Broken - Rooster Carbon Tiller

Sean

Member
I have just thrown in the bin a Rooster carbon tiller that had snapped. It had gotten old and was worn out so I foolishly thought I would try the same trick as Steve as in this photo and it snapped right in the middle. I weigh 85 kg so maybe that was just too much weight. I had intended to re-epoxy the part that gets inserted into the rudder stock but that wont be happening now...

lrct.jpg


That photo of someone, presumably Steve, standing on one of his own tillers must weigh considerably less than I do. Or is it a specially reinforced tiller that was made for demonstrating its strength and made differently to the ones that are sold? Why can we not see the upper body? I would like to see the whole image so that I can see the upper body is not being supported in some manner.

I would be very interested since that photo is such a selling point for this tiller to see other people test their Rooster tillers. Might be a bit of an issue if they break in the manner my did though. If they do not break when randomly tested that would be quite a marketing tool though. How about it Rooster, I tested mine and it snapped explosively, just a one off?

I was stupidly ordering a replacement from Rooster when I came across this tiller at intensitysails.com Far East Carbon tiller I have purchased this one and will review it when it arrives. It looks identical to the Acme one although a 100grams heavier maybe.

The good thing is that Intensity will ship to Australia whereas Steve Cockerill and Rooster Sailing UK refuse to sell to Australia from the UK.
 
Hi Eric

If you have one put it between 2 chairs and stand on it for me.

Let us all know how you go if you do attempt it.

A hint for anyone trying it:

It may be smarter to try it on a few bricks so if it snaps you only fall 6 inches or so. If it snaps whilst resting on a chair it will nearly punch a hole in your leg on your way down if you are unlucky.
 
I met Steve a few years ago, at that time, he was 75kgs.

Not sure standing on the tiller is a major selling point, IMHO it's a marketing gimmick. I really don't care if a tiller supports x amount of weight in the vertical plane, I care that it doesn't bend under sailing conditions.
 
I don't think carbon fiber wears out like you think.

Carbon does weaken over time through UV degradation and constant flexing although it may not appear to do so visibly. I was referring more specifically to the part that fits into the rudder stock. That does definitely and visibly wear over time and needs to be built up again to a tight fit. That is the part I am referring to.
 
My Acme Black Diamond has served me faithfully for ten years. I see no reason to stand on it and break it in half.
 
My Acme Black Diamond has served me faithfully for ten years. I see no reason to stand on it and break it in half.

Yeah, best not to.

I also have a couple of Black Diamonds laying around. Good tillers. Have had one for more than 10 years also although it is pretty knocked around now. The old ones seem better than the new ones in fact. The wear plate has never come off my old acme one but it is loose on a barely used newer one. I would not buy an acme again just for that reason.

The whole point of a newer one is that it should be better constructed not worse.
 
Yeah, best not to.

I also have a couple of Black Diamonds laying around. Good tillers. Have had one for more than 10 years also although it is pretty knocked around now. The old ones seem better than the new ones in fact. The wear plate has never come off my old acme one but it is loose on a barely used newer one. I would not buy an acme again just for that reason.

The whole point of a newer one is that it should be better constructed not worse.

The wear plate is glued on, it's simple to reattach. As for the rudder attachments, you can fix that yourself by gluing on spacer so it gets a proper fit.

And yah I think I'll pass on standing on my tiller.
 
So let me get this straight. You took an old and admittedly worn out part and then broke it using it for a step stool and you're now calling out the manufacturer? Any composite part (fiberglass, carbon, etc.) will loose strength over time, especially if it spends time in the sun, which I'm betting your tiller has at least a little bit. Expecting an "old and worn out" part to perform the same as a brand new one is just dumb. You seem to be being a little unreasonable, and frankly kind of arrogant to me.
 
Carbon Fiber is not affected by UV.. Used in tillers, it's really not subject to any sort of flex loss issues either.

The resins used (epoxy or polyester) can be UV damaged, but most composite builders will use a clear coat with UV protection over the resin for that.
 
So let me get this straight. You took an old and admittedly worn out part and then broke it using it for a step stool and you're now calling out the manufacturer? Any composite part (fiberglass, carbon, etc.) will loose strength over time, especially if it spends time in the sun, which I'm betting your tiller has at least a little bit. Expecting an "old and worn out" part to perform the same as a brand new one is just dumb. You seem to be being a little unreasonable, and frankly kind of arrogant to me.

You're very welcome to your opinion Stink. That is the great thing about being an individual, you can hold any opinion you like.

As for calling out the manufacturer, if they choose to use that particular image as a marketing tool they leave themselves open to being questioned on the accuracy of it.

You are also an individual Stink and if you chose to take as fact everything that is presented to you that is your choice. Not everyone is so naive. Oops, did I just call you naive? Lucky for me that you probably care as little for my opinion of you as I do for your opinion of me. I may well be arrogant, dumb and unreasonable, thanks for pointing that out. :)

Why would I treasure and look after a broken old tiller. I was curious if that image they use to show that tillers strength is credible. I gave it a go and mine at least was not.

I do not consider it a waste of an old tiler, rather the opposite in fact. It may well not have any real world functionality as a testing methodology but that image is shown everywhere as a demonstration of how strong these tillers are. So in that light it is a valid test, mine broke, the one in Roosters didn't. I asked a reasonable question, "has anyone else tried it and if so did it snap or deform to the point where it was unusable?"

Who knows, maybe I got a bad one.

I do not know where you live Stink but I would hazard a guess that marketing a product with untested and possibly false images or statements is illegal.

If it isn't illegal where you live to present marketing information that is false I will be right over. I have some pills that can make you lose weight and grow your hair back simultaneously to sell you.





Take care.
 
I'm glad that you can take a joke, while completely missing the point. Them stepping on a brand new tiller, and you stepping on an "old and worn out" one are 2 different things. That's even aside from the fact you yourself even pointed out that you dont know how much they weighed, and from what I can see they dont say either.

IMHO as an advertising ploy it's pretty stupid, as that's not even the direction these things take a load in, nor do they even need to be that strong to begin with. If anything that ad just tells me they built it too heavy.

FWIW I live in San Diego and yes false advertising is illegal. I still dont see anything false about that picture though.
 
I have seen Steve do this at an event some time ago. He got one of the radial girls (probably sub 65kg) to stand on it in the boat park. Did not snap, but admittedly she is likely to have been a fair bit lighter than you.

I'd still not want to test it on my own tiller!
 
Let's see, two posts (this and Hikers) trashing Steve and or his products...maybe an axe to grind???? I have had both products and they both perfomed fantastic. The Hikers I have had for 3 years and they are wearing very well. I wear shorts over top and I have no degredation. Tiller is awesome too!!!
 
I have had a Rooster carbon tiller on my current boat (around 3 years) and had one on my previous boats (around 2 years).

I NEVER had any issues with them where as others who had the Laser XD style ones had lots of issues, I have seen many of these snap without any sign they were going to.

Rooster kit is great, maybe you got a bad one who knows! If the wear plate had come off and you had 'eaten in' to the carbon then of course it would be weaker.

Plus consider the fact that the tiller is not designed to take loads in that direction. The above picture is genuine though, Steve is the kind of guy that would do that!
 
What happened to the pomised 'far east' tiller review? This would have been helpful for me as I tried to research it before buying. Nevertheless, I ordered one last week and it showed up today. I got it from Intensity and for the sake of others curious for real-world information - it's awesome.

The build quality in mine is perfect. I can't see it ever breaking and I'm pretty sure it's the last tiller I'll ever buy (prior to this I was still using the original teak tiller from '82 :)

Anyway, I've just been making a bunch of posts about the far east tiller so that if anyone else (like me) is trying to do pre-pucrhase reasearch - go for it. It's by far the nicest thing I've seen in a long time and the price is pretty darn good.
 
ok lads seriusly why would you want to bother standing on your tiller..... No ofense but unless your steve with a endless supply its just plain stupid
 

Back
Top