Tiller extensions

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FairweatherDave

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On my 29ft boat I use what came with the boat, a tiller extension on a flexible UJ, similar to a dinghy tiller extension, except that it is home made and has a handle (like a spade handle)........ not a t shape and not a golf stick covered in foam. I don't really like it , particularly the UJ, but also the home made nature of it which is ugly and going to fall apart.
Today I looked at the spinlock range which have a spinlock price but look really solid yet adjustable in length. Bit modern though for a late 70's boat
I'm curious what people have for their tiller extensions on similar sized boats and whether they like what they have. Particularly feelings about the rubber UJ.
 
I had an original Spinlock extension with the symmetrical, closed loop handle.

After a number of years hard use, the sliding extension became stiff and the Spinlock regatta support people swapped it for one with the then newly released asymmetrical handle. What a difference! So much more comfortable when helming for long periods and would have no reservations recommending one for a quite large boat like yours.
 
I wouldn't have anything other than the rubber UJ on a dinghy.
But on some dinghies we carry a spare.
I've used a ladder-style extension which must be similar to yours except yours has only one 'rung'. I think that was pretty good for that size of boat where there a bit of weight on the helm.
Having a choice of 'rungs' to use substitutes for telescopic.
Maybe with a well balanced rudder, a dinghy-style golf grip affair would be OK.
I think a mechanical UJ might be my choice for that size of boat, but we have the facilities to engineer the slack out of it.
 
We have a Spinlock tiller extension with the loop on the end, it was the first thing we did to the boat when we got it 8 years ago and its great, used all the time were not on auto pilot! The flexible joint works well and I would recommend it over the rubber dinghy UJ.
 
I too put a Spinlock Asymmetric on my previous 28ft tiller steer yacht and was really pleased. When considering the price remember that you will be using it practically ever moment that you sail the boat, unlike many things we spend a lot more on! Also the parts can all be replaced if need be.
 
I had the Spinlock non-asy on my old Sabre and it was a good bit of kit, apart from the metal "pin" UJ which had some play in it.

I went cross channel on an Open 60 (at the time she was Toe in the Water, formerly Pindar, currently Alcatraz IT FaceOcean and doing the Route du Rhum). She had the same Spinlock non-asy extensions I was used to, but converted with what the skipper thought were small engine mounts, or gearbox mounts. The rubber was quite strong and substantial, with the added bonus that if you let go of the extension, it would sit vertically upright, out of the way. It worked really well.
 
Iain C said:
. . . but converted with what the skipper thought were small engine mounts, or gearbox mounts. The rubber was quite strong and substantial, with the added bonus that if you let go of the extension, it would sit vertically upright, out of the way. It worked really well.
Click to expand...

It would. It's a standard Spinlock option they've offered for years.
 
Well thanks all. lw395 guessed the design, mine is a ladder with three rungs. Love the woodwork tillergirl, that's not the solution for me though. I want something quite long and comfortable for sitting up on the side above the seat. Suspect the spinlock has won the day, although I have found images of the Friend tiller extension no prices. It is still a bit modern to my eye but I'm sure I'd get used to it very quickly and enjoy the "feel".
 
I have broken more than one rubber UJ in a moment of crisis. At least you can buy them separately.

My favourite tiller extension is a bit of white plastic drain pipe stuffed over the tiller. There are two sizes that slide nicely one over the other so that making a telescopic arrangement is easy...and very cheap.
 
wombat88 said:
I have broken more than one rubber UJ in a moment of crisis. At least you can buy them separately.

My favourite tiller extension is a bit of white plastic drain pipe stuffed over the tiller. There are two sizes that slide nicely one over the other so that making a telescopic arrangement is easy...and very cheap.
Click to expand...

That's what what I used on the throttle of the outboard on my first boat, a Leisure 17, to allow me to steer the outboard and tiller simultaneously. However, I prefer the customary articulated type with the loop handle, to allow me to sit out on the coaming to observe the jib telltales, "keep a good lookout", etc.
 
Yep, the plastic pipe is my favourite tiller extension too...... for my outboard on my tender. But it is also someone else's favourite it seems. I left it rolling about in the bottom of the tender (which lives on chains) and mysteriously it got nicked over the summer. Corr, scrotes! The new one I tied to the thwart with some string.....that'll stop 'em. :)
 
I bought a FRIEND extension some 4 yrs ago from the agent :
Gordon Pickett [mailto:info@friendchandlers.co.uk]
A nicely made chunky job,wish I had one on current boat.
 
I also have a Friend tiller extension which I bought about 5 years ago from Gordon Pickett's Friend Chandlers. I don't think Gordon is trading any longer but the tiller extension, which is made in Italy by Osculati, is still available in the UK e.g.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Osculati-FRIEND-tiller-extension-handle/dp/B07G5LKZ92

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/163120547755

I've been very pleased with mine, as previously stated it can also be used to hold the tiller in an infinitely adjustable fixed position.
 
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