A whipstaff, sometimes called a whip, is a steering device that was used on 16th- and 17th-century European sailing ships. Its development preceded the invention of the more complex ship's wheel and followed the simple use of a tiller to control the steering of a ship underway.

What does the word whipstaff mean?

(ˈwɪpˌstɑːf) a bar attached to a ship's tiller to assist with steering.

How does a whipstaff work?

The whipstaff proper was a vertical lever attached by an eyebolt and gooseneck to the forward end of the tiller of a sailing vessel. ... The whipstaff achieved this, being led up through slots in the decks to the helmsman's position, thus giving a gain in power of about four to one.