[Sandwich]

This is driving me, and the 20+ people I was with when the question came up, crazy. Cars have steering wheels, airplanes have steering columns, and ships of the sea have....... ?

[Jetmech Jr.]

The Helm

[Sandwich]

Nope, that's the station, not the actual wheel.

[Jetmech Jr.]

helm    ( P )  Pronunciation Key  (hlm)
n.
Nautical. The steering gear of a ship, especially the tiller or wheel.

[vyper]

Originally posted by Sandwich
This is driving me, and the 20+ people I was with when the question came up, crazy. Cars have steering wheels, airplanes have steering columns, and ships of the sea have....... ?

The ship's wheel. That's it.

[Sandwich]

Ok, the helm is not what I was thinking of, and I'll explain why. If someone has a ships' steering wheel hanging up on his living room wall, you would not walk in and say, "Nice helm you have there!"

You'd say, "Nice _______ you have there!"

[Clave]

The Tiller?

[Jetmech Jr.]

 
Cast bronze ships wheels with teak handles.
These Ships Wheels are 1" deep with 6 spokes and a 1" diameter hub size. This ships wheel can be fitted to a 3/4" tapered shaft using Steering Wheel Hub Adaptor (at the bottom of the following chart).

 
the wheel is called  the steering wheel, which is a part of the Helm or steering gear of a ship, your looking for something that isnt.  ie another name for it.

[Jetmech Jr.]

Oh, it can also be referred to as a 'Tiller Wheel'.

[Stealth]

Originally posted by Sandwich
This is driving me, and the 20+ people I was with when the question came up, crazy. Cars have steering wheels, airplanes have steering columns, and ships of the sea have....... ?

cars have steering columns too.

i dunno, as far as i remember i've always said "Ship's wheel"

[Petrarch of the VBB]

Ship's Wheel, yup

[Nuke]

its a ****ing wheel.  a tiller is a long ass lever like the ones you find on outboard motors. on older ship designs the tiller was connected directly to the shaft on which the rudder was mounted, moving the tiller left or right, steered the ship. duh!

[Ford Prefect]

Originally posted by Sandwich
Ok, the helm is not what I was thinking of, and I'll explain why. If someone has a ships' steering wheel hanging up on his living room wall, you would not walk in and say, "Nice helm you have there!"

You'd say, "Nice _______ you have there!"

Ass?

[Martinus]

Originally posted by Ford Prefect

Ass?

[Knight Templar]

Helm.

[Rictor]

the rudder?

or is that the little flap in the back that steers the boat?

[Knight Templar]

Yup.

[ShadowWolf_IH]

she is called a ship's wheel.  much like the ship's bell.  Always referred to in the female gender, just like the ship she came from.  Helm is a term for all of the steering gear, from the Ship's wheel to the rudder.  and yes, the rudder is that little flap that turns when you turn the wheel.   The ship's wheel has also been known as a Rhoadd.  I have no idea what that actually means or why i know it, but for this instance "Ship's wheel" is what you are looking for.

[Martinus]

[color=66ff00]*ponders* a joystick makes my fighter change direction...
*ponders*

It's a joywheel!
[/color]

[Stealth]

i can see where this is going... any second now someone's going to mention how their joystick looks like a penis, and the whole thread's going to start spiraling downward from there...

oh wait...