> By the way I don't like tiller tamers, so I came up with my own cajun
> Tiller Tamer. Simply take your stern line that is already on the transom
> cleat, and give it three wraps around the tiller about 3/4 up from the
rear.
> Then cleat off the other end to the other transom cleat.If you pull the
> wraps
> forewards it will lock the tiller in place. And you can correct course
> simply
> by turning the wraps a little. But the best part is when you don't need it
> simply slide the wraps aft and you have the feel of a free tiller again.
Try
> It! Jerry Barrilleaux HMS 18 (Ssunshine)
Jerry, et al:
I do happen to like my tiller tamer, but before I installed it I used a system
similar to yours. The only difference was that on one side I used one of
those heavy black bungees from the tiller to the stern cleat and on the other
I just tied a line from the other stern cleat to the tiller. Having the give
of the bungee, I was able to tie off the tiller pretty tightly and not have to
keep readjusting it. Also, when I got creative, I could make kind of a hokey
self steering by keeping the bungee attached between the tiller and the stern
cleat on the leeward side and running the main sheet through a block on the
windward side and then tying it to the tiller. When a gust would hit, it
would pressure the sail which in turn would cause the tiller to be pulled
steering the boat more into the wind. When the wind would fall off, the
bungee would put a little more pressure on the tiller causeing the boat to
fall off a bit. It worked fine and allowed me to eat lunch or do other things
in the cockpit without having to have my hands on the tiller at all times.
Ideally the wind would be off the beam or close to it.
The biggest drawback is that with this arrangement, you can't worry about
where you're going. The boat will sail with the wind, which does not
guarantee that you will go in the direction you originally started in. Since
I never seem to know where I'm going, and in many cases where I'm coming from,
I never saw this as a big problem. It is fun to kick back and eat with both
hands and have the boat sailing right along. Oh, yeah, you also don't want to
fall overboard with this arrangement. You'll be swimming home. The boat will
go where it wants. Without you. That could put a little damper on an
otherwise leasurely lunch!
Geoff
P-15 Lollipop
No. Lake Tahoe, NV