a car. A sailboat is steered in exactly the opposite way. To turn the boat to the right you push or turn the tiller to the left.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Grab the tiller with your hand. On a small boat, this is a handle sticking up from the back of the boat and folds down so that you can grasp it in your hand and move it from one side of the boat to the other. Moving the handle of the tiller towards one side of the boat, causes it to rotate the flat surface of the rudder, so that the pressure of the water pushes on one side more than the other and the boat turns.

2. Put the tiller towards the side of the boat that the wind is coming from and the boat will fall off the wind and slow without trimming the sail. Turning in this direction will bring the boat into a running with the wind position.

3. Push the tiller towards the side of the boat away from the wind will bring the bow of the boat into the wind. As you continue to hold the tiller in this position, the boat will pass through the head of the wind and continue to the other side of the boat. The name for this maneuver is tacking.

Tips & Warnings

• Be prepared for deviations in the course based on the strength of the wind. You may have to over or under compensate in steering the course to reach your destination.

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