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.
I had a beautiful tiller that Derek Crawford sold me several years ago. He had shortened it for use on This Side Up. I've had a nice cover on it since I bought it. Sometime during the winter someone decided they needed the tiller cover more than I did and the tiller was totally exposed and has now started delaminating!
Probably the same jerk that stole one of the bows off my bimini!
Before you give up on the new market (WM and CD for example), take a look at Defender's offering. I suspect they all come from the same place or are essentially equivalent.
Dave Bristle Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired), Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge
If you're willing and able to do some of the shaping for a new tiller, just not the laminating, there are pre-laminated tiller blanks available in a variety of profiles from I think Duckworks and Defender.
I bought one (from Duckworks as I recall), and the workmanship is flawless (at least until I start hacking away at it).
Also, some of the original Catalina 22 and 25 tillers were sawn from a single plank, as opposed to laminated. Maybe not quite as strong, but could be more affordable, depending upon wood species and lumber source you choose.
Dave Bristle Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired), Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge
...Also, some of the original Catalina 22 and 25 tillers were sawn from a single plank, as opposed to laminated. Maybe not quite as strong, but could be more affordable, depending upon wood species and lumber source you choose...
A single board should work if you don't try to replicate the "S" curve of the original. If you do, you'll likely end up with the grain crossing somewhere in a way that would be just waiting to snap under some unexpected downward pressure. That's the reason for the laminated approach.
Dave Bristle Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired), Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge
On my 16 foot Day Sailor I needed to replace the tiller so I had some oak 1-by in the basement. I needed a finished thickness of 1-3/4” so I traced out the tiller cross section shape on the board twice. One time up side up and the next upside down. I rough cut the profile with my saber saw. I noticed that the grain did not overlap in the same directions but at obtuse angles to one another. I glued and clamped them together to get the required thickness, then once cured, I sanded the blank down into the smoothed-out shape.
When I got Passage I gave my son and his family the Day Sailor. The tiller has been working fine for my son for years.
If I used the same technique for a C-25 spare tiller, I’d probably use three or four thicknesses of oak, or maybe mix it up with another hardwood species. In between layers you could even glue in some carbon fiber fabric. Because the grain would not overlap I believe this configuration would be very strong and easy to fabricate using shop tools.
Bruce Ross Passage ~ SR-FK ~ C25 #5032 Port Captain — Milford, CT
When you combine the width you need at the rudder head with the height you need for the curve of the handle and the issue of cross-grain weakening any point, solid wood—even two pieces laminated together—is going to be a challenging material. Bending multiple laminations solves it—the commercial tillers don't do that just for show. My daysailer had a solid ash tiller—but it had no S-curve, and it steered a 700 lb. boat with a modest sailplan.
Dave Bristle Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired), Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge
If I don't find my re-glued tiller in the next week I'll buy a new one vs spending the time building a new one. I don't have the patience to build one. :(
Thanks again everyone for your comments and suggestions.
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.