Do they sell snow brushes in Atlanta?
Art: I made my first tiller extension out of a snow brush, by cutting off the snow brush part and screwing a little fitting onto the end. The snow brush was aluminum and telescoping. I bought a little "rod end" that had a little spring sleeve on it, that latched onto a little ball (that looked like a trailer hitch ball that was only 1/4 inch in diameter). This came from a company called "Small Parts". I really like being able to attach it and remove it. I don't know if they sell too many snow brushes in Atlanta. We still use this one sometimes, and it is very light and works well. I mounted the ball about 6 or 7 inches back from the end of the tiller. (I did remake the ball out of stainless steel, but the plated one may hold up OK in fresh water). One time I was using this tiller extension, and I bungied it to one of the winches. Then I adjusted it, until the boat sailed itself for more than 20 minutes. I later made another one that had a plug on the handle end that plugs into the top of the winches, and this is what I use to hold the tiller handle when we are at anchor. It has internal springs near the rod end. It also can be used to let the boat steer itself, but this only works well for pointing, and not for running or motoring. I think that toy pond yachts used something like this before they made them with radio controls, so I figured there had to be a way to make a bigger boat steer itself. An autopilot with a remote is the ultimate tiller extension. You can steer the boat from the bow, but it doesn't work well for racing or serious pointing, or surfing down waves. It does work well for motoring, and you can sail longer and further than you can without one, and still enjoy yourself. Go build a tiller extension. You can always buy one if you don't like what you built. I enjoy building things for my boat, and it gives me something to do and think about when I'm not sailing. Aldo
