My Wigeon mods

[sneakypete]

My Wigeon mods, tiller and extension

Some things I've done, with photos.

1) Tiller and extension extension.

I sanded, stained red mahogany, and varnished that hunk of wood.
Added stainless hardware and 3/4" hardwood dowel from Home Despot.
I made it longer than this one to accommodate a rudder lock. Boy, you'd be surprised at how good well finished wood looks on a non-wood boat.

 

[sneakypete]

Rudder lock and fairlead fix

Simple lock to keep rudder in neutral while underway. Used 1/8" x 3" x 1 1/2" steel bent approx. in half. drilled and tapped 1/4 x 20 for stainless threaded rod and red locktite in place, primed and painted. Attached with 10/32 stainless bolts, nuts, and washers through the starboard corner of the transom. The safety clip isn't really necessary since the friction is sufficient.
Both original fairlead blocks had split, I replaced with stainless eyes and rings.

 

[sneakypete]

Rear mast cradle.

I'm amazed at the amount of lumber used to hold the mast in a store and travel position. (It weighs 18 lbs.) I cut, from a nylon cutting board, two 3/8" x 4 1/2" slabs and fastened them together after cutting them to fit. The inside one is cut to fit the gudgeon, the second doubles the stiffness and is fit to avoid interfering with the add and remove of the 1/4" stainless rod, which holds the cradle in place. The rod is slid in from the bottom and pinned at both ends.

 

[sneakypete]

Additional photo of rear mast cradle.

This photo shows the cut of the inside plate that captures the gudgeon and the screws that fasten the plates to each other.

 

[sneakypete]

Widgeon hatch cover.

My boat had no hatch cover.
Got 2' x 2' x 1/2" oak ply from Lowe's. Cut, sealed, and varnished to fit the hatch. Removed O'day badge from transom, repainted, polished, and fixed to the hatch. Added stainless eye and ring. Replaced inside bungy cord.

Tsk, tsk wood looks so good on this boat I'm tempted to add wood grab rails and a bow sprit!

 

[sneakypete]

Front mast cradle

The internal measurement of the U bracket on my trailer for the mast cradle is 1 3/4" wide, so I ripped a 2 x 4 to that dimension, joined 2 of them together to make a strong brace.
I then sandwiched two 3/8" thick slabs of nylon cutting board together to make the cradle. All hardware is stainless.

 

[Brian S]

I recommend something on the end of your tiller extension to prevent your hand slipping off in the event you are sitting out and holding on to the end of the extension. My Harpoon had a cork ball. My Forespar adjustable has a rubber ball. The wood tiller on my GP14 has a piece of wood let into the end of the extension such that it looks vaguely like a canoe paddle grip. I have also purchased tennis racquet grip tape, and wrapped the end of an aluminum extension so that it won't slip in wet hands.

 

[Brian S]

The oak ply looks nice for a hatch cover. I hope it's exterior grade, not interior, so that it doesn't delaminate in wet. BS1088 grade okoume or meranti ply is a good choice. Okoume is not particularly rot resistant, which won't be a problem in a hatch cover. The BS1088 standard specifies A/B grade face ply, and boil proof waterproof glue. It will also have more plies per given thickness than typical builder's grade fir ply that you can get from the big box stores (though I know you used oak and not fir.) It also cannot have the ply voids and putty fills of regular ply.

The difficulty I see with your tiller lock is that it is not adjustable. I have used the Wave Front MarineTiller Clutch on all of my boats, and I'm very happy with it. It is expensive compared to, say, a Davis Tiller Tamer, but I think it works FAR better.

I agree that properly varnished wood accents on a fiberglass boat really make a great difference in aesthetics! Keep up the good work and get her in the water to enjoy her!

 

[Sunbird22358]

The one HUGE caution I wil lmention as far as any tiller "lock" on a centerboard boat..... make sure it can be released instantly (if not faster!!) if needed. There will be times when you need to change course to avoid hitting something and even more important, if a gust of wind hits while the tiller is locked...it will be much harder to avoid trouble since you can't instantly steer the boat into the wind to avoid possible capsize. I prefer to use a tiller "tender" made of bungee cord(s) which allows minute tiller adjustments and can be released or "overpowered" if needed to turn the boat.

 

[sneakypete]

Thanks, all good advice.

 

[sneakypete]

I just got hold of some 1/2" nylon plate which I'll cut a new hatch cover.