State of emergency tillers
- Thread starter Phil Herring
- Start date
I'm curious; of those who said steering with the ET was difficult, do you have a balanced rudder?
I am amongst those that have used their emergency tiller in anger.
We were about 100 yards or so from the harbor mouth. Just started the engine. Had experienced crew at the helm. Turning down to cover the jib with the main to make it easier to furl. Heard a clunk and the wheel turned freely. Luckily I knew where the e-tiller was, and my crew was great at getting the sails down pronto. That's good, as otherwise we'd be on the beach in a matter of minutes.
Things I learned:
1. It's pretty tough to steer with the e-tiller. And yup - a c-30 has a balanced rudder.
2. The wheel was frozen to the shaft - I could not remove the wheel to gain more room for the tiller. (I've since fixed that)
3. Use your legs to help steer.
4. Y'all better know exactly where that tiller is when you need it. Our only other option would have been to toss out the anchor.
5. The paddleboarders in the harbor will give you a tiny bit of room if you yell at 'em that you can't steer.
We were about 100 yards or so from the harbor mouth. Just started the engine. Had experienced crew at the helm. Turning down to cover the jib with the main to make it easier to furl. Heard a clunk and the wheel turned freely. Luckily I knew where the e-tiller was, and my crew was great at getting the sails down pronto. That's good, as otherwise we'd be on the beach in a matter of minutes.
Things I learned:
1. It's pretty tough to steer with the e-tiller. And yup - a c-30 has a balanced rudder.
2. The wheel was frozen to the shaft - I could not remove the wheel to gain more room for the tiller. (I've since fixed that)
3. Use your legs to help steer.
4. Y'all better know exactly where that tiller is when you need it. Our only other option would have been to toss out the anchor.
5. The paddleboarders in the harbor will give you a tiny bit of room if you yell at 'em that you can't steer.
Yes. Doesn’t matter, the problem is leverage, and a tiny emergency tiller arm. Had the steering go out on a Hunter 37 and it was difficult. I assume on a 41 it would be worse. If you can extend the lever-arm of the tiller it would be easier, but that means you have to practice.
It can be done. I had a situation on a 45 ft., heavy (steel) yawl that the steering cable broke off shore in about 20-odd kt wind and 4-5 m waves. We used an emergency tiller while the other member of the crew replaced the cable. I cannot say it was easy or comfortable. And you got tired pretty quickly. If I remember correctly, we did 20-30 min shifts at the tiller. What helped was that we had 6 people on board.
you can try installing the tiller sideways (athwartship)Longer lever would hit the wheel. I guess it’s the gym for me.
My emergency tiller is in the aft lazarette next to the top of the rudder post where it would attach. There is also a bungee cord in there to hold the lid open.
This post reminds me that I long ago intended to put it on and try it out in a non-emergency situation and never got around to it. I have a barn door of a rudder that’s skeg mounted; not balanced, and the ET is short enough to clear the wheel; limited leverage, so I image it will take considerable extra effort to steer.
This post reminds me that I long ago intended to put it on and try it out in a non-emergency situation and never got around to it. I have a barn door of a rudder that’s skeg mounted; not balanced, and the ET is short enough to clear the wheel; limited leverage, so I image it will take considerable extra effort to steer.
Several said they thought this was too rare a scenario to plan for. I bent and jammed a rudder on a submerged log. I think you will find loss of steering is also one of the most common reasons for rescue and loss of the boat (the Coast Guard doesn't tow).
Several said steer with the sails. It does not actually work if you need to navigate.
Several said steer with the sails. It does not actually work if you need to navigate.
- Only courses near a close reach are stable.
- Try tacking or jibing.
- Try this when the rudder is either gone (lateral plane lost) or bent to one side.
To be fair, an emergency tiller won’t help if the rudder is jammed or lost. It’ll only help if the steering gear fails without jamming.
But I agree with you that knowing where the emergency tiller is and how to quickly make it work is still an important and worthwhile practice.
Used the emergency tiller once on our old boat ( a J/36) when the U-bolts holding the steering cables slipped off because they hadn't been tightened enough after replacing the sheaves. The short length of the emergency tiller made steering difficult - it took two crew to handle it, reaching at about 8 knots in a 15 knot breeze. Steering got fixed in about 45 minutes. We were racing and ended up withdrawing because fixing the cables led us to find out that the rudder stuffing box was leaking.
Found the emergency tiller on our new-to-us boat under the quarterberth - a long way from the cockpit. Took it home and gave it a few coats of Rustoleum before re-stowing it in the lazarette, standing on end with the handle up so it is easy to grab. It is again short, so as not to interfere with the wheel. In use it we will probably take a line or tackle to it and tie it off to the spinnaker winches P & S.
Found the emergency tiller on our new-to-us boat under the quarterberth - a long way from the cockpit. Took it home and gave it a few coats of Rustoleum before re-stowing it in the lazarette, standing on end with the handle up so it is easy to grab. It is again short, so as not to interfere with the wheel. In use it we will probably take a line or tackle to it and tie it off to the spinnaker winches P & S.
In 2018 I was crew aboard a sister boat to my prior boat (Dragonfly 1200 tri), and we were bringing the boat from Miami to CT. We lost steering at 1:00 AM about 40nm SE of Cape Fear. Wind was around 15-20 on our starboard quarter seas about 5 or 6 ft. Fortunately we still had the rudder and an emergency tiller that was usable, albeit fatiguing. We dropped sail, motored
and took 20-minute steering shifts. We entered the Cape Fear River at around 7AM and tied up at the Southport marina without assistance.
That said, the emergency tiller on my current boat is stubby and not usable. That concerns me.
and took 20-minute steering shifts. We entered the Cape Fear River at around 7AM and tied up at the Southport marina without assistance.
That said, the emergency tiller on my current boat is stubby and not usable. That concerns me.
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Good to observe. Part of practicing is learning the limitations. Perhaps you need to figure out how to attach lines to each side that can be led to winches? I cheater handle? Or will these things overstress the connection. Investigate and think on it.
Example. I have see Lifeslings factory packed with the line in a "store" coil. Good luck deploying that. I was in involved in testing throw bags and throwables and we found one that had a tape splice in the rope (one of those mid-spool splices the drum warns you about). Neither would have worked if they had not at least been pulled out and re-packed.
WEEKEND REPAIR...last week.
1) Steering cables were loose, fell off pulley/block into space between plate below helm and shredded (Actually I shredded one putting it back on) ....Parts = $650 New Bedford Edson supply...
2) Repairman = ME! No one else was available for 2 weeks. Took me hours to repair, cut plate to save time.
3) Emergency tiller, worked well, motored 5nm to dock in Falmouth for repair using wheel but with tiller ready, yet my duct tape repair held.
***Lessons learned, A. have emergency tiller ready & know how to use it. (took me 1hr to find it) B. Tighten play in wheel, before cables come off ****
1) Steering cables were loose, fell off pulley/block into space between plate below helm and shredded (Actually I shredded one putting it back on) ....Parts = $650 New Bedford Edson supply...
2) Repairman = ME! No one else was available for 2 weeks. Took me hours to repair, cut plate to save time.
3) Emergency tiller, worked well, motored 5nm to dock in Falmouth for repair using wheel but with tiller ready, yet my duct tape repair held.
***Lessons learned, A. have emergency tiller ready & know how to use it. (took me 1hr to find it) B. Tighten play in wheel, before cables come off ****
Attachments
My emergency tiller is in the lazerette next to the rudder post. It has a cover over it to protect your hands. The tiller only goes on one way and it is in the cover such that the end that goes into the rudder post comes out first. The handle for the manual bilge pump is on a lanyard looped over the rudder post. I've tested both and hope to never use either one.