DIY Tiller Possible?

[Deleted member 35182]

So while tryimg to screw in the tiller extension into the tiller, the tillers wood cracked. Would it be possible to get some ash wood from home depot and replace the wood, or would I have to buy it specifically froma sunfish store at $60ish?
Also are small dings in the gel coat of the hulk anything to worry about? Should i bother patching them if they're no thicker than hair?

So far I've taken my sunfish out thrice (once solo) and had a blast, but its tough and i havent gotten the hang of it yet.

 

[jimcameron]

Tough to say about the tiller extension. If it is just cracked from the expansion of the screw I might consider repairing it with some fiberglass cloth and resin. I might even consider some Gorilla Tape for a "temporary" repair to keep you sailing. In the old days, I would have wrapped it with string and varnished the string. Lots of old solutions lasted a long time. ;-)

As for the small dings, if it just chips in the gelcoat, I would get some white Marine Tex and using a small plastic trowel, patch up the chips. Finish with some gentle sanding. If it goes through the gelcoat and through the resin/fiberglass mat, you better fix it because you might be taking on water.

Good luck, and consider buying a very basic how to sail book.

 

[Headley Grange]

I fabricated a tiller from a piece of oak that I had lying around. I just used the old tiller as a template and used my jig saw. A taper jig on my tablesaw would have been ideal, but I didn't have one. First I put the old tiller extension on and drilled a hole through the end. Then I upgraded to a universal tiller so I filled in the hole with Loctite marine epoxy. Working good so far. Whether you make a new tiller or repair the old one it's important to drill pilot holes for the screws. That should keep the wood from splitting. Just google "right size pilot hole for wood screws".

 

[Kevin Mc]

Making a new tiller is easy to do - use the old one as a pattern. My original one was warped so I made another from red oak. I widened it at the end to fit the size of the extension's universal attachment fitting. The picture shows one I made from maple, but it developed a crack; the oak one is the same but only varnished (not painted).

 

[Deleted member 35182]

I fabricated a tiller from a piece of oak that I had lying around. I just used the old tiller as a template and used my jig saw. A taper jig on my tablesaw would have been ideal, but I didn't have one. First I put the old tiller extension on and drilled a hole through the end. Then I upgraded to a universal tiller so I filled in the hole with Loctite marine epoxy. Working good so far. Whether you make a new tiller or repair the old one it's important to drill pilot holes for the screws. That should keep the wood from splitting. Just google "right size pilot hole for wood screws".

Why do I need pilot holes? Cant i drill straight into the tiller?

 

[sailcraftri]

The pilot holes are for the screws as opposed to just running the screws into the wood without holes. So I think you were on the same idea.

 

[L&VW]

Why do I need pilot holes? Cant i drill straight into the tiller?

While you should drill a pilot hole to start a screw in hardwoods like ash, maple, and oak, keep in mind that wood screws have a straight shank that tends to bind in an undersized hole as the screw is driven home. The threads, particularly in brass and bronze wood screws, also have a taper to their shaft:

Special wood screw bits with a flat profile—not twist drills—are made to match the wood screw shape. They, like spade bits, are sharpened on their edges, and are very reasonable in price. Their profile should be a close match to the screws that you are using in length and width.

L&VW

 

[Headley Grange]

Hard woods like ash, oak, and maple are more likely to split when a screw is driven near the end. Soft woods like pine and fir don't usually have this problem. A screw will exert downward pressure via the threads but will also put sideways pressure on the wood because of the width of shaft. Downward pressure: good. Sideways pressure: not so much. A pilot hole will remove some of the wood and allow the threads to do their job without putting as much sideways pressure.