Thanks all for your input on tiller extensions. Sound advice...I'm pricing options. The long adjustable seems overkill to me, a 4 ft. extension would be in my way...maybe my tiller is a bit longer than average, and/or, I'm pretty tall so have a long reach built-in. I may also just get a universal and cut my own aluminum extension to experiment with. I definitely get your point Connie about the angle from stick to tiller. Gotta crawl under the tarp into the cockpit and see what that looks like for me. thanks again, John S. On 03/11/2017 05:38 AM, Conbert Benneck wrote:
On 3/10/2017 4:31 PM, John Schinnerer wrote:
Hi John,
Let me pass on my thoughts ablout what I did on our M15 with regards to a tiller extension.
I had a FORESPAR telescoping tiller extension that came with our M15 when we bought it.
When we first started sailing our M15, my wife and I sailed together, but as the years passed, plus her having two hip replacement operations, I found myself sailing by myself most of the time.
The problem I now had was: The original tiller plus FORESPAR tiller extension didn't work very well when I sat all the way forward in the cockpit so that while sailing the transom was not dragging in the water; its the fore / aft weight distribution problem.
In this, my now preferred sailing positions, the FORESPAR extension and the tiller made about a 120 angle when I sailed. It was a workable solution but, ... If you suddenly were hit by a gust, the 120 degree angle between FORESPAR extension and the tiller didn't give me the control I wanted. What I wanted was a 90 relationship between the tiller extension and the tiller so that I had maximum control input under the harder wind gust conditions I occasionally encountered.
My solution was to build a new longer tiller that reached further forward in the cockpit. Now with the FORESPAR extension on the tiller, and sitting all the way forward in the cockpit, my tiller extension / tiller angle was 90 degrees under all sailing conditions. (I also had built a new lower hatch board where I had my binoculars / GPS/marine radio/and my Grundig radio so I had easy access to everything)
This worked excellently for my single-handed sailing, but, .... if I had others on board - growing grandchildren - then the long tiller occasionally was too long and in the way. In other words, with more people on board I would have preferred the shorter, regular length, tiller, but wanted the longer one for solo sailing.
The solution I was dreaming up to solve that problem was; use the standard length tiller, but build an extension (I was going to make the tiller length extension with a fiberglass socket so that it slid over the end of original length tiller, and was locked in place with a vertical pin using the FORESPAR socket; which would give me the additional length that I wanted for solo sailing. The FORESPAR extension could then be used on either length of the tiller - take your pick.
I didn't build and try my last solution, because by that time we had come to the conclusion that it was time to swallow the anchor.
Happy sailing, Connie
Hi all,
Contemplating getting a tiller extension for my M17.
If you have one, what length works good for you? I'm thinking a fixed length one, but would be open to reasons why a telescoping one is worth the extra $$.
Also any experience with good or bad makes/models, whatever the size.
thanks, John S.
-- John Schinnerer - M.A., Whole Systems Design -------------------------------------------- - Eco-Living - Whole Systems Design Services People - Place - Learning - Integration john@eco-living.net - 510.982.1334 http://eco-living.net http://sociocracyconsulting.com