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It was just going too well...

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Turtonjs
Deckhand

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USA
10 Posts

Initially Posted - 04/21/2006 : 08:48:05

Great race last night. I have a new foredeck person who is getting settled in, Florida temperatures in the high 70's and wind from 10-14. The boat was moving. We're the smallest boat in our Spinnaker "B" fleet, and we rounded the first mark with several boats behind us. We overtook two boats downwind, everything was going like clockwork.

Windward takedown of the spinnaker, I start rounding up, and I can't figure out why the boat isn't turning and I feel very little pressure on the helm.

I looked down to discover that my tiller...my !@#$!@#$ tiller, delaminated and snapped in half.

If this hasn't happened to you, it's great fun.

The capri 25 tiller base is small, at best. My boat is set up for racing, there is not a whole lot of extra gear on board.

We dropped the genny quickly, steared away from the 400+ foot long barge coming up the ship channel, and I held the "tiller stump" with both hands to keep us in one direction.

At this point, we were about 1.5 miles from the club, and my outboard was nestled cozily in the back of my Yukon.

Once sails were down, we realized we could shift crew weight and maintain direction on the boat with mainsheeting and holding the tiller stump. We then "lashed" the tiller back onto the stump with about 10 yards of 1/16" spectra that i had on board. The tiller was at least stable at that point and we had a relaxing sail back to the club and promptly emptied the cooler.

Rather than being furious, I realized one very important thing. We were sailing a great race, we had 30+ foot boats all around us, we had a devastating breakdown and the crew reacted swiftly, with little knowledge other than my instructions.

We swapped no paint with other boats, no one was hurt (we could've spun out bad with loss of rudder control), and we enjoyed an evening sail into the club.

For those of you wondering, my tiller is only 4 years old. It's varnished, laminated teak, and really just a "freak accident". I sailed with a similar tiller on a J24 for 7 years with never an issue.

So....

Does anyone have a spare tiller for sale?

-Josh
Taba Naba #290

Edited by - on

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5851 Posts

Response Posted - 04/21/2006 : 12:20:09

Everyone loves to win races, but the most memorable races are the ones where disaster strikes, and skipper and crew rise to the challenge.

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Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 04/21/2006 : 12:56:16

We carry the old as a spare on board for that very reason. Take a look for a J-24 Tiller - you might find a used one laying around. that is what we have on the 25.

dw

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Turtonjs
Deckhand

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USA
10 Posts

Response Posted - 04/22/2006 : 07:15:55

Thanks Duane - we have 18 J24's at the club, so there's bound to be a tiller lying around somewhere.

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aeckhart
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1709 Posts

Response Posted - 04/22/2006 : 09:13:37

I had a similar experience in a windward-leeward race on Lake Superior a few years ago. Winds were NW 15, gusting to 25, waves at about 2+ feet. The windward mark was an island with a prominent rock reef runnning south from the island approximately 1/2 mile. We had just tacked up to and away from the reef when, all of a sudden, the rudder felt really sloppy (we were about 1/4 mile from the reef). I had my crew check to see what the problem was. He reported, with eyes the size of saucers, "Al, your rudder's broken in half". Talk about a major pucker. Here we were trying to sail to windward with a broken rudder and being pushed back into a reef with a four foot depth. With a two foot chop we were in danger of a catastrophic grounding.

I immediately slacked all the control lines, gradually retensioning them so we could see what the boat would do on a rudder that had actually bent at a 45 degree angle about half way down. We were able to get the boat moving away from the reef, rejoined the race fleet, passed three boats while rounding the island, and had pleasant downwind run to the finish.

It turns out that the foam core in the rudder had given way and the seem in the fiberglass couldn't hold it together given the pressures caused by the wind and wave conditions. Catalina came out the with their improved balanced rudder at about the same time so I bought one. I also bought a second tiller which I always carry aboard, just in case.

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Buzz Maring
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1762 Posts

Response Posted - 04/22/2006 : 09:16:32

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Turtonjs
 Thanks Duane - we have 18 J24's at the club, so there's bound to be a tiller lying around somewhere.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Hi Josh,

If you can't find a spare J-24 tiller, you might consider this cheap alternative. I bought a spare handle for a post hole digger at Home Depot to use as an emergency tiller. If I ever have to use it, I've got some extra heavy duty nylon tie-wraps that I can use to secure it to the rudder. Since it is straight rather than curved, it stows easily behind the seat cushion on the starboard settee where it's out of sight and out of the way.

I've never had to use it, so I can't attest to how well the tie-wraps will hold it to the rudder ... I'm sure you could come up with a beefier method to attach it if you're concerned it might not hold up. I suppose you could also use it as a billy club to fend off pirates, or maybe use it to intimidate opposing crews when you're racing in tight quarters ... I haven't tried those either.

'Just a thought ... maybe it'll be of some help.

Edited by - on

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Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.