The wheel of a ship adjusts the angle of the rudder, changing the direction of the boat or ship. It is also called the helm, together with the rest of the steering mechanism. On older ships, the helmsman would steer using a tiller (a long stick) fixed directly to the rudder, or a whipstaff (a vertical stick acting on the tiller). Early wheels were operated to correspond to the motion of the tiller, with a clockwise motion, turning the rudder and the ship to the left. Now the control direction of the wheel is reversed making it more consistent with the action of a motor vehicle's steering wheel.
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