Association Forum - Delaminating Tiller $10 Fix

Assn Members Area · Join

Home.

Association Forum

Ships Store

Cruising

Racing

Technical Tips

Photo Gallery - New

Boat Search - Updated

Manuals & Brochures

Swap Meet

Links

Officer Flag Line & Staff

Bylaws & Constitution

Members Area

Join the Association

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.

Association Forum

Username:	Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?

All Forums

Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

Delaminating Tiller $10 Fix

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Author

Topic

Unsinkable2
Captain

Member Avatar

USA
273 Posts

Initially Posted - 05/06/2008 : 21:07:07

The tiller on my new-to-me boat was so badly delaminated that I had decided to throw it away. I read a post where someone mentioned that a new tiller was not expensive, so if a first fix attempt didn't work, just buy a new one.

The PO had suggested that I just gorilla-glue the handle back together. Having never used gorilla glue, I thought it would be worth a shot. But having never used gorilla glue, I didn't totally trust it either.

So I decided to strengthen the regluing by inserting 3/8" dowels at opposing 45 degree angles into the handle every 4 - 6 inches along its length. This way, the opposing angles of the dowels would provide extra holding power against mother nature's desire to delaminate my tiller again.

See the details here:
http://www.unsinkable2.com/home

--Skipper of the Unsinkable2
http://blog.unsinkable2.com
1977 Catalina 25 SK/SR #246 "Unsinkable 2"
1964 Lido 14 #1878 "Tomato Sloop"

Edited by - on

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
5381 Posts

Response Posted - 05/06/2008 : 21:50:14

Mike -
Looks like you did a nice job putting the tiller back together.
I had a tiller on a dinghy that went the same way.

I took mine apart and tried to clamp and glue it. I didn't use gorilla glue or dowels, so the very next year, it came apart.

When you get back to the boat, pls take a picture and post it, I'd love to see the results.

Edited by - on

saribella
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
286 Posts

Response Posted - 05/06/2008 : 22:15:53

Geez I wonder if I could repair my pfd with bubble gum and fishing line? The answer is it might work cosmetically, but far from reliable when I needed it to get me out of a jam.

hint, hint.

Edited by - on

stampeder
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

1608 Posts

Response Posted - 05/06/2008 : 22:18:30

Looks like you've done a nice job on that tiller.
Having been victimized by a broken tiller that I 'fixed' - though admitedly not as well as you have - I still think it would be a good idea to have a spare, new tiller.

Welcome to the forum.

Edited by - on

Ericson33
Admiral

Members Avatar

USA
892 Posts

Response Posted - 05/06/2008 : 23:03:57

I had helped a friend of mine fix his tiller, we had added bolts atthe base to reinforce the base, next year it split apart ( right around the bolts)

Edited by - on

piseas
Former Treasurer

Members Avatar

USA
2017 Posts

Response Posted - 05/07/2008 : 15:31:41

I think it would be cheaper to buy a new tiller than all those clamps!

Steve A

Edited by - piseas on 05/07/2008 15:33:31

cat30
1st Mate

Members Avatar

73 Posts

Response Posted - 05/08/2008 : 08:29:15

when my tiller started to split it the end new the rudder post i added a turk's head knot- it looks nautical and keeps it from splitting again

Edited by - on

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

Members Avatar

USA
5902 Posts

Response Posted - 05/08/2008 : 08:32:28

Laminated tillers require regular maintenance. When my boat was new, the new tiller de-laminated within one year. The best solution is to take it home each winter and give it a fresh coat of varnish. Your repair, using dowels, is a great idea, and, if you worked glue into all the separated places, as it appears you did, the tiller should be as strong as new.

I finally solved the maintenance problem with my laminated tiller by fabricating a replacement out of solid mahogany. I made it somewhat thicker than the original, assuming that it wouldn't have the strength of a laminated tiller, and selected a piece of mahogany that had the grain running in a curve at the point where the tiller curved, to ensure strength at that point. That tiller lasted without any problems until I sold the boat.

Edited by - on

Unsinkable2
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
273 Posts

Response Posted - 05/08/2008 : 09:05:36

I was down at the marina last night checking on my anchor lines after a recent storm, and completely forgot to take a picture of the finished tiller handle to post here. This weekend I won't forget.
Anyway, thanks for your responses everyone. I guess time will be the judge of whether the repair is as good (or better) than new - or not!
I'd like to see a picture of Steve's mahogany tiller and see how the grain runs along the curve - that sounds fascinating.
For mine, I could see that each of the wood strips were solid and had not been damaged by water - the delamination was simply due to failure of the glue. New glue was eas to apply, the varnish will keep the water out, and the dowels provide a physical barrier to further separation.
As cat30 mentioned, I am hoping that the turks heads and cockscombing will add additional strength to the tiller handle. I need to get that picture up - and then remember to post an update at end of summer so we all know if the whole thing even worked!
Thanks again everyone. This is a GREAT community.

Edited by - on

Prospector
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Canada
3159 Posts

Response Posted - 05/08/2008 : 11:38:10

I think it was pointed out on another forum that wheelbarrow handles are often made of Mahoghany, and come in pairs which can be laminated into a large enough block to cut a tiller from with only a single lamination. Not sure if this would make a better or worse tiller - would it split/check and fail earlier, or be less prone to failure than a traditional tiller with multiple laminations.

Edited by - on

Unsinkable2
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
273 Posts

Response Posted - 05/09/2008 : 11:14:55

There are some advantages to laminated wood such as strength, weight, durability, and aesthetics. I've read some great articles on laminates vs solids, steaming versus thin strip laminating, etc in several carpentry magazines and canoe building forums.

Laminated wood is typtically stronger than solid wood especially when the wood grains are run at different angles to each other. This also increases the durability of the tiller because a solid piece of wood is more susceptible to warping over time due to grain patterns in any single piece of wood (unless as mentioned above, a piece with ideal grain patterns is selected.) A good glue between the layers of wood will also often have more bonding strength than a piece of solid wood the same thickness and usually be lighter. Thin strip laminates can also be made into curved shapes without steaming. But my favorite benefit of laminated wood is the varying wood colors (teak, mahogany, white ash, etc) which really look great varnished.

One down side of laminates is that they are less wasteful. Thin laminate strips allow more of the wood to be used. Ok - that's great from an environmental perspective - but opens the possibility of some inferior scraps being used somewhere in your tiller.

Hmm, this makes me want to build my own tiller handle...

Edited by - on

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
3467 Posts

Response Posted - 05/09/2008 : 11:32:38

I would also like to see the how the tiller came out. It's great you were able to work this project. Nothing like appreciating/using the finished product and you use it every time you go sailing.

Edited by - on

Unsinkable2
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
273 Posts

Response Posted - 05/09/2008 : 16:59:14

Finally, I got a couple of pictures posted of the finished project. Click on the last two images on this page to see a little more detail.

http://www.unsinkable2.com/home

Edited by - on

stampeder
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

1608 Posts

Response Posted - 05/09/2008 : 19:29:21

Well done.

Edited by - on

britinusa
Web Editor

Members Avatar

USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 05/10/2008 : 06:37:50

Nice work Mike!

Paul

Edited by - on

Topic

New Topic

Topic Locked

Printer Friendly

Jump To:

Association Forum

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.