tiller extension

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tiller extension

Postby seandwyer » Mon Aug 03, 2009 10:25 am

Hi Guys,

I'd like to add a tiller extension for single handing. I'm finding more and more that this is a necessity due to a lack of crew or anyone able to help. I've looked at some options on the market, and honestly they seem ridiculously expensive for what they are. I don't necessarily need anything that is adjustable. One sized fitted to my needs is all I'm interested in, so I thought I'd check in with all of you and see if anyone can point me in the direction of some plans or perhaps just verbally advise me on how you have made your own. Honestly a piece of hard wood dowel in about 3/4 or 1" seems like it would be sufficient - then the fastening on hardware - that's the tricky part. I'm trying to come up with something that would be a quick connect system etc.

Thanks!
Sean
DS1 - 3203
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Postby jcalvinmarks » Mon Aug 03, 2009 1:52 pm

How does this concept do it for you?

Drill a hole in the tiller, then another hole in the extension. Find yourself short piece of rope, and tie a figure 8 in the end of it. Then, when you're ready to install it, thread the rope through the two holes, then put a figure 8 in the bitter end, and slide it up into place against the tiller. The rope should be strong enough to push and pull the tiller around, but those figure 8s can come out easily when you want to unrig it.

That was just my thought when I read this. Mine came with a hiking stick already installed, so it wasn't a worry for me. But I agree, there's nothing about the concept of "a stick on a swivel" that should make some of these extensions and hiking sticks as expensive as they are.
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Postby GreenLake » Mon Aug 03, 2009 5:24 pm

If your tiller extension is shorter than the length between the rudder head and its attachment point, then you can "store" it on top of the tiller when not in use. In that case, there's nothing to disconnect.

Here's one way: drill a hole through the tiller to fit a dowel that can rotate. Cap the dowel at the bottom with a piece of wood. Make a fork in the end of the tiller extension, so it goes around the dowel. Connect by a throughbolt.

Now your tiller extension can swivel along two axes, but unlike the rope solution, there's no slack. If you use a wingnut on the throughbolt, the whole thing can come apart, but mostly you can just fold it on top of the tiller. To hold it in place, make two eyes in a piece of bungee cord (by wrapping it with a bit of stiff stainless steel wire). Screw one end of the bungee into the tiller (or the extension), then lead the bungee around tiller and extension and hook the other eye over the same screw.
~ green ~ lake ~ ~
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Postby seandwyer » Tue Aug 04, 2009 10:45 am

Hi guys!
these are both great ideas! I guess I'm trying to see it in my minds eye. I'd thought that if were going to make this from scratch that I would drill a hole throught the tiller in a horizontal direction, but mine already has a hole drilled in a vertical direction (when placed on the rudder I mean). Is this the normal placement? In other words, if you placed a bolt through the tiller it would be perpendicular to the hull bottom.

I just got back from a thrilling week on lake Erie - I will write a bit about that when I have some time and maybe even include a picture or two if I can ever figure out where the camera went! Suffice it to say, that experience has made it very clear that I need an extension and I desperately need to change the angle of my jib cleats. The sheets need to be pulled straight back - not side ways as they are now!!!!

Thanks!
Sean
DS1 - 3203
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pvc tiller extension

Postby dannyb9 » Wed Aug 05, 2009 8:35 am

i've made several tiller extensions using 5/8" i.d. pvc pipe connected to the tiller with about 6" of fiber reinforced clear vinyl tubing just big enough to slip into the pvc pipe. about 3" of the tube is held in the pipe with a 3/16" x 1" machine screw and locknut drilled through the tubing and pipe. the outer 3" of tube with extension is drilled vertically about 1" from the end and attached with a 1/4" bolt to the top of the tiller about 6" from the end of the tiller to make a "universal joint". i also have a rope loop on the end of the tiller extension that is just long enough to pass around the tiller and capture the end of the extension when the extension is rotated back onto the top of the tiller to hold the extension out of the way when not in use. it works!
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Postby Peterw11 » Wed Aug 05, 2009 10:25 am

Sean:

I assume you checked out the West Marine site. They have a number of options that'd work for you, from the 2 way joint at around 20 bucks , to complete extensions in the $30-$45 range. A bit pricy for what you get, but what you save in time and running from store to store, may make it worthwhile.

Mine is a factory made extension, an anodized length of 3/4" tubing with a ball handle on the end, and the 2 axis swivel joint.

What I really need is a clip to keep it from flopping around when not in use. Because of the ball, (which jams against the rear coaming from time to time), whatever I find has to have the extension resting on top of the tiller.

West offers a cheap plastic clip but they're currently out of stock, so I made my own out of a 3" length of 3/4" I.D. PVC electrical conduit. I trimmed off about a third of the wall, lengthwise, using a Dremel, so that the extension is a snap fit into the tube. I'll screw it onto the top of the tiller, and that should do the trick.

Total cost, about a buck for the brass screws. I found the PVC down in my basement, left there by an electrician who did some wiring for me.
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Tiller Extension

Postby LisaGail » Wed Aug 05, 2009 12:10 pm

I am yet to even sail my boat, but when I demo sailed her before I bought her, I saw a need for the same thing. I looked at prices and about choked, so I have made one for myself.

I used to sail Hobie's and had one and the key is the universal joint. I went to Lowe's and bought some flat aluminum plate bar stock for about $4.00. I bent it into a "U" bracket. I drilled a hole for the tiller and a hole to go through the extension. I bought a stair wood balister(since it had some grooves in it already and used it for my extension($3.50). I bought some 1/4" galvinized bolts to secure it to the tiller and drilled a single hold through the tiller end vertically. I used some nylon washers to allow for swivel. I have mounted it and will take a picture for use and post it if I have time. Total cost was less than $10.

Very simple project.


Jeff
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Postby GreenLake » Wed Aug 05, 2009 3:25 pm

I've made a rough sketch of how one could realize the "universal joint" for an all-wood tiller extension. Using a wingnut allows quick disassembly if desired, but rotating the extension back onto the tiller would probably be the storage method of choice. Just make sure, then, that the hole for the dowel is set back far enough that a comforatble grip on the tiller is still possible.

752
[Click to enlarge]

Because of way the universal joint allows the extension to move, the load on the extension is only along the long dimension. In other words, push or pull, not sideways like the tiller, which acts like a lever. That means the extension can be made from lighter stock than the tiller dimension.

Instead of a clip to attach the extension to the tiller, when stored, simply use a short length of thin bungee cord. Make an eye in each end (make the loop and then use a bit of stiff stainless steel wire to fix it with two or three tight turns). One eye you screw into the tiller, the other end of the bungee goes around the extension and then hooked around another screw on the tiller.
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Postby seandwyer » Wed Aug 05, 2009 5:29 pm

WOW!

You are a true artist! Thanks so much for the graphics - the concept is easily understood. I wish i could say I was going to make one this weekend, but I think I'll go sail with a partner - maybe tomorrow night. I've also been thinking about ways to bend a bolt (threaded on both ends) in a z shape with the ends then bent 90 degrees up from the traditional shape. It would be one piece through a hole on the tiller and a hole on the extension with a couple of wing nuts and nylon washers to act as a buffer for the wood. I think I want to go with 3/4" hardwood doweling and varnish to match as closely in color as I can to the tiller. I love wood.
Sean
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another idea

Postby MrPlywood » Thu Aug 13, 2009 3:02 am

I was intending to turn a custom wood extension on a lathe, since I like wood too. However, the more I thought about an adjustable extension the more I liked the idea. Then it hit me - I have an extendable aluminum pole that I use to wash the car. I checked my Canadian Tire store online, and they carry a smaller version from Simoniz (complete with squeegee) that is just perfect. It extends from 24" to 44", cost me $10. The pole was just screwed to the squeegee, so that came off in a second. The pole actually comes with the same type of foam cushioning that the expensive graphite extensions have.

The only thing missing is the "golfball" at the end of the pole, but I have my eye on a plastic curtain rod endpiece from Ikea that is currently in use in my daughters room :)

I was planning on making the universal like Jeff/LisaGail described, but I gave in and bought the stainless universal joint available at West Marine ($45 Canadian) and violá, tiller extension. I already had a plastic pole clip, so I added that so I can stow the extension on the tiller when not in use.

I'll take some photos this weekend and post.
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tiller extension

Postby MrPlywood » Mon Aug 17, 2009 10:53 pm

I have posted some pics of my squeegee pole tiller extension in case anyone is interested...

stowed
765

normal
766

fully extended
767
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Postby talbot » Sat Aug 29, 2009 5:13 pm

Nice collection of how-to's. I'll just say that I'm a fan of the Forespar adjustable tiller extensions with stainless universal joints. The DS II takes the long size, and I strongly urge getting the little plastic clip that lets you quickly snap it on and off the top of the tiller.

The one problem with them is that they are very expensive. But after trying a couple of different home-made jobs, I decided it was worth it. If there is one constant tactile experience in sailing, it is the feel of the tiller in your hand, and I figure the cost is amortized over every moment I'm under way.

Forespar also won my allegiance by being very responsive when I broke one of their extensions by carelessly jamming it against the interior of the cockpit (see note above about the tiller clip).
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Postby GreenLake » Sun Aug 30, 2009 7:47 pm

The tactile experience is why some people would prefer wood - I've sailed on someone else's boat (smaller than a DS) with a wooden one and it felt nice. However, it lacked a unversal joint. While that made it easier to store, it got in the way because it wouldn't flip up. That's why I drew up a design for a universal joint.

What I actually use on my DS is also a forespar, but I must have gotten it on sale, because I remember it was affordable (after a fashion). I also suspect it's not the "long" size. How big would that be?
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Postby talbot » Sun Aug 30, 2009 9:27 pm

26 inches, currently, extendable to almost 4 feet. Forespar seems to change its sizing from time to time.

I assumed at one point that any dinghy would take the small size, but I had to exchange the shorty I ordered. The DS is 6' on the beam, and with feet in the hiking straps and tail over the rail, the person at the helm will have his or her hands by the combing. so you might need almost a yard of extension. The extra length is also useful if you're solo, and have to go forward in the cockpit.

Brand new, a long-size Forespar adjustable extension with metal universal joint is around $100 US. Seems like a lot for a stick, but as I said, I decided it was worth it.
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Postby MrPlywood » Mon Aug 31, 2009 12:52 am

Just spent a day on the water single-handing using my extension for the first time. The length (24" at shortest) now seems just right, as I was sitting further forward than I would have with crew, and it really enhanced the experience. As talbot said I spent most of the day "tail on the rail".

Before I cobbled my gear together, I looked at the Forespar too. I think my tiller may have had one at some point because it has a hole that looks like the same size needed for the receiver hardware that the Forespar uses. The hi-end product may well be more durable, but so far so good with mine.
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