Anyone care about my $5 Tiller Lock solution?

[dennisp]

Hunter has a Tiller Lock for the 23.5, and other (240/260) models. (Tiller Lock, under Cockpit Products) Cost is pretty prohibitive, but it works and it's a nice-looking, heavy SS item to clunk around inside your cabin when underway. I went looking for a cheaper expedient and found the following solution:1. Rigid 1-1/2" PVC conduit (had to buy a 10 or 12 ft. piece, but it was about $3.80). One end is larger (in order to join conduit sections together). I used this thick side for the bottom and cut it at an appropriate height. This larger diameter side of the PVC conduit goes into the square plastic receptacle on the cockpit sole made to hold the table leg.2. You must remove this plastic receptacle (couple of flathead Phillips screws) and then very slightly round it out, so that the wide diameter PVC conduit tube fits inside snugly. Then replace the plastic receptacle. (The table leg will still fit OK.) I just used a round wood rasp, then filed it to make it smooth.3. For the top, I bought a PVC plumbing joint 4" ($0.68) straight section that just fits over the small diameter of the PVC conduit. I shaped a hole laterally at the top of this joint piece, using a 2" (or 1-3/4", or some such?) hole drill...then just glued it on the top of the PVC.Simple 1-2 hour craft project (includes trip to Home Depot, and to the boat to measure) with costs under $5 or so. Not real pretty, but it's functional.

 

[Rich Stidger]

Good job...

I love anything that works great, is simple, and doesn't require spending obscene amounts of money.

 

[Steve677]

Great while on the mooring ball

It looks like it would do a great job of holding the rudder square and tight while she is sitting on the mooring ball but under sail you don't always want the tiller locked amid ships... I really like the tiller tamer for that reason. You can lock it in any position. You have to be able to do that to heave to and walk away from the tiller as well as while under way and trimming sheets. At roughly $25 it isn't cost prohibitive.

 

[Rick Macdonald]

mooring and slipping

Dennis - Is your tiller sloppy? IOW, if you slightly loosen the bolt that holds it between the plates, can you _rotate_ the handle a fair amount?If so, the reason is two-fold. First, the shoulder on the factory bolt is too short and the threads dig into the aluminum and wallow out the hole. Buy a longer bolt (3.5" I think) and cut off about 1/2" of the threads with a hacksaw. This gives a smooth shoulder in contact with the bolt holes.Second, what causes the wallowing of the hole is lashing the tiller as you are doing. This means long periods of time with a bit of wave or wake action.The original owner of my boat had already drilled a second bolt hole. I've drilled a third. The old holes are double in size!I replaced the bolt as above and no longer lash the tiller. I made a rudder lock, a solid piece between the rudder plates and the outboard motor mount. I got the idea here. It's in the photo forum.If you want more info search the archives for the last 3 years for the word "wallow". With a proper bolt in place, lashing the tiller is perhaps OK and won't do any damage. I did both, just to be sure....RickM...

 

[Rick Webb]

Rick (no the other one) is Right on the Money Here

I used a tiller tamer to keep the tiller in place then it was really wallowed out. I got the machine shop to weld in a slug and then drill it out so I have a solid peice of metal there now instead of just the pipe. I then made a bracket that is placed between the rudder plates and the chunk of wood that is the motor mount. I used dinghy pintals and gudgeouns to hold it in place. I then put a wing nut on the tiller bolt so I can remove the tiller altogether when at anchor or in the slip. I had posted pictures in here somwhere I'll see if I can find them.For five bucks that is a great project.

 

[Rick Webb]

Found One

Hope Y'all like it. There are better ones in there somwhere of the whole project.

 

[Rick Macdonald]

Yes, the other Rick's design!

Indeed, it was Rick's rudder lock design that I used. See my picture. I should have drilled pilot holes for the screws as the wood has cracked. That piece of oak was meant to be temporary but there it is still. I have a lanyard attached so I don't loose it, and the piece just lays in the engine well while underway.

 

[Frank Ladd]

Use 1 1/4 pipe

I used 1 1/4 pvc plumbing pipe and it worked without any sanding or removal of parts required. I used an elbow at the top to hold the tiller. I saw the design here years ago, got the parts and it took about 5 minutes to put together.