tiller purchase

[Norman Lampe]

Tiller seems to be beyond repair for 1976 25' O'Day.Where can I purchase one. When I visit sites I canfind tiller covers galore but not the actual item.Any help would be appreciated

 

[Justin - O'day Owners' Web]

Any major boating store ought to have some

Norman -At the very least I know West Marine has tillers. You may not find one that is identical to yours, but you should find one that will work. Or you could glue wood together and cut your own to match the original. Personally, I would rather spend that time sailing.Justin - O'day Onwers' Web

 

[Norman Lampe]

Need to know how to phrase search

Don't have any sailing supply storeslocally in Chattanooga, TN. Depend onthe net for these purchases. Looking around I found H&L Woodworking made mostof the original equipment.Will order from them. Thanks--BigNorm

 

[Russ Marcks]

Try a Catalina tiller

My tiller broke on my 25 the first year I had it. At the time, the only thing available to me was a Catalina 25 tiller. Unlike the straight O'Day tiller, this one is curved. However, it fits perfectly as long as you drill the bolt holes acurately. Obviously, the height of the curved tiller is quite different, but my wife actually prefers it as do I. Of course, that's a personal preference. These tillers can be mail ordered from just about anyplace.Although Rudy Nickerson may have one, the problem with the aging, non-laminated tiller is that is begins to dry out and becomes brittle. That's why mine broke. So a brand new one is likely to last longer than a replacement.Russ Marcks

 

[Helen]

Tiller

We bought a tiller for our 25 over at West Marine. You can order on line from them as well. The tiller was clearly marked for an Oday. Hope this helps.

 

[Gary]

Tiller resp

I made my own out of oak stock, a little shaving, sanding, finishing, etc... I have noticed that the standard hardware store replacement handles for wheelbarrows, posthole diggers, etc. might just work for some application. They are generally made of knot-free Ash and already shaped and sanded. Good luck.

 

[david lewis]

i recently built a laminated tiller, it was fun. first I built a simple wooden jig on a piece of plywood, then I ripped strips of maple to about 1/8 to 2/6 thick. then using west system epoxy with microfiber additive for laminating strength I proceeded to glue and clamp two strips together and to the jig to give them a desired curvature. it takes about 6 hours for the glue to set and the bond joint gives it the strength to retain the shape, no steaming required. I then added more layers one at a time, I didn't do them all at once because the forces on the jig would be too high as the wood is strong and resists bending, so a 1 inch thick section would have been too much, After the last layer I planed it to shape and sanded it, used a table saw for the joint to the rudder and coated the whole thing with epoxy to water proof it.the laminations can be different color wood to give it a nice apppearance. this was not hard to do every 6 hours spend 15 to 30 minutes on a layer so in a weekend it is done. it is also cheap, my guess is a finished tiller of comparable quality would cost 25 to 30 dollars, this used scrap lumber and a few bucks of epoxy. let me know if you want to see a picture of itdave