How to get rid of the "slack" in my tiller on a Hunter 23.5?

[Scubajeep]

I have a good bit of "slack" in my tiller for my Hunter 23.5. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to tighten it up. I thought about adding washers to the holding bolt but wouldn't that cause more slack in the future?How about adding a "insert" to stiffen up the lower section of the tiller???ThanksTodd Hubbell

 

[Paul Akers]

You May Have to Replace a Part.

It seems/sounds like a "gudgeon" (a "pintle" is a pin-fitting on the rudder), has a hole a bit larger than it should be which creates slack and "slop". Look them up in the catalogs or online.http://www.defender.com

 

[Jack h23.5]

If your tiller is wiggling..

like mine was, I added a wooden shim between the tiller and the rudder plates. Worked fine for a year, now it needs refinishing. Next go around I think I will bond a starboard shim to the rudder plates.

 

[Rick Webb]

The Tiller Bolt Threads Did It

I had an aluminum slug welded in and the hole redrilled and installed a bolt with longer shoulders. The threads eat away at the walls of the tube. Some others have pounded a peice of wood in the make it solid I guess you can do the same thing with epoxy. You could also swap the tiller end for end and start with a fresh hole.

 

[Artro DeVitalis]

Another Possibility

My '93 H23.5 came with 2 plastic shims which eventually dried out and fell apart. Not sure if they were original equipment..phoned Hunter and ordered replacements. Like others have said, any shim/bolt tightening will work.

 

[Jonathan Costello]

Next bigger size bolt

Todd,My 1994 had the same problem. I copied the idea from someone else on the forum. The problem arises from the bolt collar being too short and the threads wollowing out the aluminum tiller. Drill the hole to the next size and buy a bolt with a longer collar. The shims on either side of the tiller are made from a plastic that breaks down due to UV degradation. I bought some black 1/8" sheet plastic from an industrial rubber and gasket place here in Lafayette and cut new shims by tracing the old one for a template. Works like a charm. Just as effective as taking the tiller to a welding shop and building up the wollowed out hole. Just a different way to skin that cat. The key is to get bolts with longer collars on them which ever route you go. Good luck.Jonathan

 

[Mike Howell]

Threads probably enlarged the holes in the tiller

I replaced my tiller with an IDAsailor tiller. I like it better and the problem was solved.Mike

 

[Nicky17000]

I had similar problem

I cut the pipe longitudinally from the back to a couple of inches further than the hole. Then I hammered in a peice of solid aluminium and took it to a motor repair garage to get the cut welded. Then drilled a new hole.Nicky

 

[Rick Macdonald]

Me too

The original poster didn't make it clear if his slack is from a wallowed-out hole from the bolt threads or from deteriorated plastic shims. I had both problems and fixed both.When I took the tiller out, I found that it was already on its second wallowed-out hole. I drilled a third hole and bought a bolt 1/2" longer and cut off 1/2" of threads, giving 1/2" more shoulder so it won't happen again.For the shims, the factory told my to use UHMW material, so I bought a 12x24 piece of UHMW, 1/8" I think, for $3. I didn't have the right tools to cut nice smooth rounded corners, but it doesn't really show.