Chrysler Sailors Forum

Well I finally got tired of the room the wheel took up and went back to the tiller. Since my rudder shaft is no longer factory I had to come up with a new plan. All I have coming out of the rudder shaft bushing is the U bracket welded to the top of the shaft. I used a 3" steel pipe treated with por 15 and painted to extend the shaft up and out of the way of peoples legs seated toward the rear. I used a peice of galv 2" pipe to reinforce the end of the tiller. It can flip all the way over and be tied to the rail when anchored to keep it out of the way........now for some stops.........

Good workaround,

Thanks
Alan

Do you still have rudder raising & lowering ropes? If so, how did you resolve that part of this slick fix?

I like the idea of having the tiller above knees. Looks like it might be a pain for the traveller though.

My rudder shaft is solid SS so I don't use the ropes to lower and raise it (no hole for the ropes). I use a fender pole to put it down and it is tight enough that it stays unless I ground it.

The traveler does not cause an issue, you do have to make sure the sheet clears when tacking but the wheel had the same issue.

The other big plus for me is that the wife can steer the boat now, for some reason the wheel kept her in a constant state of confusion. It also seems to make handling strong gusts of wind easier(I can react a little quicker without overreacting). The wife also noted that I step on her feet less now

do you still have the wheel, quadrant etc. I would like to buy it. Javelin

It has been so modified to make it work that you would probably be better off finding one on ebay. Originally all the hardware was below decks except for the wheel and post but this shortend the rudder shaft hose that keeps water from leaking in around the shaft and so it always leaked and there was nothing you could do to stop it. I moved it all above the deck solving the leak but had to heavily modify it to make it work.

Okay, thanks for the info. Will try ebay. Javelin