Hunter 28.5 Emergency Tiller Fabrication Drawings

[Neilski]

These photos and drawings are of an emergency tiller for a 1988 Hunter 28.5. The OEM Emergency Tiller was missing when the boat was purchased, and Hunter no longer sells one. The mainshaft is fabbed from plain painted steel pipe, with the handle being made from Chrome-Moly tubing (stronger). Total cost was about $75, and all the parts fit inside the main pipe for storage-held in place with corks at each end. It is small enough to fit in the (shallow) port lazarette, and can be reached without leaving (the now useless LOL) wheel. It drops into the hollow rudder post for a quick solution. If it needs to stay on awhile, it can be turned 90 degrees & bolted into place, and if the boats wheel is removed, the tiller handle length extended as it's adjustable. I hope this helps somebody out.

 

[Warren Milberg]

Nice job. Hope you never have to use it....

 

[jtm]

Interesting. I have an '85 h28.5 and it's slightly different. The under-helmsman seat cockpit body is lower to the floor of the cockpit and it has a bungeed down rectangular cover- not the best design as it can easily leak if you take on water into the cockpit and the opening is much too large than needed. The inspection port redesign in later models was needed.
I have the original ( I'm the original owner) tiller shaft and it is much the same except it has a 12 degree or so kink in the shaft an inch or two from the mating end to the rudder stock. If it didn't have that kink , it wouldn't have cleared the aft border of the rectangle panel opening. No other part to become a tiller handle was ever provided. Luckily I never needed it in all these decades. I'll be lookin for a small diam rod to become the tiller