[Public-list] Articulated tiller

[Robert E Johns]

On Jun 1, 2006, at 11:46 AM, Peter Staehling wrote:

> Did you see the pictures at:
> http://www.alberg30.org/maintenance/Steering/ArticulatedTiller/

> They show it fairly well.
>
> I am curious about this arrangement too.  I am
> impressed with it at least in concept.  Are there any
> drawbacks you have found?
>
> Is the hinge stiff enough to stay in place in "normal"
> operation?  It would seem it would either need to be
> able to be locked in place or be stiff enough to not
> flop up and down in normal operation, including
> raising the whole tiller to a high angle to clear folk
> knees when guests are on board, especially when
> docking.  Could you comment on how your setup handles
> in this regard.
>
> --- JohnI <a30blueteal at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Bob, What did you use for a hinge?


As Peter pointed out,
	http://www.alberg30.org/maintenance/Steering/ArticulatedTiller/
shows two shots of the tiller on Wind Call. I had forgotten that  
George had put these onsite.

In addition,
	http://www.alberg30.org/maintenance/Steering/ArticulatedTiller/ 
StraightTiller175.jpg
shows a closeup of the hinge in the straight position of the tiller.

Look at the closeup photo:

The tiller is laminated in three layers. The two outside layers of  
the aft portion of the tiller (attached to the rudder post), form the  
sides of the hinge. The center layer of the forward portion of the  
tiller forms the pivoting portion of the hinge. The hinge is  
reinforced by two stainless steel plates on each side of the tiller.  
The pivot of the hinge is the middle bolt of the five bolts ( the one  
with the elastic stop nut). The four bolts with cap nuts secure the  
plates to the two parts of the tiller.

The outside layers of the aft portion of the tiller are rounded to  
semicircles and the forward portion is cut to concave semicircles  
that match the aft portion.

The inside layer on my tiller was designed so that a tongue on the  
bottom part of the forward portion of the tiller acted as a stop to  
prevent the forward portion from dropping below its normal level when  
in the straight position. This did not work because it was too easy  
to exert enough force on the tiller to break the tongue.  ("I leave  
it to the reader" to design this portion of the Articulated Tiller.)  
Actually, since the stainless plates are really able to support the  
whole load, the shape of the inner layer is unimportant except for  
esthetic purposes as long as there is enough clearance to move the  
forward part of the tiller to the desired positions. (It appears to  
me now that the tiller could also have been built with non-laminated  
wood.)

The stainless steel plates were purchased as mast tangs intended for  
a small daysailer.

Peter, the pivot bolt with the elastic stop nut is tightened to  
provide enough friction to to allow the forward part of the tiller to  
be moved to the desired positions and yet not be impossible to move.  
It does need adjusting once in a while so I keep a small crescent  
wrench in an accessible place below decks. Big changes in moisture  
seem to a cause to readjust it. I've changed the stop nut several  
times in about 25 years. There is no problem moving the whole tiller  
to the vertical position and while we do manually steer with the  
tiller in its normal  position we do not feel uncomfortable with the   
tiller raised above the horizontal a reasonable amount. (Obviously we  
would not try to steer the boat with the tiller within a few degrees  
of being inline with the rudder shaft with any kind of tiller.)  
Except for breaking the tongue (stop) off after first installing it  
there have been no problems. During our cruising days we made 15  
(16?) trips to Maine from Long Island averaging 900 to 1000 miles  
each cruise, so you can see that there is a lot of sailing time on  
that tiller.

Let me know  if there is anything else I can tell you.

Bob Johns, Wind Call, #397

 1149279205.0