New tiller needed.

jacktarjohn

jacktarjohn

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Medway
www.yotbum.weebly.com
I need a new tiller for my Nicholson 26. A laminated wood affair with a pleasing curve. I live in N Kent so somone local would be prefrable. Has anybody got any recomendations? The only lead I have found is a chap in the Solent area who advertizes on e-bay.
 
pmagowan said:
Why not DIY, it's easy.
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Yes indeed. I have recently made a laminated part-keel for my motor-sailer, a 2 metre length from the waterline around the forefoot to the straight run aft. It has a considerable curve to it, far more than a tiller would require. I followed the method described in the epoxy articles in recent PBO issues and it worked a treat. Didn't take long and not expensive. Previously I was quoted £500 for the job.
 
Its a nice size diy job to learn more about wood and epoxy. If it goes wrong it does not have to cost the earth.
Epoxy is amazing stuff and well worth an investment of your time.

I have not done a tiller but have some experience through building canoes and paddles.

I had a quick look online and could not find an exact guide, but half the fun is reading around the subject. This might be a good starting point.
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthrea...a-tiller-advice/page3&highlight=make+a+tiller

I don't think you would need to steam the wood. Make a form. Pre epoxy the glue surfaces to ensure it has soaked in. Lay the two bits of wood up while first epoxy is still tacky to get a chemical bond.

As you can probably tell I quite fancy this job myself, but as I have just sanded down and refurbished the original I can't bring myself to bump it up to the top of the list.

Couple of weekends should do it! Go on,,, and post pics here ��
 
A US company called Ruddercraft stock laminated wooden tillers at very reasonable prices and ship to the UK. Might be worth a look.

Just checked, a stock tiller delivers to the UK is $139. Just depends on if they have a stock tiller to match your needs, but they offer many others as well. I've never used them so if anyone has it would be good to hear feedback.
 
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jacktarjohn said:
I need a new tiller for my Nicholson 26. A laminated wood affair with a pleasing curve. I live in N Kent so somone local would be prefrable. Has anybody got any recomendations? The only lead I have found is a chap in the Solent area who advertizes on e-bay.
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I had a lovely tiller made for my 26-footer by Ben Dallimore, at http://www.boatsntillers.co.uk/. Just one caveat: the varnish he used was rather thin, and I had to strip it completely and give it the Epifanes treatment after one year. It is possible that I misunderstood, though, and that I was meant to varnish it more before fitting.

Nevertheless, I'd buy from him again without hesitation.
 
Easy enough to DIY especially since the thickness of each strip is unlikely to be more than 8mm.

Personal opinion: I prefer to use recorcinol glue instead of epoxy, partly because I find it easier to mix and partly because of better resistance to UV.
 
I've made several tillers now, DIY.

Getting supplies of good wood at reasonable prices was a bit of an issue, until I thought of floor boards.
Now I go to any DIY shop, and they all seem to have a few left overs of various hardwoods. These are available very cheaply, and by using various colours, nice contrasting laminations can be acheived. I've used oak, bamboo, teak, and "mahogany". Plane the board to about 10mm thickness and glue in the shape of the tiller bent, (a few pegs on a backboard to keep shape until glue sets up).
I don't use epoxy, but the various other marine glues available.
 
What about starting off from a pre-fabricated wooden handle such as for an axe, pick axe or mattock? You can pick these up new on ebay fairly cheaply and many are hickory or ash,which should have the necessary combination of durability & flexibility. Pick a suitable length & stock width & should be able to cut/modify to size & finish quite readily and cheaply. Certainly what I am thinking of doing if/as & when my exisiting gives up the ghost.

eg
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Faithfull-Hickory-Axe-Handle-915-x-64mm-36-x-2-/400824478257?pt=UK_Home_Garden_GardenEquipment_HandTools_SM&hash=item5d53002a31
 
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JumbleDuck said:
I had a lovely tiller made for my 26-footer by Ben Dallimore, at http://www.boatsntillers.co.uk/. Just one caveat: the varnish he used was rather thin, and I had to strip it completely and give it the Epifanes treatment after one year. It is possible that I misunderstood, though, and that I was meant to varnish it more before fitting.

Nevertheless, I'd buy from him again without hesitation.
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+1 Lovely tiller, I sent him the old stub that attached to the rudder and specified the length and taper. It came back with a beautiful sculpted handgrip, but the varnish he used was a bit rubbish. Easily solved with Epifanes.
 
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Here is one i prepared earlier. Laminates of Ash and an unknown tropical hardwood.
I cut a wavey curve down the middle of a pice of 200 x 50 pine plank with my trusty jigsaw and clamped the laminates between them with just two sash clamps.
Epoxy glue.
End result has the stiffness of an iron bar!
One of the easier DIY projects i have done and very satisfying.
Good luck
 
Bilecks said:
+1 Lovely tiller, I sent him the old stub that attached to the rudder and specified the length and taper. It came back with a beautiful sculpted handgrip, but the varnish he used was a bit rubbish. Easily solved with Epifanes.
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The handgrip on mine is gorgeous too. Interesting that we had the same varnish experience!
 
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