New Style Tiller Attachment

[Esteroali]

I just got a new style (double armed) tiller for my Sunfish and cannot for the life of me figure out how to attach it to the rudder. I comes with a bolt and 2 washers but is set into a hole whereby one cannot gain access with a wrench or even pliers. AM I MISSING SOMETHING HERE???? Do you need to have the 2 old style larger plastic washers left in??
I can take pics later if it helps.

 

[PBA]

I'm glad I took these pictures. It would have been nice for LP to send some directions in that kit, eh?

No old style plastic washers came in my kit, and all seems fine with my new style rudder without them. I used a ratchet set, and two screwdrivers wedged in on the opposite end, such as to freeze in the lock-nuts. Those enclosed black metal washers went under the lock-nuts, between the nut and the aluminum housing.

One note. The "smooth" end of the tiller goes down, in theory, while the "cap end' goes up, such as to attach the tiller extension. I have Kevin McHale arms, so I don't use a tiller extension, and thus so I reversed the two. I also wanted the plastic cap end to serve as a buffer against the hull, such that I didn't scratch it. The old style rudder system had a tiny emerging screw cap that would always gently scrape against the hull, and thus I wanted to avoid that.

Enjoy! I thought the new tiller was very well thought out, and after 37 years of misery with the old system, I had a great summer with the new upgrade. Enjoy it now before it starts to snow....

 

[Esteroali]

Thank you!!!....Uhmmmm....snow???
HA! It's just starting to get nice down here. We sail 365 days a year!

 

[Wayne]

I just got a new style (double armed) tiller ... It comes with a bolt and 2 washers, but is set into a hole whereby one cannot gain access with a wrench or even pliers.

I have yet to install a new tiller, but it looks as though they provided plenty of access for holding the nut with a second socket wrench.

Perhaps LP failed to take into account some people do not have as extensive a tool box as the factory or a dealer's shop would.

 

[Esteroali]

The nut end can easily accommodate a socket but the bolt end has very little clearance at the edges. I had 978 sockets out (my deceased father in law's collection, not my husbands) and nothing would fit. I was able to wedge a single flat head screwdriver between the bolt head and the wall in the well of the tiller and got it fairly snug. Or should I say hopefully snug enough.Will report this weekend guys. The people using this tiller at the Sarasota Labor Day Regatta raved about it and since mine was toast I figured I needed a prize for the weekends efforts.

 

[Wayne]

The nut end can easily accommodate a socket but the bolt end has very little clearance at the edges.

That sounds like they at least sized the nut and bolt head one size different ... typically done because most tool boxes don't contain two of the same size socket.

Is one clearance hole larger on one side than the other, subtly indicating the bolt goes through from only one direction?

Otherwise, it sounds as though the clearance calls for a "thin-walled" socket (there is such a thing) ... or ... they failed to make the opening where the larger socket will be needed sufficient ... or ... the designer figured on a thin crescent wrench entered through the tiller tube's open end ... or ... they have a "special tool" wrench made just for this job and forgot to mention that's what it takes.

Regardless, jamming in screwdrivers works in a Red Green fashion, but sure isn't very professional. The correct tool needs to be identified and made widely known. I won't be shelling out $215 to guess at the correct assembly method.

 

[Esteroali]

I would consider myself at a very minimum a middle of the bell curve person mechanically. It seems to me if the builder (LP) of a class (Sunfish) wants to grow the class they need to have better communication with it's users. If PBA hadn't had the same issues and chimed in I probably would still be in the garage scratching my head.

 

[Wayne]

I would consider myself at a very minimum a middle of the bell curve person mechanically. It seems to me if the builder (LP) of a class (Sunfish) wants to grow the class they need to have better communication with it's users. If PBA hadn't had the same issues and chimed in I probably would still be in the garage scratching my head.

I'd be calling up the dealer who sold me the part, at very least.

... wait a minute, I found something in the New MINI-Manual at the LP web site.

 

[Wayne]

Hmmm....ok, 2nd try for readability of the annotations.

There does still appear to be a problem. Unless you are using a variety of "combination wrench" that's called an "ignition wrench" which is much much thinner than a standard combination wrench, it seems to me following these instructions will result in the perminant installation of the wrench along with the nut. I think the idea was a way to capture and align the nut with the bolt, but maybe the "open-end" would be wiser to use..., if it will fit the head space in the tube.

 

[derekcjackson]

At home I had the same problem that was mentioned above where the sockets that fit on the nut and bolt did not fit through the hole in the tiller. Finally when I was at the North American Championship in Charleston, I borrowed sockets from SAYRE Sailing to attach the tiller. The socket was a standard size that I had in my set, but mine was just too big to fit through into the tiller. In the directions Wayne attached, the bottom highlights that you need to use a socket wrench with a thin wall. So, apparently there is some variance in sockets.

I think you could actually drill out the hole and make it slightly bigger without compromising the tiller's strength. However, you might not be able to put the plastic cap on the hole again.

 

[chucktowncolie]

I had "socket issues" when I bought my new tiller as well. I solved them by taking the extension, with bolt, into home depot and trying out deep set sockets until I found one that worked. I also have an extensive socket collection but ran into to two problems the socket was either 1) too short or 2) the walls were too thick. The hardware store, after some searching, provided me with the proper tool. I do not remove my tiller from my rudder now when transporting it beause it's too much of a pain in the butt to put back on.

 

[Fred P]

If you Google "thin wall sockets" you will find many available. You can also buy them individually (Lowes, Sears, Home Depot, etc.) and get just the one you need for the tiller as Chucktowncolie did.

Fred