Avast me hearties! Admit it, you always thought they were saying aha me hearties didn’t you! Well, I did anyway, until I started researching into the topics of pirates this week. The reason being? My youngest son came home from school and asked me “what is a pirate ship steering wheel called?” I didn’t have a clue, so looked it up:
A steering wheel on a pirate ship is called the helm, or sometimes just by the name of the wheel. It’s designed to change the rudder’s angle so that the pirate’s ship can turn. In classic pirate ships they could need more than two pirates to turn it, being extremely heavy.
Pirate ship steering wheel pictures
Here are some examples of what a classic pirate ship steering wheel looks like.
A pirate ship steering wheel name is helm. Image credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/craigsd/
This is what most people think of when talking about pirates.
The photos above are what the majority of people think of when visualizing a pirate ship’s wheel. Name can also be heard as being called “boat’s wheel”, but this is certainly less common.
The helm of a boat is the correct and proper name, and this can be used to describe any mechanism that is being used to steer a ship – in most cases that will be the wheel as seen above or a tiller.
Pirate ship steering wheels in the movies
Pirates have been a staple at the movies for decades. You’ve got the obvious films like Pirates of the Caribbean, but did you know about these other famous movies about pirates?
Check out some of the clips below, all of which feature pirate ship steering wheels in action in my top 5 rated pirate movies.
If you like what you see, gather your crew and get them to set sail to your place for a night in with some popcorn!
1. Pirates of the Caribbean (2003)
Let’s start off with the most obvious, in this Johnny Depp classic.
He stars as the infamous Jack Sparrow in this swashbuckling romp which has now even spawned it owns theme park attraction. A must see for kids and adults alike.
2. Treasure Island (1950)
There have been various remakes of this classic, and in fact it wasn’t even the first movie adaption of the famous book. But most people think it the best version by far!
It’s a classic tale of pirates on the high seas with treasure islands, buried gold coin, plenty of parrots and one-legged buccaneers.
3. The Goonies (1985)
OK, so it’s not what you immediately think when discussing pirate movies. But the storyline involves the kids finding a treasure map and setting off on an amazing adventure to locate the treasure.
It reminds me so much of the 1980s, especially the with the cameo and music from my old crush, Cyndi Lauper – whatever happened to her? I had to include it.
4. Hook (1991)
Who can forget Dustin Hoffman’s stellar performance as Captain Hook? In this timeless movie, Peter Pan has to return to Neverland to rescue the kids.
Watch the trailer below and see if you can also spot Robin Williams in this classic pirate’s movie, which also includes a reference to the real name of a pirate ship steering wheel.
5. The Princess Bride (1987)
And last but by no means least, this 1987 classic which my wife was adamant I included, as it’s one of her favorite movies of all time.
Check out the trailer below which includes the evil Dread Pirate Roberts being pitted against Westley and Princess Buttercup. It’s a great movie, with a fight scene involving a pirate ship steering wheel about half way through.
How to make a pirate ship steering wheel
Do you fancy yourself as a bit of Captain Sparrow? Or perhaps one of your kids has a school project that requires you get a bit creative.
There are many ways you can make a pirate ship steering wheel, and I am going to show you two different methods; simple with paper mache and then a more complex detailed method with wood and saws.
Easy method: Building with paper mache and cardboard
Anybody can do this one! You need cardboard, toilet rolls, paper mache, glue, paint and a little patience.
Here’s the process step by step:
Hard method: building with wood and saws
Here’s the more complicated version. It will definitely need adult supervision, not to mention a load of tools that you probably don’t have!
If you don’t own an industrial saw, you could still do this project with a smaller saw, but just get something electric as it will save you a whole load of time (and energy).
The last word…
So there you have it, you should now know a pirate ship steering wheel name is, just like I do after helping my son out with his recent school project.
PS: If you want to come up with a great name for a pirate ship that you have built as part of a project, or just want to know more about the historical pirate boat names, read this article.
