Modern Ship Wheel

Steering Wheel. From the 15th to the early 18th century, the tiller was controlled by a vertical side-to-side lever attached to its end. The earliest forerunner of the wheel was a horizontal drum. The full-fledged wheel made its debut around 1714-15. The wheel pedestal, a late 19th century innovation, contained mechanical steering linkage, and often doubled as a binnacle stand.