Boy, have I got news for anyone wishing to connect their outboard and tiller so they can steer with both when under motor power. Taking an idea I picked up on another site, I've worked out an easy to install VERY economical and quick way to do it on a Hunter 240 and any boat similiarly designed. I'm still working out the refinements; but so far it works fantastically and I've spent a whopping $10.00 in parts with no drilling, sawing, welding or bending. Details as they progress.
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S
Steve
R
Ron Mehringer
Bungee and line
Any chance it is the line and bungee combo that DonE (I think) on the Trailer Sailor Forum uses? It's the only method I can figure that would cost so little. Fill us in. This is a subject MANY of us want answers for.
Any chance it is the line and bungee combo that DonE (I think) on the Trailer Sailor Forum uses? It's the only method I can figure that would cost so little. Fill us in. This is a subject MANY of us want answers for.
M
Mark Cooper
Yep, and it works like a dream
Actually, I picked it up from Arlyn on the Trailer Sailor bulletin board and wish to give him all the credit and praise. It is a method so simple that it's beautiful. Right now, I'm in the prototype phase so mine is kind of crude and needs some improvement to make it perfect; but I'll explain it as best I can. 1) Attach a bungee cord to the rear of the outboard on the side that's furthest away from the tiller. The bungee should be short enough to pull the motor all the way to that side and still long enough to allow it to stretch to the other when pulled that way. Attach it to either the stern cleat or, in my case, one of the stern rail seat supports. On the 240, I found that an 18 inch bungee was perfect. I have a Honda outboard and there are two weep holes already in the motor housing at perfect locations on the rear of the motor, so all I had to do was bend the hook end of the bungee and cut off the insulation and it slipped perfectly into the weep hole. 2) I'm not sure about other boats, but there is a half inch hole in the rudder shaft about half way up. I bought a 12" long eyebolt with a 1/2 inch diameter, a washer and an extra half inch nut. I put one of the nuts on the eyebolt and ran it all the way up the threads. Then I put the washer on the bolt and ran it through the hole in the rudder. There is just enough room on the back side to attach the other nut. I tried it with a shorter eyebolt first, but couldn't get the turning range I wanted out of the motor. One improvement I will be making is to file off the threads where the bolt enters the rudder shaft to prevent line chafing. A disadvantage of the 12" length is that you can't fully raise the rudder; but, with only one bolt to remove, it's pretty easy to take out/put in. 3) I cut off the end of another bungee, cut off about an inch of insulation from the end and bent it to fit into the other weep hole on the back of the outboard. Then I ran a piece of 1/4" line through the bungee hook and knotted it. The other end ties to the eye in the rudder. 4) A bit of trial and error will get the motor to move in perfect unison with the tiller so that you have proper range of motion to either side and also center up when the tiller is in the neutral position. Currently, when I want to make the connection, I just slip the bungee hook with the line attached into the weep hole, lower the motor and I'm all set. Sorry, I have no pictures as I wanted to see if it worked before I even spoke. Improvements I want to make (and I'm asking for suggestions here from you guys) is a more permanent mount to the motor with a swivel so there's no chance of eventually cutting through the bungee hook. The side that attaches to the eyebolt will slip out if pressure is released, which prevents using a quicker method of hooking the line to the eyebolt when its use is desired. I know this is long and hopefully not confusing. Again, I want to thank Arlyn (or whoever came up with this ingenious contraption).
Actually, I picked it up from Arlyn on the Trailer Sailor bulletin board and wish to give him all the credit and praise. It is a method so simple that it's beautiful. Right now, I'm in the prototype phase so mine is kind of crude and needs some improvement to make it perfect; but I'll explain it as best I can. 1) Attach a bungee cord to the rear of the outboard on the side that's furthest away from the tiller. The bungee should be short enough to pull the motor all the way to that side and still long enough to allow it to stretch to the other when pulled that way. Attach it to either the stern cleat or, in my case, one of the stern rail seat supports. On the 240, I found that an 18 inch bungee was perfect. I have a Honda outboard and there are two weep holes already in the motor housing at perfect locations on the rear of the motor, so all I had to do was bend the hook end of the bungee and cut off the insulation and it slipped perfectly into the weep hole. 2) I'm not sure about other boats, but there is a half inch hole in the rudder shaft about half way up. I bought a 12" long eyebolt with a 1/2 inch diameter, a washer and an extra half inch nut. I put one of the nuts on the eyebolt and ran it all the way up the threads. Then I put the washer on the bolt and ran it through the hole in the rudder. There is just enough room on the back side to attach the other nut. I tried it with a shorter eyebolt first, but couldn't get the turning range I wanted out of the motor. One improvement I will be making is to file off the threads where the bolt enters the rudder shaft to prevent line chafing. A disadvantage of the 12" length is that you can't fully raise the rudder; but, with only one bolt to remove, it's pretty easy to take out/put in. 3) I cut off the end of another bungee, cut off about an inch of insulation from the end and bent it to fit into the other weep hole on the back of the outboard. Then I ran a piece of 1/4" line through the bungee hook and knotted it. The other end ties to the eye in the rudder. 4) A bit of trial and error will get the motor to move in perfect unison with the tiller so that you have proper range of motion to either side and also center up when the tiller is in the neutral position. Currently, when I want to make the connection, I just slip the bungee hook with the line attached into the weep hole, lower the motor and I'm all set. Sorry, I have no pictures as I wanted to see if it worked before I even spoke. Improvements I want to make (and I'm asking for suggestions here from you guys) is a more permanent mount to the motor with a swivel so there's no chance of eventually cutting through the bungee hook. The side that attaches to the eyebolt will slip out if pressure is released, which prevents using a quicker method of hooking the line to the eyebolt when its use is desired. I know this is long and hopefully not confusing. Again, I want to thank Arlyn (or whoever came up with this ingenious contraption).
T
Tony
Improvements
What about using a snap shackle or a small caribiner to attach the line to the rudder / motor. This should make it easy to hook/unhook the line.
What about using a snap shackle or a small caribiner to attach the line to the rudder / motor. This should make it easy to hook/unhook the line.
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Mark Cooper
Yeah
Yeah, I have it set up to do that; but the current problem is that, when the tension is released on the tiller/motor connection side, the hook drops out of the motor weep hole. Outside of drilling out the hole and inserting an eyebolt or something similiar, I'm still trying to think of a way to make it permanently attached to the motor. Another improvement I thought of is to put a turnbuckle on the tiller/motor side to make fine adjustments to position a little easier.
Yeah, I have it set up to do that; but the current problem is that, when the tension is released on the tiller/motor connection side, the hook drops out of the motor weep hole. Outside of drilling out the hole and inserting an eyebolt or something similiar, I'm still trying to think of a way to make it permanently attached to the motor. Another improvement I thought of is to put a turnbuckle on the tiller/motor side to make fine adjustments to position a little easier.
T
Thomas Tongue
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