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E29 Tiller to Wheel Conversion

tuffelhunden

Junior Member
There *are* advantages to a tiller.

I've got an E25 w/ a Tiller... at first, I'd've preferred a wheel but, while it *sounds* nice, it's a lot cheaper (and easier on the nerves) to tame the tiller and still make small adjustments to it.

Of course, having ridden a motorcycles on-and-off for years, I'm not so "married" to the idea of a wheel.

Taking lessons from motorcycles to sailing...

With enough bungee you can attach ANYTHING to a motorcycle.

And so it is with sailboats...



A picture truly is worth a thousand words and you, Sir, have got quite a few $5 words in the thousand words you posted!

Going to get bungees this weekend!!!!:egrin: This will make my life much easier moving about the cockpit and short stints away from the tiller as I single handle much of the time.
 

toddster

Curator of Broken Parts
Blogs Author
If you have a few more shekels in your pocket, consider moving up from bungees to a Forespar tiller extension with a "lock box."
I never had great luck with "soft" solutions like lashings. If they're tight enough to do any good, they're too hard to snatch off when quickly needed. Of course, I've probably learned a lot about sail trim since then. :rolleyes:
In reality, these days mostly I use the tiller pilot on "standby" as the tiller lock, but now that I've adopted a wind vane, I'll need to go back to a purely mechanical lock - and figure out some way to rig it with the tiller flipped aft, in some way that doesn't interfere with the traveller. I wonder if a shorter tiller is in order?

Oh, the other thing you can play around with, with a tiller and bungees is "sheet to tiller steering." Free self-steering for Rube Goldberg fans!
 

Cajunspike

Member II
E27 with wheel

Just got a 72 E27 with a wheel installed by previous owner. Still learning about it but will answer any questions I can.
seeker.jpg
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Check the make of the wheel. Probably Yacht Specialties /Merriman or Edson. May say "YS" on the wheel nut.

You may be able to find a bigger wheel at a yacht gear surplus store. Current one looks small, larger is better.
 

Grizz

Grizz
32" Destroyer Wheel

Piggy backing on Christian's 'bigger is better', I have a 32" currently occupying wall space as an inexpensive object d'art looking for an Ericson home. It came from the previous boat, a Hunter 28.5, totaled in harbor in a May 2010 storm. The 32" wheel, a larger diameter than the OEM, made helming from either low/high side much easier.

I can confirm hub diameter tonight, if needed. That is all. Carry on.
 

frick

Member III
Ericson 29 with Tiller Pilot

Greetings,
My Lat Boat had a wheel, but my E29 has a tiller.
I also have a Tiller Pilot which was very easy to install and does most points of sail very well. (Down wind with waves it get confused)
The old Tiller Pilot works and allows me to move about the boat with ease.

Rick+
 
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