Tiller Lock

jusw

jusw

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A problem I encounter on the rare occasion when I sail shorthanded is this - I need to leave the cockpit for a minute or two to do a small task up forward.

As soon as I let go of the tiller we go head to wind.

I can lash the tiller but its a pain and relatively slow to tie and untie.

There must be a simple system - What do you guys do to beat the problem?

JuSw
 
On my small (15ft) double ender, I glued two wooden deadeyes under the gunnel and a wedge shaped cleat under the tiller. Loop of rope with the ends joined with shock cord and two knots about 1in apart. The friction in the deadeyes and the tension from the shock cord keep the tiller in position when I put the rope on the cleat with the two knots either side. Won't move by itself, but one can adjust against the friction.
A
 
SaltyJohns swag is the stuff to use! very usefull espescially when hesving to with a partially reefed head sail it makes balancing the boat easy peasy!
 
jusw said:
There must be a simple system - What do you guys do to beat the problem?

JuSw
Click to expand...

Absolutely no need for anything fancy. I have a permanently rigged length of three-strand 10mm rope. On one end there is a soft eye splice that lives around a jam cleat. The rope is then taken for one full turn round the tiller grip and jammed round a similar cleat on the opposite side. Minor adjustments may be made by rotating the rope around the grip as required. This is also how I immobilise the tiller when I am moored or at anchor to stop it from banging from side to side.
 
May not be cheapest method - but Tillerpilot is best. I have two old Autohelm units ... AH1000 and AH800 ... excellent ...

Problem is that when you move about the boat, your weight heals the boat and alters it's underwater profile. This then causes a turning moment to be exerted on the boat and fixed tiller does not compensate. I used to have a 'peg-board' arrangement as per PBO Sketchbook on one boat ... I could make that boat turn a full 360 even with tiller at midships by walking the side deck. A Tillerpilot though will alter tiller to compensate and keep course as you move about.

It also is there when you are in cockpit - allows you so much more freedom to enjoy the boat and sailing without having to helm all the time !
 
This struck me as being quite simple/sensible at the time..

http://silhouette-misty.blogspot.com/2007/10/tiller-tamer.html

...I've stored the idea away for possible use on my boat (19')

I think the biggest problem in a small boat is that no matter how well you tie off the tiller - the moment you move, you put the boat out of balance... or at least that's my experience (so maybe I'm a fat bu**er! :D )
 
Yes, they are an alternative to horn cleats. They provide no greater functionality but could be considered a slightly more elegant solution, particularly where you want the control line to be secured on the vertical surface of the cockpit footwell or coaming.
 
I normally sail single handed, in a boat that left to its own devices, particularly under power will sheer sufficiently violently to throw me off balance, and potentially OB. Sailing in Chi Harbour I can find myself suddenly surrounded by a large fleet of racing dinghies, so I need a system that can be engaged or disengaged instantly, without taking my eye off what the 38 dinghies that are all within a couple of boats length of me are up to!

For more normal conditions I have an Autohelm 800 which allows me complete freedom to get things done and can be disengaged in seconds.

However for manual steering there is only one bit of kit I would consider - the Midshipman.

http://www.mailspeedmarine.com/general-chandlery/seasure/midshipman-ii-steering-lock658225.bhtml

Literally a flick of a finger, without shifting concentration from the boats heading, and I can lock and unlock the tiller exactly where it is. Even the Tillermate requires screwing down, and unscrewing to release the tiller - by which time the silly -er - chap who has tacked his dinghy right under my bows has damaged my paintwork! Any system involving cleating, tying, screwing knobs down or adjusting tiller lines is just not fast enough to be safe for the single hander finding himself in a sudden close quarters situation of this kind.

I did try the Tillermate, but found it had to be screwed down quite hard to hold the tiller securely, with a corresponding delay in emergency release which is unacceptable to the single hander who may be having to deal with several other things at once! If not tightened sufficiently, it slips, allowing the boat to alter course - again dangerous in a narrow channel or at close quarters. Midhsipman, once set has never yet let go in the five years I have used them!
 
If you're using the tiller in the manner you suggest, tacking through traffic, you would have the tiller controller disengaged.
In any case, with the Tiller-Hand you can have it set so that you can move the tiller against the control line tension but when you let go the tiller stays where it was. I like to have mine set so that I can make minor course adjustments by nudging the tiller and letting the Tiller-Hand hold it in place. I find this useful when I'm busy tidying up the lines in the cockpit or some such task whilst under way. This is the benefit of an adjustable tiller controller as opposed to a tiller lock.
 
oldharry said:
However for manual steering there is only one bit of kit I would consider - the Midshipman.

http://www.mailspeedmarine.com/general-chandlery/seasure/midshipman-ii-steering-lock658225.bhtml
Click to expand...

I like that gadget. [Are you listening Father Christmas?]

Another cheap-as-chips technique I use is:-
When coming alongside I usually drop a short line from a midship cleat onto a pontoon cleat, put the engine in slow-ahead and push the tiller over towards the pontoon. The boat sits happily there for as long as I like whilst I see to the other shorelines. To hold the tiller hard over I have a loop of shockcord attached to the pushpit on each side which is slipped over the tiller to hold it.
 
I appreciate the cost differential etc. - but the advantage of a Tillerpilot IMHO far outweighs any mechanical Tiller Lock or Brake.

I will never go back to a Tiller lock system again after having a Tillerpilot. To the poster who uses a system to lock tiller over when coming alongside - I press Auto so TP goes to standby ... press whichever + or - button needed to put tiller over required side and that's it. Job done.
 
Elastic rope

What I have used in the past is elastic rope, tied to to the pushpit, and looped over the tiller, from both sides of course.

It won't hold the tiller in rigid position, which I think is what you are hope will solve your problem.

But the elastic will keep the tiller amidships certainly when you are in calm waters about to tie up for instance.

Advantage of it is that you can steer with the rope in place.

Certainly useful for single hanged boat handling.

Agree with other posts that a rigid tiller amidships will not ensure the boat continues to sail in a straight line. Autopilot will do that for you.

I still find it difficult to tie the tiller and trim the sails to get the boat to sail it self. Oddly, my first boat, a Seamaster 23, with bilge keels was the best one to do that with. Certainly the Sadler finds it difficult to sail in a straight line without constant tiller adjustments. But thtas another story (thread)
 
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