Tiller Extension Length Recommendations Please

shorefun

Well-Known Member
The Sunfish I got for my son to learn on has been great!

It came with a homemade tiller extension. It has some sort of stainless ball and socket thing with about 1/2" wood rod and a cork thing on the end.

It works great and likely was a really good thing back in the very early 90's when it was likely put on the boat. It is too small a diameter to just hold comfortably.

Should I spend around $100 for the adjustable length extension or just get a single length extension? What length extension should be bought?

Thanks!
 
When you sail a sunfish you want to sit as far forwards in the cockpit as possible. If you are going to take people out with you then you may want adjustable.Does your boat have a hiking strap? I sail with a single length about 41 inches as I race with the tiller in front of me. You want a rubber universal.
 
hi Shorefun.

I use a Ronstan 33" "Battlestick" extension on a 41 1/2" tiller (old style rudder). It has a foam handle with a ball on the end. The universal is rubber. I bought it from intensity sails for $53.99 plus shipping.

Yes, it has an absurd name, but I like this extension a lot. It allows me to keep my hands together in front of me, the forward hand holding onto the main sheet, and the aft hand holding on to both the main sheet and extension. With this arrangement, I can pass the sheet from hand to hand when trimming, hiking out or not. Don't know if your son already does this, but if not, he wants to learn. Just lookup "Laser Olympics" on youtube and watch how/where they hold their hands.

Something else to consider is, as Sailflow suggests, that you want to be able to sit forward most of the time so that the stern doesn't drag through the water.

I also have adjustable tiller extensions that I use for a couple of other boats. For these extensions, the universal is a made of stainless and plugs into the tiller. They were made by Forespar. They are good for their purpose, but have some drawbacks:
  • They are prone to jamming, especially in salt water, even though I always rinse them off. I just checked one of mine to see who made it, and found it is jammed even though it was thoroughly rinsed at the end of last season. I will be able to fix it, but it is something else to deal with.
  • The plug in fitting allows some slop. It's not a big deal on a high performance keel boat, although I wish it would go away. Call me "fussy", but on a dinghy like a Sunfish or Laser, and I have one of each, I just don't like it.
  • Lastly, and my own stupidity here, but I also occasionally twist the adjustable tillers the wrong way while trimming something which causes them to release to a longer length.
On the other side, however, is this. If your son plans to regularly take other people sailing, a short extension will work better for that one purpose. It requires less space, especially when tacking and gybing and space is at a premium on a Sunfish.

Just my two cents, more like ten I guess. Hope they are helpful to you.
 
33 inch with Universal joint when we use one, Battlestick. Or the factory "paint stir stick" from the mid 80s-90s boats. Or we made some custom length tillers that come up to the aft edge of the cockpit, Skipper likes to hook a knee over that or steer with her foot.

Madison Wave.jpg


As far as where to sit, YMMV, sit where you want. We like to slide around the aft edge of the cockpit vs torquing our knees.

Audrey Madison smile.JPG


Universal tiller extensions do come in handy on light wind days, I sit in the cockpit sometimes with feet over the forward edge, steer with the extension over my shoulder.
 

Back
Top