Simon Sez is a totally refurbished 1984 Mac 22 that I brought back from the dead. I added a new Nissan 4 stroke electric start this year that immediately crunched my factory motor mount due to extraordinary torque and old wood. The low position of the motor/controls is very awkward and uncomfortable (reason for electric start), so my question is...has anyone used a PowerTiller, and if so, what are your thoughts? While I sail on a gusty, New Mexico desert lake, motoring is necessary, and this device was designed in Arizona, which has the same conditions as I encounter. It sure seems lilke a sweet solution. Check it out at www.PowerTiller.net. I found it in Small Craft Advisor magazine. Please advise. Simon Sez
PowerTiller question
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I've used it on a couple of boats... it works pretty well if the engine was designed for remote throttle controls and it is properly installed. Not all outboards can take remote throttle controls.
I haven't used one, but checked out the video, and see it is not for me:
I have a Mac 25, and always sail with the motor pulled up and tipped out of water. I need to reach down to the motor tiller to make sharp turns anyway. Since I need to turn the motor, since I lift the motor up and down, it seems to offer some handiness, but sacrifices lots of simplicity while cluttering up the tiller.
If the motor was centered on the transom, hard linked to the tiller and had a folding prop (or an electric lift), I would think this is pretty cool.
I have a Mac 25, and always sail with the motor pulled up and tipped out of water. I need to reach down to the motor tiller to make sharp turns anyway. Since I need to turn the motor, since I lift the motor up and down, it seems to offer some handiness, but sacrifices lots of simplicity while cluttering up the tiller.
If the motor was centered on the transom, hard linked to the tiller and had a folding prop (or an electric lift), I would think this is pretty cool.
I have the power tiller on my Rhodes 22. My motor is a tohatsu 9.8 electric start. The installation for the remote controls was interesting because there are no directions other than a confusing diagram. The only downside to the poer tiller in my experience is when shifting it is very easy to pass neutral and go into either R or F depending on which directoin you are shifting from. If I had it to do over again I would probably opt for the remote that comes with the Tohatsu and mount it in the cockpit along side the cockpit seat.
>>ron<<
S/V Serenity
Gulfport FL
Lake Sunapee NH
>>ron<<
S/V Serenity
Gulfport FL
Lake Sunapee NH
I've recently been in touch with Bill Lajoie @ power tiller and he has developed a shifter that he states will get around the shifting problem that I mentioned in my previous post. I'm seriously tjhinking about trading out and will let you know if he has solved the shifting situation.
Fair winds and forllowing seas,
>>ron<<
S/V serenity
Fair winds and forllowing seas,
>>ron<<
S/V serenity
For those of you who are curious about how PowerTiller serviced this customer I submit the following:
We at PowerTiller offered Serenity no fewer than five solution to his issue - One solution was to return the product - He did not. The second solution was to make a simple modification to the spring tension on the motor's shift lock cam - He did not. The third solution was to add our optional shift lever to the shifter - he chose not to. The fourth solution was to add a shift stop collar to his shifter - we fabricated and tested it - He decided he didn't want to use it. Fifth we built a "slotted" PowerTiller shifter - to his specifications - that would stop in neutral or continue into the opposite gear depending on how the operator held the shifter - he decided not to take it but to keep the shifter we shipped originally. We at PowerTiller put more than fourty hours of shop and support time into trying to satisfy this customer - he tried none of our solutions.
As for the PowerTiller installation/owners manual - it is 13 pages in length complete with color pictures. Each adapter kit comes from the motor manufacturer - in this case Tohatsu who does not provide instructions with their kits. Nonetheless, PowerTiller supplies an expoded diagram of the adapter installed on the motor and Serenity was able to install both the adapter kit and the PowerTiller without further assistance from the instructions supplied.
If you have any questions regarding the quality of our product, it's suitability to purpose or our customer support feel free to contact me - Bill LaJoie (602)852-5707 or email me at billlajoie @ powertiller . net
With all due respect to Mr LaJoie of power tiller:
He greatly overstates his attempts to satisfy my shifting problem. I would assume that if I have a problem, others do also. Any attempt to deal with my situation would only be returned to him in greater satisfaction from others. In addition, what he fails to mention is the additional cost to me $$ for his altered shifting mechanism and the fact that he would be the one to decide if my existing shifter would be worthy of a refund. By the way, I would be responcible for all mailing costs.
Fair winds,
>>ron<<
S/V Serenity
He greatly overstates his attempts to satisfy my shifting problem. I would assume that if I have a problem, others do also. Any attempt to deal with my situation would only be returned to him in greater satisfaction from others. In addition, what he fails to mention is the additional cost to me $$ for his altered shifting mechanism and the fact that he would be the one to decide if my existing shifter would be worthy of a refund. By the way, I would be responcible for all mailing costs.
Fair winds,
>>ron<<
S/V Serenity
simon sez, are you by any chance 'gary' at the cochiti lake website? those are some wild comments - not gary's, his were great - on there about the campground. how is the lake sailing on cochiti? did you ever get the powertiller thingie? it looks pretty interesting to me, and i think i'll check it out for our boat. shoot, all these gizmos are works in progress. gotta have a little adventure in your life somewhere... let us know if you get one and it works for you, as it looks like sailingdog has had some positive experience with them, and he has the boat i'm lusting after, the telstar 28 - he's definitely not a novice - so that's a big plus in my book. plus 'good old boat' seems to like the product, and they're my sailing bible fer shur. jack b
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Themacway-
I really love my Telstar 28... it moves pretty fast for a "fat cruising trimaran" according to my friend with a Corsair 31. Serenity's point about the transmission is a valid one, and can be a problem but is mostly dependent on what outboard you're using it on. Some outboards seem to have a greater dead zone for neutral than others.
I really love my Telstar 28... it moves pretty fast for a "fat cruising trimaran" according to my friend with a Corsair 31.
Serenity's point about the transmission is a valid one, and can be a problem but is mostly dependent on what outboard you're using it on. Some outboards seem to have a greater dead zone for neutral than others.sailingdog, we'd like to take a smaller, trailer(able), cruising multi-hull from florida over to the bahamas at some point in the next few years. don't mind renting one, but we'd rather just buy a good used one and leave it in a slip in florida until we've sailed the keys and whatever else we're interested in seeing that's not too 'wavy,' then sell it (doubtful) or bring it back to texas (likely). i was looking at the tillermate and other tiller tenders myself when this thread popped up, as i'd want to be fully versed on one on a smaller cruiser or two before butchering a nice cat/tri, which we'll ultimately wind up with. we're not, and never will be full-blown, over the blue-water horizon sailors - just doesn't interest us. but a nice multi, with room for 2 like our smaller motorhome (also a telstar, coincidentally), and maybe one of our kids on the rare occasion, is a goal of ours, so some sort of tiller gizmotronica is probably going to be necessary. we'll definitely revisit my youth, when i did the icw from p-cola around almost to the chesapeake with some friends on a lark, and i can also see us going over to greece down the road, when we're fully retired, and probably doing some island/coastal/offshore cruising, and it'd be essential to be familiar with a larger boat by then, since my only real experience with them was back circa 1980 with my friend's hobie, and that's a different animal from what i can tell. i'm really a multi-novice and darned proud of it, since that takes the ego out of it right off the bat. i'm a learner, not an expert, so it'll be fun all along the way... jack b
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