Brian and others who asked: I bought a curved laminated tiller (mahogany and
ash) from Steve Birch a year ago and also bought two well designed coaming
seats (teak and ply) from him as well. The tiller curves upward and then
back to level. Makes things much easier on passengers' knees, I don't have
to bend over so much, and my Autohelm works just great. It's beautifully
made and shaped - just had to trim it to fit the bronze socket. I added a
larger throughbolt to the tiller head at the same time to eliminate some play
that had accumulated over the past 32 years. A bit dear, but the exchange
rate was good.
The cockpit seats are very cool ; shaped to fit the average butt. They slide
over the coaming just aft of the aft jibsheet cleat. One shaped for each
side of the boat, and with a lanyard to tie them to the lifelines so not to
lose them. I find that I can use them on the aft coaming as well. You could
no doubt make something similiar, but Steve has a network of craftspeople
that put all this stuff together for him and do beautiful work. I like the
idea of supporting a cottage industry. I wouldn't be without them at this
point, especially for motoring or when you need uninterrupted visibility.
Bill Bach, V1071
ash) from Steve Birch a year ago and also bought two well designed coaming
seats (teak and ply) from him as well. The tiller curves upward and then
back to level. Makes things much easier on passengers' knees, I don't have
to bend over so much, and my Autohelm works just great. It's beautifully
made and shaped - just had to trim it to fit the bronze socket. I added a
larger throughbolt to the tiller head at the same time to eliminate some play
that had accumulated over the past 32 years. A bit dear, but the exchange
rate was good.
The cockpit seats are very cool ; shaped to fit the average butt. They slide
over the coaming just aft of the aft jibsheet cleat. One shaped for each
side of the boat, and with a lanyard to tie them to the lifelines so not to
lose them. I find that I can use them on the aft coaming as well. You could
no doubt make something similiar, but Steve has a network of craftspeople
that put all this stuff together for him and do beautiful work. I like the
idea of supporting a cottage industry. I wouldn't be without them at this
point, especially for motoring or when you need uninterrupted visibility.
Bill Bach, V1071