Helm

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Hector Barbossa at the helm of the Black Pearl

"I'll have my navigator to the helm."

―Hector Barbossa

The helm was the steering mechanism aboard a ship. A person operating the helm was called helmsman.

A ship's helm generally took the form of a wheel, with eight wooden spokes that were joined at a central hub. Wrapped around the steering drum was a long rope, which dropped below deck and was connected to the tiller—a horizontal bar fitted to the rudder. As the wheel was turned, the rudder swung in the desired direction. Some ships had a double wheel that allowed two people to take the helm in severe weather. Smaller ships often lacked a wheel, instead having the helmsman turn the tiller directly.

Behind the scenes

"Heading, Captain?"
"Two degrees starboard—"
"I'm captain of the starboard side! Two degrees starboard. The captain will now take the helm."

―Joshamee Gibbs, Jack Sparrow and Hector Barbossa

• In a deleted scene from At World's End, titled "Two Captains, One Ship", Jack Sparrow and Hector Barbossa had a comical fight over the captaincy of the Black Pearl as they journeyed through the endless seas of Davy Jones' Locker. This scene was also included in the film's junior novelization.

Appearances

• Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean (First appearance)
• Jack Sparrow: The Age of Bronze
• Jack Sparrow: Dance of the Hours
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned
• The Price of Freedom
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
• Pirates of the Caribbean Online
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (video game)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
• The Brightest Star in the North: The Adventures of Carina Smyth
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales: Movie Graphic Novel
• LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Non-canonical appearance)
• Sea of Thieves: A Pirate's Life (Non-canonical appearance)