Helm (ship)

“ That is, let the ship go more large before the wind.—Ease the helm. To let the helm come more amidships, when it has been put hard up or down.—It is common to ease the helm before a heavy sea takes the ship when close-hauled.—Helm amidships, or right the helm. That is, keep it even with the middle of the ship, in a line with the keel.—Helm over. The position of the tiller to enable a vessel steaming ahead to describe a curve.—Port the helm. Place the tiller so as to carry the rudder to starboard. (See A-lee the helm.) —Shift the helm. ”

“ Still the indomitable captain, with one foot planted firmly against a prostrate grating, which was pushed up to the ship’s bulwark, maintained his place at the helm. It required his utmost vigour to make the helm obey him, but so iron-bound was his frame, and so unbending his promptitude, that, with the help of the wind, he mastered all opposition, and kept the ship in the mid-channel. ”

“ A ship should therefore be so balanced by her sails that a slight change of her helm may answer the purpose.
If a vessel is going astern, and the rudder is turned off from the line of the keel, the water, striking against the back of the rudder, pushes the stern off in the same direction in which the rudder is turned. For instance, if sternway is on her, and the helm is put to the starboard, the rudder turns to port, the water forces the stern in the same direction, and the ship's head goes off to the starboard. ”

“ The helmsman should diligently watch the movements of the head by the land, clouds, moon, or stars; because although the course is in general regulated by the compass, yet the vibrations of the needle are not so quickly perceived, as the sallies of the ship’s head to the right or left, which, if not immediately restrained, will acquire additional velocity in every instant of their motion, and demand a more powerful impulse of the helm to reduce them ”

“ She is then said to carry weather helm or lee helm, as the case may be; and the knowing ones used to assert noticeable differences of sailing in certain conditions. In many ships to carry a little weather helm was thought advantageous, and it was told of a certain deck-officer—he who repeated the story to me made the late Admiral Porter the hero—that the ship being found to sail faster in his watch than in any other, the commander sent for him and asked the reason.Page 97 "Well, sir," replied the lieutenant, "I will tell you my secret. ”

“ For if the vessel retreats, or moves astern, the helm will be impressed from I to N, fig. 1. plate V. and, instead of being pushed, according to N P, it will receive the effort of the water from N towards R; so that the stern wall be transported according to the same movement, and the head turned in a contrary direction.
When the helm operates by itself, the centre of rotation of the ship, and her movement, are determined by estimating the force of this machine; that is to say, by multiplying the surface of the rudder by the square of the ship’s velocity [34] . ”

“ The power that drives the great hull against the rolling masses of water seems to have no sympathy with either the ship or the waves; and drenched from stem to stern, the vessel reels and staggers on her way, kept only to her work by careful use of helm. ”

“ Sometimes a ship is made to carry a weather helm by having too much head sail set aloft. For, if she lies much over on a wind, the square sails forward have a tendency to press her downwards and raise her proportionally abaft, so that she meets great resistance from the water to leeward under her bows, while her stern, being light, is easily carried off ”

“ The reason for putting the helm a-weather, or to the side next the wind, is to make the ship veer before it when it blows so hard that she cannot bear her side to it any longer. Veering, or wearing, is the operation by which a ship, in changing her course from one board to the other, turns her stern to windward ”

“ But error of design, or circumstances, such as a faulty trim of the sails or the ship inclining in a strong side-wind, will sometimes so alter the influencing forces that the helm has to be carried steadily on one side, to correct the ship's disposition to turn to that side. ”

“ Some vessels are beautifully docile, responsive to the lightest touch on the wheel, and actually sympathetic—I can use no other word—to a good helmsman. I have been in vessels that one could almost steer blindfold by the feel of the wheel, where the making of a serpentine course was a certain proof that the helmsman was either a bungler or grossly careless. It is popularly supposed that a ship is always steered by the apparent movement of the compass, and this is fairly true of steamships, but it is ridiculous when applied to sailing ships. ”

“ The most difficult helming of a boat is off the wind in a tall following sea, and great care is necessary then in steering a vessel. If the sea is very heavy and the wind strong do not try to run directly before it, but beat to leeward, first taking the wind on one quarter, and then on the other. If you run dead before, be careful not to let the boat sheer off the helm on either side, or she will be brought by the lee or broach to. ”

“ If your vessel labors much, ease the lee braces and the halyards, that everything may work fairly aloft, and let her have a plenty of helm, to come to and fall off freely with the sea. The helmsman will often let the wheel fly off to leeward, taking care to meet her easily and in season. The sails should be so arranged as to require little of the rudder. ”

“ Imagine some good ship, wrought by skilled hands, well built within and fairly adorned without, with rudder answering to the touch, taut rigging, lofty mast, resplendent tops, and shining sails; in a word, supplied with all such gear as may serve either for use or the delight of the eye. Imagine all this and then think how easily, if the tempest and no helmsman be her guide, the deep may engulf her or the reefs grind her to pieces with all her goodly gear. ”

“ It is very sad, but this is war time, and the fleet must be manned.
All day long duty-boats keep going up and down. Now it is an admiral’s twelve-oared barge with the flag at the bows; now a captain’s gig, or a pinnace, pulling between ship and shore; now a midshipman’s boat scurrying off to answer the flagship’s signal. Ships’ long-boats with water-casks and pursers’ stores for various men-of-war in harbour, pass and repass, and beer hoys and yard craft of all kinds. ”

“ The former are men-at-arms in full armour—one on the forecastle is very distinctly shown; the sailors are entirely unarmed, except the man at the stroke-oar, probably an officer, who wears an ordinary hat of the period, the rest wear the hood drawn over the head. The ship in the same illustration is an ordinary ship of burden, filled with knights and men-at-arms; the trumpeters at the stern indicate that the commander of the fleet is on board this ship; he will be seen amidships, with his visor raised and his face towards the spectator, with shield on arm and truncheon in hand. ”

“ THE 'IMPERIEUSE.'
22-ton guns and thicker armour than any of the early ironclads. It is more the service on which they are to be employed than any special form of construction which has put them in the cruiser category. No more ships of this type have been built. In this country the further development of the cruiser has been in the direction of giving up external armour, and devoting all weight we can give to protection to a steel deck for the whole length of the ship, varying in thickness according to her size. ”

“ You will frequently hear a man when conning the helm of a boat—that is, directing the steering—tell the helmsman to keep off, meaning by that to put the helm up and cause the boat to move further away from the wind or course which the boat has been holding; or else he will order the helmsman to luff, meaning for him to put the helm down, and bring the boat’s bow nearer to the wind. ”

“ But it is obvious that all belted or partially belted vessels, in which the belt is carried but a small height above the water for the size of the ship, must run the risk of losing both buoyancy and stability very soon if even moderately inclined in or after battle, seeing that, with a moderate inclination only, the entire armor-belt on the depressed side of the ship must disappear beneath the sea’s surface. ”

“ Why DON'T you put the helm hard up? Let go all the halliards fore and aft! Clew down the fore-topsail! Haul in the starboard braces! There steady with the helm!"
The mate and sailors were running about the decks, looking frightened and bewildered, eagerly casting loose some ropes, and pulling desperately upon others; the sails were fluttering and shaking, as if anxious to quit the spars and fly away to unknown regions; the brig felt the force of the wind, and for a few moments was pressed over on her side until her beam ends were in the water ”

“ Armored belt and long casemate with bow redoubt. Ram bow and straight stern. The belt encircles the water-line to the height of the main-deck beams, coming down in a curve forward well over the ram. There is no fore-and-aft fire from the casemate, the ship being wall-sided. The bow redoubt cuts off the point of the bow above the spar-deck beams and protects a bow-gun working in a single port. There is a high, oval, armored pilot-house just abaft the main-mast. No stern-fire. Single screw and full sail-power. ”

“ The shining helmet with its goggle eyes, the metal shoulder-pieces increasing his great breadth, the rising sleekness of the rubber-clad body, streaming with water that reflected back the contrasting lights, the gleaming, widening circles that surrounded him as he stalked on, made him impressive enough to those in the boat; to the natives he must have appeared a veritable god or demon of the sea. ”

“ The helm consists of a pole four feet long, which is fixed at an angle of forty-five degrees to a piece of inch plank two feet long and eight inches wide, as shown in Fig. 7. It will be found that the vessel easily answers this helm, which is used like an oar. Along the mast the sail is nine feet long. It does not run on rings, but is nailed to the Pg 111 mast. The corner is tied securely to the end of the boom, whose length is ten feet. The boom rests with its fork upon the mast and is prevented from slipping away by a forked, upright support. It is an easy matter to unfurl the sail. ”

“ The helmsman steers for it; a sailor makes a hasty dart at it with a boat-hook, misses it, and starts back appalled from a vision of staring eyes, and matted hair, and wildly tossed arms. They shout to the life-boat crew, and they in turn steer for the buoy; the bowman grasps at it, catches it, but cannot lift it, his cry of horror startles the whole crew, and some spring to his help; they lift the buoy and bring to the surface three dead bodies that are tied to it by ropes round their waists. Slowly and carefully, one by one, the crew lift them on board, and lay them out under the sail. ”

“ Not only is it an exceedingly stiff and strong construction; but it is so framed and tied into the bow of the warship, that it will tear open a long, gaping wound in the hull of the enemy before it is broken off or twisted out of place. The bow of the merchant vessel is a relatively frail structure, and many a ship that has been rammed has owed its salvation to the fact that immediately upon contact, the bow of the ramming ship is crumpled up or bent aside, and the depth of penetration into the vessel that is rammed is greatly limited. ”

“ The movement brought the stern to view, with all its garniture—Tritons like those at the bow; name in large raised letters; the rudder at the side; the elevated platform upon which the helmsman sat, a stately figure in full armor, his hand upon the rudder-rope; and the aplustre, high, gilt, carved, and bent over the helmsman like a great runcinate leaf.
In the midst of the rounding-to, a trumpet was blown brief and shrill, and from the hatchways out poured the marines, all in superb equipment, brazen helms, burnished shields and javelins. ”

“ No one is in armour.
Mr. W. Laird Clowes, in “Social England,” describing this picture, says: “The ship is clincher-built (i.e., the planks overlap one another) , with a rudder and roofed stern-cabin or round-house. In the bulwarks of the waist are apertures (not portholes) , through which cannon are pointed. The mainmast has shrouds, a top and one large square sail. The mizen is much smaller, and has one sail, which is reefed. The top is ornamented with the Earl’s device, a ragged staff. ”

“ In all the modern French ships, as well as in the Admiral class, a light steel superstructure of considerable height is built above the level of the belt-deck; the living quarters of the crew and the stations of the auxiliary armament are contained within this light erection, which also surrounds the armored communications from the barbette towers to the magazines. In this manner a ship with a small height of armored freeboard is converted into a high-sided ship for all purposes of ordinary navigation, sea-worthiness, and habitability ”

“ Observe the well-supported outer stem, the Dragon Head, the embroidered sail decorated with a variation of the "Swastika" design, which was much used by the Vikings on arms and ornaments; the vane at the masthead, the "shield-row" protecting the rowers, and the steersman guiding the ship by means of her "steer-board". ”

“ Enough has been said to prove that when the naval architect undertakes to build a hull that will be proof against the blow, not merely of one but of several of these terrific weapons, he has set himself a task that may well try his ingenuity to the utmost. Protection by heavy armour is out of the question. The weight would be prohibitive and, indeed, all the side armour that he can put upon the ship is needed at the water-line and above it, as a protection against the armour-piercing, high-explosive shells of the enemy. ”