standard wheel orders

All wheel orders should be repeated by the helmsman and the officer of the watch should ensure that they are carried out correctly and immediately. All wheel orders should be held until countermanded. The helmsman should report immediately if the vessel does not answer the wheel.

When there is concern that the helmsman is inattentive s/he should be questioned: “What is your heading?” And s/he should respond: “My heading is … degrees.”

Order	Meaning
1. Midships	Rudder to be held in the fore and aft position
2. Port / starboard five	5° of port / starboard rudder to be held
3. Port / starboard ten	10° of port / starboard rudder to be held
4. Port / starboard fifteen	15° of port / starboard rudder to be held
5. Port / starboard twenty	20° of port / starboard rudder to be held
6. Port / starboard twenty-five	25° of port / starboard rudder to be held
7. Hard-a-port / starboard	Rudder to be held fully over to port / starboard
8. Nothing to port / starboard	Avoid the vessel’s head to go to port / starboard
9. Meet her	Check the swing of the vessel’s head in a turn
10. Steady	Reduce swing as rapidly as possible
11. Easy to five / ten / fifteen / twenty	Reduce the amount of rudder to 5°/10°/15°/20° and hold
12. Steady as she goes	Steer a steady course on the compass heading indicated at the time of the order. The helmsman is to repeat the order and call out the compass heading on receiving the order. When the vessel is steady on that heading, the helmsman is to call out: "Steady on …”
13. Keep the buoy /mark / beacon on the port / starboard side
14. Report if she does not answer to the wheel
15. Finished with wheel. No more steering.

When the officer of the watch requires a course to be steered, the direction which s/he wants should be stated followed by each numeral being said separately including zero, for example:

Order	Course to be steered
Port, steer one-eight-two	182°
Starboard, steer zero-eight-two	082°
Port, steer three-zero-five	305°

On receipt of an order to steer, for example 182° , the helmsman should repeat it and bring the vessel round steadily to the course ordered. When the vessel is steady on the course the helmsman is to call out: “steady on one-eight-two!” The person giving the order should acknowledge the helmsman’s reply.

If it is desired to steer on a selected mark the helmsman should be ordered to “steer on … buoy / … mark / … beacon”. The person giving the order should acknowledge the helmsman’s reply.