The rudder was handled by means of a tiller, and on large vessels this is often held up by a piece of wood (luierwagen) which is still seen on many small inland vessels.
In order readily to work the tiller of large vessels, a hole was cut in the poop deck immediately over the free end of the tiller in its middle position. A lever passed upward through this hole and was hung on a pivot of which the axis lay fore and aft. The lower end of the lever was attached to the free end of the tiller while the upper end was loose. By swinging the top of the lever to one side or the other of the ship, a corresponding motion was given to the tiller and so to the rudder. This manœuvre was, naturally, not easy in heavy weather and required assistance. A pulley, around which ran a rope or steering line having one end made fast to the tiller, was set in the deck so as better to operate the rudder. (WITSEN, p. 274, 2d column.)
This rope, which was served by two men, formed with the pulley the precursor of the steering wheel which appeared on the continent in the XVIIIth century, after having been already in use in England, as certain authors try to make out.
It is claimed sometimes that the rudder could only swing a little to either side. This, however, is a mistake. WITSEN says, as a matter of fact, p. 58: “The greater the swing of the rudder, the harder is the manœuvre”. It is evident that Witsen would have said nothing about the swing if it had been small. It follows clearly from the quotation from VAN YK (p. 121) in regard to the “luierwagens” that the helmsman must have put forth a great deal of strength: “Hij (de luierwagen) diend om de Roerpen, aan ’t vooreinde t’ ondersteunen nademaal deze, wegens deszelfs langte, om sig selven te dragen immers om ’t geweld dat de man te Roer daaraan verrichten moet, uit te staan; al te zwak soude wezen”[18].
Finally, M. Bouguer (1746) says in his work, p. 83, “that the rudder should make with the prolongation of the keel an angle of about 55° 44´, etc.”.
Hence it is incorrect to say that the swing of the rudder could only reach a few degrees. (PARIS, vol. 4, p. 221.)
Furthermore, vessels should be able to come about more quickly in our rivers, with their narrow channels and small depth of water, hence the rudder should be able to swing more than a few degrees.
On small inland boats, the rudder is frequently lengthened on reaching shallow water. This elongation was made by means of an isolated board or a movable part (VAN YK, p. 221), a thing which happens still very often at the present time.
If the tiller can be turned entirely above the bulwarks, which is called in Dutch “geen statie voeren” (without statie), the vessel is said to have a draai over boord in contradistinction to vessels with “statie”. The “statie” means the part of the bulwarks which rises above the tiller[19].
The tiller passes in this case through an opening in the “statie”, which prevents the rudder being brought hard over.