Helmsman in the context of "Merchant navy"

A ship's wheel or boat's wheel is a device used aboard a ship, boat, submarine, or airship, with which a helmsman steers the vessel and controls its course. Together with the rest of the steering mechanism, it forms part of the helm (the term helm can mean the wheel alone, or the entire mechanism by which the rudder is controlled). It is connected to a mechanical, electric servo, or hydraulic system which alters the horizontal angle of the vessel's rudder relative to its hull. In some modern ships the wheel is replaced with a simple toggle that remotely controls an electro-mechanical or electro-hydraulic drive for the rudder, with a rudder position indicator presenting feedback to the helmsman.

A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw and p-factor and is not the primary control used to turn the airplane. A rudder operates by redirecting the fluid past the hull or fuselage, thus imparting a turning or yawing motion to the craft. In basic form, a rudder is a flat plane or sheet of material attached with hinges to the craft's stern, tail, or afterend. Often rudders are shaped to minimize hydrodynamic or aerodynamic drag. On simple watercraft, a tiller—essentially, a stick or pole acting as a lever arm—may be attached to the top of the rudder to allow it to be turned by a helmsman. In larger vessels, cables, pushrods, or hydraulics may link rudders to steering wheels. In typical aircraft, the rudder is operated by pedals via mechanical linkages or hydraulics.

Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is an officer or enlisted soldier who supervises logistics and requisitions, manages stores or barracks, and distributes supplies and provisions. In many navies, a quartermaster is a seaman or petty officer with responsibility for navigation and operation of the helm of a ship.

The term appears to derive from the title of a German royal official, the Quartiermeister. This term meant "master of quarters" (where "quarters" refers to lodging or accommodation). Alternatively, it could have been derived from "master of the quarterdeck" where the helmsman and captain controlled the ship. The term's first use in English was as a naval term, which entered English in the 15th century via the equivalent French and Dutch naval titles quartier-maître and kwartier-meester, respectively. The term began to refer to army officers in English around 1600.

In naval architecture, a poop deck is a deck that forms the roof of a cabin built in the rear, or "aft", part of the superstructure of a ship.

The name originates from the French word for stern, poupe, from Latin puppis. Thus the poop deck is technically a stern deck, which in sailing ships was usually elevated as the roof of the stern or "after" cabin, also known as the "poop cabin" (or simply the poop). On sailing ships, the helmsman would steer the craft from the quarterdeck, immediately in front of the poop deck. At the stern, the poop deck provides an elevated position ideal for observation. While the main purpose of the poop is adding buoyancy to the aft, on a sailing ship the cabin was also used as an accommodation for the shipmaster and officers. On modern, motorized warships, the ship functions which were once carried out on the poop deck have been moved to the bridge, usually located in a superstructure.

Odysseas (Odysseus) Eskitzoglou (Greek: Οδυσσέας Εσκιτζόγλου, Odysseas Eskitzoglou; 3 May 1932 – 26 August 2018) was a Greek sailor and Olympic athlete. He competed at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome and won a gold medal in the Dragon class with Crown Prince Konstantinos as the helmsman and Georgios Zaimis as the other crew on the boat Nireus. Along with his fellow crew members of Nireus, he was named one of the 1960 Greek Athletes of the Year.

At the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Odysseas was the helmsman when he and his crew of Georgios Zaimis and Thimistokles Magoulas took 8th place for Greece in the Dragon class, with the boat Proteus II.

In Greek mythology, Tiphys (/ˈtaɪfɪs/; Ancient Greek: Τῖφυς Tîphus) was the helmsman of the Argonauts.