# Wrapping a Steering Wheel



## DixieLee

I have no idea where to ask this question (new to this forum) but I always start with the women.

I want to wrap our steering wheel with rope. I have found several sites with knots, etc. and can figure out how to do it.

The problem I have is what kind of rope and how to figure out the length to use.

Has anyone done any decorative rope knotting or wrapping the steering wheel?

Thanks


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## Minnewaska

It's called Coachwhipping. I thought it sounded like a good idea as well, but have been strongly talked out of it. Hard on the hand and gets very dirty.

If you insist, here is a reference book, which includes a chapter on how to do it.

*The Marlinspike Sailor: Hervey Garrett Smith: 9780070592186: Amazon.com: [email protected]@[email protected]@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/[email protected]@[email protected]@51zazkbP0ZL*


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## Sabreman

> If you insist, here is a reference book, which includes a chapter on how to do it.
> 
> The Marlinspike Sailor: Hervey Garrett Smith


My dad bought me this book when I was in my teens in the '70s and I still use it. I love that book and coachwhipped the steering wheel of my dad's '73 Dodge Charger. It came out great but I definitely wouldn't want to try it with a sailboat wheel. The amount of line involved would be staggering and it would take a very long time to do. There are other coverings in the book that take less line and are easier on the fingers. With that said, I really like Edson's leather wheel coverings. All things considered, they aren't that expensive but I would definitely make a wheel cover or mold will grow.

I use cotton twine for most decorative work because it grips well. Nylon is too slippery but stays clean.


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## Stumble

If I remember correctly one of the professional coxwaining guys said it takes him 40-50 hours to do a sailboat wheel, depending on complexity of the knots used. Having tried my hand a few times, I am pretty sure for me to do the entire thing would take just shy of forever. 

This is a hugely time consuming job, but it does look great when done.


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## Faster

We had a wrapped wheel on the boat when we bought it.. initially thought it was kind of neat.. good grip, warmer than bare SS... but in our climate it quickly turned green in the gaps and was diffucult to keep looking nice..

Eventually we traded with someone who wanted a smaller wheel, and we've left the new larger wheel bare..


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## justified

Dixie
Well that is a very ambitious winter project you got. In simple terms its a boat load of line. Now lets do a sample calculation.....This will take you back to basic geometry (7th/8th grade) 1/8" dia. line..... tubing diameter .75" .... wheel dia. 60" 
.75* 3.1415(pi)=2.35" per wrap
8 wraps per 1" .....2.35"*8 = 18.8" 
60"*3.1415= 188.5" 
188.5*18.8=3553" / 12"= 296' of 1/8" line
And that doesn't include any knots.
Sorry):
Peter


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## svHyLyte

justified said:


> Dixie
> Well that is a very ambitious winter project you got. In simple terms its a boat load of line. Now lets do a sample calculation.....This will take you back to basic geometry (7th/8th grade) 1/8" dia. line..... tubing diameter .75" .... wheel dia. 60"
> .75* 3.1415(pi)=2.35" per wrap
> 8 wraps per 1" .....2.35"*8 = 18.8"
> 60"*3.1415= 188.5"
> 188.5*18.8=3553" / 12"= 296' of 1/8" line
> And that doesn't include any knots.
> Sorry):
> Peter


Having coach-whipped a 60" wheel with 1/8" line in a repeating clove hitch pattern, it is a very time consuming and tedious process and will give one blisters if one wants to get the line thoroughly tightened. It does look nice, however, and the line's appearance can be preserved by throughly coating it with ScotchGuard. A padded leather cover of the same size is about $300 (from boatleather.com) so if one has more time than money...

FWIW...


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## WinterRiver

I posted this project in the low-bucks project thread, and am happy to repeat it here.

The leather wrap on our wheel had seen better days. I searched online and in books for an easy, good-looking wheel wrap, and then played with some line for a few days. I came up with a simple solution.

My daughter and I wrapped our 42" wheel in a couple days with paracord. It feels good under the hands, with plenty of friction to get a good grip but not so much that it's uncomfortable. I think it looks pretty good too. 



It looks like a braid, but was very simple to do:



It's just what it looks like, a single line that never wraps all the way around the wheel. It just loops back and forth. I suggest using a sailing glove, as blisters develop quickly when you're pulling paracord tight again and again and again.

No frustration with keeping multiple lines untangled, no handling of the spool of line. I hung the spool under the wheel so that the line unrolled without twisting because I think it looks better when the line doesn't have a twist in it. When we were doing the wrap, we kept the "braid" on the outside of the wheel so we could fit more wraps on. I sewed the beginning and end of the line together under the turk's head. Afterwards we moved the braid to the side for a more comfortable grip.

It took 300 feet of paracord to wrap the 42" wheel. We could have made it tighter with a bit more line, but I only had 300'. The blue matches our canvas and doesn't show dirt like the traditional white does.


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## Alex W

My boat's wheel is wrapped with a smaller sized line than paracord, it seems to be about 2mm in diameter. It has half hitches all the way around, then larks head knots at the spoke intersections. I didn't do the work, it came to me this way. Based on my knowledge of prior owners I think this was done over 5 years ago, and likely about 10 years ago.

Here is a photo that wasn't intentionally of the wheel, but includes it:









The line used is has a fine weave and is very comfortable on the hands. It gets a little grimmy, but functionally it is great. I hope it lasts forever, because I don't want to redo it.


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## Donna_F

DixieLee said:


> I have no idea where to ask this question (new to this forum) but I always start with the women/...
> 
> Thanks


Huh. Funny how herSailnet always gets more posts from men than women. 

Welcome to SailNet DixieLee!


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## tdw

I must say I love the look of WinterRiver's job. Very nice indeed.

I fell in love with the whipped tiller/wheel look quite some few boats ago but the first time I tried it on a wheel was on our previous. Despite lack of skill I did the whole wheel over one weekend at anchor. I've seen better work but it was not difficult and I like both the feel and the look. Were I to be faced with a plain stainless wheel again I think I'd whip it as well. Current boat has leather cover and no need to refurbish.

I've never found it overly hard on the hands though the Wombet always wears gloves so I guess she is either criticising my handiwork or she is a bit of a softy.


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## WinterRiver

DRFerron said:


> Huh. Funny how herSailnet always gets more posts from men than women.
> 
> Welcome to SailNet DixieLee!


Just to set the record straight, my post is from a woman. Not that that changes the men/women ratio of posters much.


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## Sabreman

Alex- I believe that the half hitches are called a French spiral.


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## Minnewaska

DRFerron said:


> Huh. Funny how herSailnet always gets more posts from men than women.
> 
> Welcome to SailNet DixieLee!


Then open a HisSailNet and we can all go our separate ways, if you prefer it that way.

I do not and find nothing gender specific about this question. It's sad this forum has value for topics like this.


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## pdqaltair

I wrapped the SS wheel of our new-to-me cat the night before we left on a 3-day Christmas week delivery. I figured the SS wheel would be too darn cold, which was correct. A few thoughts:

* Unless you are into fancy knot work, a plain wrapping gets the job done in an hour of less.
* To my hand, a plain wrapping is more comfortable. The knots look beautiful, but I fond them irritating.
* Wear rubber-faced work gloves; the increase in grip makes for a tight wrap. Wetting the line will make it shrink-to-fit, which also helps. This is key if knots are not used; it's got to be tight. But don't get every turn tight; lay on 6 loose turns and then grab with the gloves and twist. Hold what you've got with one hand and repeat.
* I like 3/16" line (Cheap double braid--some stretch help hold the tension) better. Faster too. More insulation.










Since our wheel is under a hard top it has stayed mold free and is wearing well after ~ 3000 miles of coastal cruising (5 years).


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## DixieLee

Thank you all so much/ I was starting to get discouraged about this idea but I now have renewed enthusiasm!


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## SailRedemption

WinterRiver said:


> I posted this project in the low-bucks project thread, and am happy to repeat it here.
> 
> The leather wrap on our wheel had seen better days. I searched online and in books for an easy, good-looking wheel wrap, and then played with some line for a few days. I came up with a simple solution.
> 
> My daughter and I wrapped our 42" wheel in a couple days with paracord. It feels good under the hands, with plenty of friction to get a good grip but not so much that it's uncomfortable. I think it looks pretty good too.
> 
> 
> 
> It looks like a braid, but was very simple to do:
> 
> 
> 
> It's just what it looks like, a single line that never wraps all the way around the wheel. It just loops back and forth. I suggest using a sailing glove, as blisters develop quickly when you're pulling paracord tight again and again and again.
> 
> No frustration with keeping multiple lines untangled, no handling of the spool of line. I hung the spool under the wheel so that the line unrolled without twisting because I think it looks better when the line doesn't have a twist in it. When we were doing the wrap, we kept the "braid" on the outside of the wheel so we could fit more wraps on. I sewed the beginning and end of the line together under the turk's head. Afterwards we moved the braid to the side for a more comfortable grip.
> 
> It took 300 feet of paracord to wrap the 42" wheel. We could have made it tighter with a bit more line, but I only had 300'. The blue matches our canvas and doesn't show dirt like the traditional white does.


That is very nice and paracord is nice stuff too! Looks great, good job!

-sent from sea via corked bottle


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## tdw

DRFerron said:


> Huh. Funny how herSailnet always gets more posts from men than women.
> 
> Welcome to SailNet DixieLee!


Does anyone ever notice ? I usually just do a "NewPosts - All New Posts"and comment in threads that somehow are of interest to me. I confess I didn't even notice this was in "HerSailNet".


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## Minnewaska

tdw said:


> Does anyone ever notice ? I usually just do a "NewPosts - All New Posts"and comment in threads that somehow are of interest to me. I confess I didn't even notice this was in "HerSailNet".


Ditto.

And I find it mildly offensive that constructive feedback isn't welcome without regard to gender.


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## tdw

Minnewaska said:


> Ditto.
> 
> And I find it mildly offensive that constructive feedback isn't welcome without regard to gender.


I doubt very much that Donna was attempting to stifle debate or block constructive feedback. To be frank I reckon most of us are like me and simply don't notice where we are (in a manner of speaking) and post regardless.

Also we have to remember that while the proportion of women to men has improved somewhat over the years this is still very much a male dominated site, just as sailing is a male dominated sport. HerSailNet was established as a place where women could chat amongst themselves or when men did become involved it was on the women's terms and any bloke who didn't agree or didn't behave could take a hike.


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## Faster

Minnewaska said:


> Ditto.
> 
> And I find it mildly offensive that constructive feedback isn't welcome without regard to gender.


I'm also quite sure that Donna's comment was simply to say that more men post on hersailnet than women in general terms. I'm sure it wasn't directed at your post or what you said.


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## Donna_F

Minnewaska said:


> Ditto.
> 
> And I find it mildly offensive that constructive feedback isn't welcome without regard to gender.


You're reading way more in to what I said. That isn't what I was thinking at all and I'm sorry if that's how you interpreted it. There really wasn't anything hidden in between the words I typed.


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## mgiguere

After several failures of the thin leather covers you can buy and apply, a friend and I each had an old leather coat we no longer used. I cut inch wide strips and glued them together end to end with Gorilla Glue and wound the strip around the wheel...gluing the end as well. Thick leather steering wheel that really feels good and has been on for over 5 years...and I don't have a dodger, and my 37 foot boat stays in the water year round. 

Moe


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## arknoah

tdw said:


> Does anyone ever notice ? I usually just do a "NewPosts - All New Posts"and comment in threads that somehow are of interest to me. I confess I didn't even notice this was in "HerSailNet".


I agree, though I didn't see anything offensive in DR Ferron's remarks. I saw it simply as a commentary and not a complaint: witness the smiley face she placed in the post.

There have been times when I've responded to something then thought that my post might not be welcome, so I didn't put it in. On the other hand, I've posted a few times when I felt I could contribute to the conversation, like a post I made long ago about life vests for women after I purchased a specific model for my wife.

For this thread, I just think the wrappings are too cool _*not*_ to comment on. Great job all!


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## arknoah

mgiguere said:


> After several failures of the thin leather covers you can buy and apply, a friend and I each had an old leather coat we no longer used. I cut inch wide strips and glued them together end to end with Gorilla Glue and wound the strip around the wheel...gluing the end as well. Thick leather steering wheel that really feels good and has been on for over 5 years...and I don't have a dodger, and my 37 foot boat stays in the water year round.
> 
> Moe


Now that's *my* kind of do it yourself!


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## Alex W

I sailed on a friend's boat last weekend which did have a rougher cord used to wrap the wheel. It probably made the wrapping take one third of the time, but made the wheel a lot less comfortable to use without gloves.

If you do this use a small diameter cord with a soft and comfortable casing. Don't use something rough like paracord.


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## Multihullgirl

I suppose you could use bicycle handle wrap


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## Minnewaska

They make kits of padded synthetic suede material that you just stitch on. It's on my wish list. 

The first thing on my wish list is to finish my to-do list, so I can get to my wish list.


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## ottos

Multihullgirl said:


> I suppose you could use bicycle handle wrap


I debated suggesting that myself...The difficulty is that you would have to use multiple wraps. (A ship's wheel is much larger than half a handlebar.) I was able to find a bulk/continuous tape, but it was not cheap ~$150.


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## Alex W

Just start and stop at each spoke on the wheel, then put a decorative knot over those junctions.

I would probably use the older style sticky backed cloth tape than modern foam tape. The modern foam (sometimes misleadingly sold as cork) tape isn't as durable and might only last a few years. At $10-$15 for a bicycle handlebars worth you are probably looking at $50-$100 to cover an average sized wheel, and that could get expensive over the years.

Overall it is a good idea and one that I might try when the whipping on my wheel wears out (or gets too grungy to be happy with).


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## bshock

I took a week long cruise years ago on a Maine schooner (Stephen Taber), and a lot of their handles, brooms, brushes, etc...were wrapped in Seine twine. That stuff is tough. Zero stretch. Good to wear gloves, and comes in many colors. I think you can get the black coated in something.


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## pdqaltair

bshock said:


> I took a week long cruise years ago on a Maine schooner (Stephen Taber), and a lot of their handles, brooms, brushes, etc...were wrapped in Seine twine. That stuff is tough. Zero stretch. Good to wear gloves, and comes in many colors. I think you can get the black coated in something.


The black stuff looks cool, but it's tarred and I don't think I want it on my boat.

You bring up a good point: I've wrapped many hand holds in addition to the wheel. Not all of them--some you like to slide your hand along--but certain ones, mostly in the cabin, where the stainless was too slick. Big improvement.


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## northptsailor

I did my wheel seven years ago with an unpadded cover from Boat Leather. Even with a jig to hold the wheel it took me seven hours. The results were well worth the effort, it still looks and feels great. I do have a Sunbrella cover for the helm and the wheel lives below when hauled.


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## Azzarac

I finished coachwhipping mine last week. Something I have wanted to do for a while now. For a first attempt at tying fancy knots, I think it turned out pretty good.



















You can read about the process on Chameleon's site: Coachwhipping the Wheel - SVChameleon


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## rbh1515

The wheels in all these pics look great. But, I think the best wheel cover is from Colorwheelz. It is a vinyl covering. You send the wheel in (they have excellent directions on how to box the wheel up. You get the wheel back very quickly...mine was about a week. You pick the color and a few other details. Looks and feels great. I would highly recommend it.
Rob


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## Azzarac

:worthless:


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## RynnCP

WinterRiver said:


> I posted this project in the low-bucks project thread, and am happy to repeat it here.
> 
> The leather wrap on our wheel had seen better days. I searched online and in books for an easy, good-looking wheel wrap, and then played with some line for a few days. I came up with a simple solution.
> 
> My daughter and I wrapped our 42" wheel in a couple days with paracord. It feels good under the hands, with plenty of friction to get a good grip but not so much that it's uncomfortable. I think it looks pretty good too.
> 
> It looks like a braid, but was very simple to do:
> 
> It's just what it looks like, a single line that never wraps all the way around the wheel. It just loops back and forth. I suggest using a sailing glove, as blisters develop quickly when you're pulling paracord tight again and again and again.
> 
> No frustration with keeping multiple lines untangled, no handling of the spool of line. I hung the spool under the wheel so that the line unrolled without twisting because I think it looks better when the line doesn't have a twist in it. When we were doing the wrap, we kept the "braid" on the outside of the wheel so we could fit more wraps on. I sewed the beginning and end of the line together under the turk's head. Afterwards we moved the braid to the side for a more comfortable grip.
> 
> It took 300 feet of paracord to wrap the 42" wheel. We could have made it tighter with a bit more line, but I only had 300'. The blue matches our canvas and doesn't show dirt like the traditional white does.


This looks amazing. Did you use nylon or polyester paracord? My DH is concerned about nylon stretching when wet.


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## WinterRiver

I think it the paracord is nylon, since that's what's available online cheap. It has tightened over time.


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## FloridaBoy

Hey, WinterRiver, Love that blue coachwhipping you did, with the turks knot! How do you start that coachwhipping, please? Can't seem to find that particular whipping in the books I have available. Any help would be great! I'd be coachwhipping tomorrow. Thanks for any help, Kevin


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## WinterRiver

Thanks, Kevin. I have never seen it in a book either. With a single line that never wraps completely around the wheel, I think it's far easier to do than most other versions.

To start the coachwhipping I wrapped the cord around once and sewed the end to the cord. Then I looped the cord back on itself around the wheel, put a second loop through the first, and tightened the first loop around the second. Back around the wheel, another loop through the previous loop, tighten again, etc. I suspect you've already figured all of this out by fiddling around with some line.


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## iamregina

That's actually so useful, Alex!


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## Minnewaska

I broke down over the winter and bought the suede kits from Boat Leather to wrap our helm wheels. It will be a good use of a couple of days, when I have nothing else to do. 

They are very pricey kits. I spent over $500 for the materials to cover two 40" wheels and I still have to stitch them on. 

I decided to order the short spoke covers too, as my current leather wheel cover has them, so I add 2 to the order at $15 a piece. I thought I was ordering two kits (they are nothing but 1x5 piece of material), instead I received covers for 2 spokes (they did through in a 3rd as a spare). But, I have 16 spokes between the two wheels! I'm sort of stuck now and have to drop another $200 to get the rest of the spoke covers. 

When these things go on (which will take the remainder of this season, at best.  ) I hope they make the margaritas go down better.


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## killarney_sailor

We want to redo our coachwhipping after seven years of use with us on the boat full-time. My wife organized the project although I helped (yes, there are blisters). Interestingly she used a knot pattern that she had learned as a child in Beijing. Turns out it is the same pattern found in the knot work books in the west. We also covered the grab rail on the back of the dodger. The need became obvious one day when I was coming off the deck into the cockpit. As usual I grabbed the rail but this time just as the boat lucked on a wave. I slid across the cockpit and could have been injured if I had not been able to hold on to the rail as I slid across the cockpit. With a covered rail the grip is terrific.


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