Emergency Tiller

[kss1220]

Has anyone come up with a user friednly solution for the emergency tiller?  A simple pipe is the most common that I have heard but, you are limited the length which provides very little mechanical advantage in steering the boat.  I would love to hear about a better solution.

[SailDan]

Kelly,
I have had the same concern and am looking for a solution. The emergency tiller on our 1994 Mk I C-34 with walk-thru transom consists of a tube/pipe with a notch at one end and a short, thin "rod" (handle) at the other; very little mechanical advantage. I can only imagine the difficulty the helmsman would have sterning the boat for long periods of time using this setup in an emergency situation.
Dan

[kss1220]

Dan:

I have a 88 C34 and I too am very concearned when the day comes that I have to use the next to worthless tube/pipe configuration to try and steer the boat and hold any reasonable course.  The pedestal does complicate things.  

Kelly

[Roc]

It is very difficult to use. I needed to use it when one of the eyebolts came loose.  The closest marina was three hours away.  I suggest try it out before a real emergency happens.  That way you'll know how to handle it. You have to take the wheel off, and it will clear the pedestal.

Roc-

[skip]

I'm no engineer, but an idea is gelling...

What we need is a two part handle.   First part will clear the pedestal but has a bend to offset the center to one side, and second part is a slip on extension much like a breaker bar that is used to gain leverage.    As long as you don't need to suddenly steer to the opposite side you have an effective tiller.

If you need to tack past center, you probably don't need much leverage anyway, so you remove the second extension, tack and then reslip it back on.

[SailDan]

If any of you have an idea on an improved Emergency Tiller Handle, how about taking a few pictues of your setup and sending them along with instruction on "how to use the tiller" to Mark Elkin for the C-34 Project Page.  I am sure Mark would be happy to put them on the site. I am equally confident all the C-34 owners (especially Roc above) would apprecitate any ideas / suggestions on improving this emergency equipment.
Dan H.

[SailDan]

If any of you have an idea on an improved Emergency Tiller Handle, how about taking a few pictues of your setup and sending them along with instruction on "how to use the tiller" to Mark Elkin for the C-34 Project Page.  I am sure Mark would be happy to put them on the site. I am equally confident all the C-34 owners (especially Roc above) would apprecitate any ideas / suggestions on improving this emergency equipment.
(I've thought about drilling a hole in the aft edge of the rudder above the waterline so 2 lines can be tied on in an emergency.  The lines then could be run to the starboard and port sides of the cockpit (thru removable snatch? blocks?) to stern the boat by pulling on them.  An alternative (but not esthetically attractive) idea would be to use stainless steel eye bolts on each side of the rudder in place of a hole.)
Dan H.

[joe feyder]

We have a 1990 C34 with the threaded cover plate under the aft seat, a 3' steel pipe extension, and a 1' long emergency "tiller." The previous owner warned about difficulty using the factory emergency tiller, so we wanted a better alternative.  In order to create better leverage, I have used an axe handle (approx. 3 ft. long) with a 10" x 10" plywood (5/8 thick) triagular gusset bolted to the "head" end.  One side of the triangular gusset is bolted parallel to the axe handle leaving one side to run perpendicular.  To this side, I bolted three 1" conduit clamps which have been squeezed in slightly to minimize any play around the tiller pipe.  Temporarily remove the plastic end cap on the short pipe supplied as an emergency tiller and the "tiller" slides into the conduit clamps.  Replace the cap and the leverage has been increased significantly.  Due to the interference from the wheel, you can only pull the axe handle aft to steer and you simply rotate the handle to the other side to steer in the opposite direction.  We have tested the rig and it seems to work fine in a pinch.  It should get someone through an emergencey.  It is not pretty, but put it in the bottom of your cockpit locker and hopefully it is never used. 

Joe Feyder
1990 C34
Kairos
Chesapeake Bay
Deale, Md.

[Ron Hill]

ks20 : It's extremely difficult to use the emergency tiller in the older full transom boats.  You first MUST remove the wheel to gain some room and also have made a new tiller arm that clears the compass so you have some decent leverage.
There have been numerious posts on this topic.   

[ssk]

This may be dumb, but I can see that there may be a way to put a wheel on top of the emergency post.  The X of the wheel might give adequate double-handed mechanical advantage without having to mess with a short tiller the same length as the bilge pump handle.  I'm going to check the measurements next time out and see if the regular wheel could go horizontal...
ssk