Scale: 1:12. A model showing a steering gear of a sailing vessel, made almost entirely of wood, stained and varnished. There is an eight-spoked wheel, with a hand spoke missing, together with the drum mounted on a raised spinal stand, the whole of which is mounted on a raised platform on the deck. The section of deck is square and has a pivoting tiller which is fitted with two pairs of double sheaves.

At the forward end of the tiller is rigging which can be lead through a series of different positioned sheaves towards the ship's side, and led back inboard under the wheel platform and round a pair of elongated rollers, and then eventually upwards around the drum on the wheels. The deck has been scribed with a pair of lines at a 45 degree angle at the pivot of the tiller, indicating one of several rigging options around and through the three pairs of sheaves.

The scale has been hand written onto the deck, with the ink lost, leaving only a shallow impression "1 inch scale". On the underside of the base appears to be inscribed, hand written in ink "Mr Nares-McSeller" and in pencil "28th Oct 1861 from Controller office".