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A fully-manned wheelhouse!

The wheelhouse

The origin of the word “helm” is Old English helma, which means “rudder; position of guidance or control,” which comes from Proto-Germanic helmaz (also from Old Norse hjalm and Old High German helmo). The Helmsman or Wheelsmen is the one who holds the wheel, not the captain.

From left to right: a cadet officer, Officer Jean-Paul Ménard and Captain Marchand at the chart table
1980.0.44.29, MMQ Coll.

Listen to the sounds in the wheelhouse of the D’IBERVILLE icebreaker in 1981

Steering wheel

This wheel is connected to the rudder through a system of steering shafts: the steering gear, which runs the entire length of the ship.

Turning the wheel changes the angle of the ship’s rudder.

Wheelsmen at the helm on the ERNEST LAPOINTE’s upper deck

Foghorn

Above the steering wheel are two handles. The one on the left operates the whistle and the one on the right, the foghorn.

Listen to the D’IBERVILLE‘s foghorn.