Tiller Tamer

[tmolik]

does anyone have an opinion re: the Tiller Tamer" ??

thanks
tom

[Craig Weis]

If it's the 'line from cleat to tiller to cleat I don't like it.
Two of my friends like it but find it awkward to use, and looks horrible when not in use and it's just another few screw holes in the tiller and/or cockpit combing to deal with.
I use a stick that can be fitted to one of either side, leaving the other side open and not blocked.
But both methods are mechanical and don't use juice. My two cents.

skip.

[Salty19]

Yeah, skip it right. I tried one. It was not that easy to use and in the way.
That stick skip talks about is the forespar TFP tiller extender (19-32" adjustable). I've got the same one to be installed on a 19. He's got plenty of pictures of it somewhere else on a recent post.

The debate will always continue on the best "cruise control",  There was another post about it a few months back if I recall. Some better info may be in there.

[Bob23]

Tom, my tiller tamer works great. Sure, it's screwed to the top of the tiller- right where you can get access to it. My 23 came with it and I didn't remove it. There are no additional screws on the coaming. I just cleat it off to the stern cleats.
   Someone makes a unit that is nicer than the Davis but I don't remember who it is. Sorry. I also have a tiller extension I use it for a...tiller extension.
Bob23..my 2 cents also. Keep the change!

[brackish]

http://www.tillerwatch.com/

http://www.blumhorst.com/potterpages/Photopoint/0005/cajun-tiller-tamer.htm)

http://www.cansail.com/

Tom, these are three things that were discussed when I asked the same question.  If you go to the "23" section go down to "questions from an initial sail" and you can find the discussion on each.

As it is, I went with just using a telescoping tiller extension.  I don't have the coamings boxes, just adjust and drop it on the seat/coaming.  rubber ball stays in place as long as there is a little weather helm to hold it.  Gives me that 20-30 seconds I need.  I'm sure coaming boxes better, lock it in both directions.

I do kind of like the one that fits in the same socket as the tiller extension because it doesn't leave anything extra on the tiller.

[kchunk]

I think I've thrown a couple cents into this conversation before but here goes again...

I have both the Davis tiller tamer:



And the Tiller Watch:



I only use one, the Tiller Watch. But I recommend neither.
The tiller tamer is big and klunky and not readily removable from your tiller, where the tiller watch slips into a socket so when not in use you can just put it away. I like the tiller watch's use of shock cord. If you set it just right, it does a good job.



In my opinion, the best tiller tamer (barring a tiller pilot), is the cajun tiller tamer.


http://blumhorst.com/potterpages/Photopoint/0005/cajun-tiller-tamer.htm

Just a length of nylon dock line from a stern cleat, wrapped around the tiller handle 3 times and back to the other stern cleat. It actually works real well, easily adjustable, requires no permanent installation and you probably already have on your boat! Try it out. I used it a lot before I bought a "real" tiller tamer, and now that I have a "real" tiller tamer, I still go to the cajun tiller tamer if I need something real quick.

One major caveat of the cajun tiller tamer, It's brutal on your tiller's finish! If used regularly IT WILL MARK AND/OR REMOVE YOUR TILLER'S VARNISH. Use at your own risk. I make no warranties regarding your tiller's finish, neither expressed nor implied 

--Greg

[Greene]

We installed a Tiller-Tamer last season because we thought it would help keep the boat heading the way we intended for short periods of time to adjust something or simply take a break from steering.  What we found was that it works for very short periods of time when the wind is steady.  Steady winds don't exist or at least they bypass our lakes in Madison.  We like the simplicity of use and it does allow you to let go for a few seconds, but it isn't going to hold the line.   The only time we have been glad to have it is when the winds are light and we can glide along with just an occasional adjustment to the tiller with a toe. (The Admirals favorite sailing!)  

My biggest complaint is the line is ALWAYS in the way.  If you want to check the rudder or play with the all-powerful kicker you will quickly come to give it a few new names.

Mike and Admiral B

[newt]

Greg- what if you are on a tack with weather helm, and you adjusted your bungies to hold constant opposition... does it stay on course then? I have not found anything that really works except a good sheet to tiller... but they sure mess up your cockpit.

[kchunk]

Kinda sorta. That's what I meant by "if you set it just right". If you have it set just right, and the winds are steady or varying just a bit, the shock cord (or bungie) will hold pretty well and even make minor adjustment on it's own. If you picture you're on a starboard tack and holding the tiller to windward (whenever I do this I have to sit at my desk and pretend to hold my tiller in my left hand and the gunwale in my right. My wife ask what I'm doing...I say "don't ask), if the wind picks up a bit the weather helm wants to steer the boat more to starboard (I think...now I'm getting myself confused). As the weather helm increases so does the pressure on the tiller, but in the opposite direction. The shock cord "gives" just a little to let the boat steer a little into the wind. As the wind loses it's effect on the sails, the boats slows ever so slightly, the weather helm decreases and the shock cord brings the tiller back to windward, turning the boat back to a better angle to the wind where the boat can accelerate again. It's a vicious cycle but not very pronounced...nor is it the fastest way to get from here to there.

On a trip from Key Largo to Marathon we were on a port tack for three days. The final leg from Long Key to Marathon we did out on the ocean (inside the reef) on Hawk's Channel. Once I dialed in the Tiller Watch, we went for almost three hours heading relatively in the right direction. Wow, now I'm starting to sound like the Tiller Watch spokesman (Charlie Smith of TillerWatch.com, if you sell any Tiller Watches because of me I expect a commission    )

Actually, like I said before, I personally don't recommend it. If you've got a long way to go, are far from shore and not in a hurry to get where you're going it eventually works pretty well. Other than that, all the tinkering and tweaking distracts me and makes me nuts. Maybe it's time for my OCD ... OH COOL! LOOK! A Squirrel!

Just one more thing. With the stock rudder blade, the Tiller Watch was unusable...just too much weather helm. The foiled rudder blade helped a lot!

--Greg

[nies]

I have them all, under perfect conditions they all work , under less than perfect conditions none will work for more than a few seconds on my CP 16, of course weighting in at 220 lbs. at 6'2 is moving a lot of dead weight around on a small boat.............we all have this dream of setting the self-steering and standing on the fore deck with spy glass looking for the inlet to heaven..........Phil

[kchunk]

Ah...yes, Phil. Everyone's dream. A Raymarine ST1000+ Tiller Autopilot & S100 Wireless Autopilot Remote.

 

And for $766.98 you can make your dream come true! 

--Greg

[Craig Weis]

Oh I'd love an St-1000 with 'SeaTalk' so it could be tied into my Raymarine chartplotter and St-40 BiData unit.
I could do it if I purchased a small gas driven generator and tow it behind in a dinky with a long extention cord. How cool that would be. I actually could of had one of these units found at a Yacht Club Flee Market sale a few years back. $100 bucks. But I would need a forklift battery on board.

Just to be safe the power management question usually is not a problem because so little of my battery power is used. You never know when your going to be stuck out there for a couple of days for a weather window or some other reason. But go ahead and use the battery that's what it's on board for. I have the stuff on board, but not turned on.

I always think of my dad as a youngster on the schooner he eventually purchased. Becalmed 8 days in the Golf of Mexico. While hammering the dog out of the anchor chain the anchor chain broke and wrapped around dad's arm, compound fracturing it. The schooner had no auxiliary, radios were rare, as was other boat traffic. The only entertainment on board was a crank-up phonograph with one 78 rpm platter. Red sails In The Sun Set. You just never know. The Army set it crook-it the Navy re-broke it and set it straight. Dad had a destine for the Army and that song.

Life is funny. skip.

skip.

[Shawn]

I have the TillerLock (and ST2000+) on my 23 and it works well. I tied the line to the rear stanchions and didn't bring it very far up the tiller so it is still out of the way.

Shawn

[kchunk]

Skip, I just knew you'd balk at that....it's all a matter of preference. If you don't want it or can't manage your power, don't buy it.

We all understand you're the minimalist/purists sailor, but a forklift for your battery? A generator in a dinghy? ...Really?

Sometimes I think you just like the sight of your own green text...

[Potcake boy]

I would like to propose a variation of the Cajun model that would involve the addition of some surgical tubing on the leeward side for tension control.  It would maintain tension to keep the tiller tightly gripped but not effect the fast holding of the rope part to windward (assuming normal weather helm).  It would also allow easy release of tension when an adjustment would be needed, and minimise the friction that causes the wear and tear on the varnish job as described above by Greg.

As one who has done a great deal of singlehanding, I can say that a tiller pilot has been my best crew, and actually hasn't been a power consuming problem for me.

Think about it Skip -
You can turn it on and off at will
It won't criticize your sail trim or boat handling
It won't consume any of you beer or sardines
It won't relate those embarrassing stories of what went wrong earlier in the day

And reason #1 - it won't begrudge you your political commentary

Ron