backwards

Senta has a ~5' emergency tiller. Looking at that beautiful long tiller I don't see how it could possibly be used in the small space behind the pedestal. Yet, the only access hatch in the pedestal is in the aft part of the pedestal base. I hope the pictures below show that reasonably well...

Anyone out there ever encounter this, or know of a way to fix: My E39 was repowered by a previous owner back in the late 1980s, converted from an Atomic 4 gas engine to a Universal M40 Diesel. The installation looks like it was professionally done EXCEPT that, on the pedestal, you must pull...