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 Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums
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 How to secure tiller/autopilot pin?		  New Topic  Topic Locked
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Sloop Smitten
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1181 Posts
Initially Posted - 08/02/2012 :  13:34:38  Show Profile
When I replaced my tiller a couple of years ago I drilled a new hole for the autopilot pin and epoxied it in place using epoxy resin. On my recent trip to Catalina I noticed the off course alarm going off and I was 90 degrees off my heading. I figured I had knocked the autopilot off the tiller (happens occasionally) but it turned out the pin had dislodged from the tiller. I put it back in and it was still a pretty tight fit. When we moored for the night I used some two part epoxy to cement it back in. As an additional holding feature I filed a couple of light notches in the side of the pin to assist with holding it. The pin is sleek sided S/S and there are no threads. On the way home I noticed it working itself back up out of the hole again. So how do you guys secure this pin or how would you proceed from here?
Joe Wergers
Utopia
Fleet 7/Oceanside, CA
78 C25 FK/SR #381
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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts
Response Posted - 08/02/2012 :  13:43:34  Show Profile
After ten or so years, my pin is still securely in place (knock on wood). When I installed it, I made sure the hole wasn't sloppy, meaning after drilling, it was still a snug fit when testing fitting it. Is the hole in your tiller out of shape? Is it deep enough? Can it go a tad deeper?
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awetmore
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1144 Posts
Response Posted - 08/02/2012 :  13:44:44  Show Profile
The notches are a good idea, but aren't going to work if you are pushing back into the same tight fitting hole. As you pushed the pin down it probably wiped the epoxy off, letting only the plug at the bottom set (and that might not set without oxygen depending on the type of epoxy).

I'd drill out the hole by one size (so 9/32 or maybe 5/16), then put on fresh epoxy and secure it again.
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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts
Response Posted - 08/02/2012 :  14:33:13  Show Profile  Visit delliottg's Homepage
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">I'd drill out the hole by one size (so 9/32 or maybe 5/16), then put on fresh epoxy and secure it again.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

This is very similar to what I did. I overdrilled the hole about 1/8" over sized, filled the entire hole with epoxy and let it set for a couple of days. Then came back and drilled a slightly over sized hole for the pin into the epoxy (making sure not to penetrate into the wood), and then epoxied the pin into place being careful to coat the whole interior of the hole with a Q-tip soaked in epoxy, then adding enough to the hole that the pin would push some out as it was inserted. It's only been a couple of years, but so far, so good. Make sure everything is really clean by using acetone and letting it completely dry before trying to bond with epoxy.
Edited by - delliottg on 08/02/2012 14:33:41
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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.