Don Silsbe Posted July 21, 2021 Report Share Posted July 21, 2021 I’m making some tweaks to Two Bits’ rudder and tiller today, so I thought I’d take a moment and share my tiller/tiller extension connection with you. I got the idea from Geoff Kerr, the owner of Two Daughters Boatworks in Vermont. All he uses is a short piece of knotted cord. I saw this in a video about sailing his Ian Outred Caledonia Yawl. It is cheap and easy. (I’d like to say “like my women”, but I chose “sweet and uncomplicated”.) Somebody once told me “I need more precision than that.” I laugh about that every time I go sailing. If the knots are tight, there is no more slop than a stainless steel fitting, and it is totally silent. Make one using scraps, and I think I’ll win you over. Here it is, with the extension in park. I use a rubber band to stow it. Here it is, deployed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul356 Posted July 21, 2021 Report Share Posted July 21, 2021 I put one like that on a Clint Chase Caravelle we built with some veterans at our volunteer boatworks. As an extension, it works swell, as they say. But it has a standard tiller clip on top to hold it in park that always snags the mainsheet. Now that I see yours, the clip is coming off and a rubber band is going on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve W Posted July 22, 2021 Report Share Posted July 22, 2021 Nice! FTR, those elastic hair stretchy bands they sell for girls to tie their hair up are better than rubber bands and work here. I also have a bunch on my spirits to tuck the reef line coil under. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Silsbe Posted July 22, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2021 I took this video today, for the proponents of the precision philosophy. IMG_4217.MOV Also, if you notice that the end of my tiller looks a little rough around the edges, that’s because it is. I’d like to make up something about aerodynamics, but it is really because I shortened the tiller by about 6”. It kept hitting me in the shoulder, so I had to cut it off. It’s rough because we’re camping, and I only brought a hand saw and a knife. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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