tiller head help

[staffmrm]

My wheel steering on my Roberts 34 has packed up. The pulley has come off the aft bulkhead which is rotten - well a small area is! Seems sensible to change to tiller steering BUT the emergency tiller locates on to a small square bolt (top of rudder shaft) which is on the cockpit floor. I would like to put a tiller head fitting onto this square "bolt". Ant ideas. I am happy about making a laminated tiller but the problem is this question of connecting to the rudder post. Access to bulkhead is appalling so would preder the change to tiller. The side of the "bolt" head is about1" and it only protrudes about 1" above the cockpit floor. HELP please
Martyn

 

[PaulJ]

I would be uneasy about attaching a permanent tiller to such a small "stump". I presume your Roberts 34 is built in steel? Steel is cheap and it probably wouldn't cost very much to get a metal fabrication shop to build you a new rudder with a new longer shaft. You could try posting this question on the discussion forum of "www.metalboatsociety.com" or the metal boat forum on "www. boatbuilding.com".

 

[staffmrm]

Would it be possible to weld to the stainless steel stump?
Martyn

 

[dickh]

Or even to extend the rudder post(if possible) by cutting and extending it by fitting an extension piece?, so it sticks out more from the cockpit floor? A longer square could then be machined to fit a proper clamp type tiller head.

 

[oldsaltoz]

G’day Martyn.
Perhaps you could make up a boss to fit over the square drive on the rudder stock, weld it to a ‘U’ shaped bracket about 3 inches wide and use this bracket to bolt each side of the laminated tiller. Fixing could be achieved with a bolt into the rudderstock.
You would have to run this past an engineer to make sure it would stand up under adverse conditions.


* * * *
* * [-------------] * *
* * [* *] * * < ‘U’ shaped s/steel
* * [* *] * *
* * ----- * *
* ***** ***** *
******* *******
*** ***
*** *** < Boss to fit over square
*** ***

*** ***
*** *** < Square drive on rudderstock
*** ***

Avagoodweekend Old Salt Oz.

 

[oldharry]

Errrr, cheers Oz. Unfortunately the old xxxx got loose in your posting - or was it the roos? - and on my Pommie 'Puter it all came up as - XXXX. Perhaps you have a different set of codes down under?

 

[Shanty]

Why not have a word with the designer, Bruce Roberts-Goodson (bruce@bruceroberts.com). Others may already have gone down this road - he may even have worked out a tiller version.

 

[PaulJ]

Martyn, though I dabble, I am not an expert welder. It may be possible to weld it but you will still want to be able to withdraw the rudder if necessary at some time in the future so the piece that you weld on will have to be the same diameter as the existing shaft and that means that it will probably have to be a butt weld. If properly done by a skilled welder I am sure it will be very strong but there is no way that weld will go right through the shaft and it will always be a weak point in a very highly stressed component. As for whether it would be strong enough, you will have to get the opinion of someone more qualified than I - a surveyor perhaps?
Personally, when thrashing along to windward with a bit of weather helm on I would like to KNOW the tiller won't come off in my hand - I think I would investigate the possibility of getting a new rudder made up on a longer shaft.