Tiller delaminating now cracked

[IASailor]

I was sailing today at Lake mcbride in Iowa. It was a beautiful day great sun and great wind. I still have Lee helm but that is another thread. Today I was letting my daughter steer the boat and a puff came up. It made the boat move freaking out my wife and I jumped back into the cockpit and accidentally put downward weight on the tiller. At this point it cracked from the delamination. My plan is to use some good wood glue and some bolts vertically to hold it together. What do you guys think of this plan?

 

[pclarksurf]

Would likely suffice—

but typical tiller construction is multiple laminated layers which tend to take some abuse from water and sun and load. Good option would be rebond the loose layers with epoxy— clamp it up until the epoxy kicks. I coated mine with penetrating afterward and coated with varnish. It’s bullet proof now without any thing but smooth wood to catch on anything.

 

[IASailor]

Would likely suffice—

but typical tiller construction is multiple laminated layers which tend to take some abuse from water and sun and load. Good option would be rebond the loose layers with epoxy— clamp it up until the epoxy kicks. I coated mine with penetrating afterward and coated with varnish. It’s bullet proof now without any thing but smooth wood to catch on anything.
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Man, that looks great! Thanks for the info.

 

[Benny17441]

I would urge you to replace the tiller with a new one. Only if you sail in a small lake with nil chances of running into bad weather would I consider the repair. I did that repair exactly down to the bolts to a trailerable Starwind 223 and it lasted for approximately two years. We had not been able to find a suitable replacement. I was sorry I did when we ran into small craft warnings weather in the Chesapeake Bay on our way to Tangier island. It is not nice when you hear the tiller creak under load and you are trying to maintain the bow into the waves. No doubt in my mind that if the tiller would have broken, the boat would have floundered. We babied it on the way back in calmer waters. After the trip we flew back home and left the boat with our nephew warning him about the tiller and asked him to look for a new one in Annapolis. The following weekend he called, said he had taken the boat out and that the tiller broke. Youngsters don't heed warnings but he did find a replacement tiller and installed it.

 

[justsomeguy]

Would likely suffice

Agreed.

 

[rpludwig]

+1 to all advice above....and weather you repair or replace, keep it varnished at a minimum and make yourself a cover for it out of sunbrella or other material, keeps the UV/salt/weather off when not in use. Make it loose enough so it can breathe and not retain moisture....eze project...

 

[Leeward Rail]

Post photos of the damage.

Bolts, depending in size can simply weaken such a thin structure by putting holes in it.

Like @pclarksurf says, if possible i would relaminate it with epoxy, and consider wrapping a layer of cloth around the end that attaches to the tiller

 

[IASailor]

Here are the pictures requested. You can see it has delaminated at several points. Who knows?This might be the original tiller.

 

[rpludwig]

Replace it....too far gone, the delam runs the entire length...

 

[IASailor]

Replace it....too far gone, the delam runs the entire length...

There was more than one vote for a replacement tiller rather than refurbishing the existing one. What would be good sources to use to buy a new tiller for the Catalina 22?

 

[Gene Neill]

Tiller CP-18, CP-22, C-22 Fleet Spec Solid Teak

Tiller CP-18, CP-22, C-22 Deluxe African Mahogany & Ash

Rudder Craft

 

[pclarksurf]

Man, that looks great! Thanks for the info.

After seeing your pics — typical delamination at the weakest point which are the holes /straps that take all the leverage. Sage advice all around — but keep the old tiller and use it for some epoxy practice. Technically epoxy is stronger than wood itself if bonded correctly. Yours is technically salvageable.