Q: What are the advantages and drawbacks of a wheel vs. a tiller? I just acquired an older 34-footer and am thinking of converting to wheel steering.

Cynthia G.
Cleveland, Ohio

A: It will probably come down to your primary use of boat. If you'll be doing a fair bit of motoring, say, taking her down the Intracoastal, a wheel would be a good choice, as it makes easy work of steering straight, and of turning around frequently in the absence of a rear-view mirror. If, on the other hand, you have thoughts of racing her, you may want to keep that tiller — it's the closest thing to being a physical (and metaphysical) part of your boat ... The sensitivity with a tiller to wind and water acting on hull and sails simply cannot be replicated with a wheel.

Finally, contact several manufacturers. The best ones have excellent conversion kit recommendations.

Q: Where can I find out about Learn-to-Sail Programs, and how can I tell which are the best ones?

Darlene Z.
Trumansburg, New York

A: Talk to the people who run them about what your goals are. Every program looks forward to having women in their program and tries to make sure each participant gets the full benefit of the program