The bungee doesn't need to be removed to use the tiller. Just push or pull the tiller and the bungee will hold it at the new angle.
SBM photographs
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One thing to consider is that the two legs of the line sure look like they are the radii of an ellipse. Accordingly there needs to be some slack in the system to get full range of motion for the rudder, either from the bungees around the tiller, a loose line or by using a bungee-tensioned cross line. The latter is what I have used for a while. The cross line is anchored just ahead of the rudder at small pad eye on the port gunnel, makes a turn through a small shackle attached to the forward part of the rudder, then through a pad eye on the starboard side. A bungee connects the line back to the port pad eye, creating an isosceles triangle when the rudder is centered. It is handy. Having a way to adjust the tension from the bungee is also nice.
Sure glad that wasn’t totally confusing. KISS
Ole thanks for the comment. I’m not sure I follow you about needing a cross line, or about needing adjustments to get full range of motion for the rudder–the system as described is dead simple, and works really well with just an athwartships line and a bungee holding it to the tiller. No need to adjust tension; you can use the tiller normally, but it will stay wherever you leave it when you let go. Works brilliantly.
This is the tiller set up to assist an owner who is restoring a Drascombe Scaffie. The white bungee allows full range of rudder motion and adjustment of dampening from near zero to locked in place. The galvanized shackle does chafe the blue and purple line, but easily fixed by moving the line to a fresh section. The factory set up used a single bungee to center the tiller.
Ole,thanks. That’s pretty much what I was picturing from your description, then. I think the system described in the article is simpler, though. Once rigged, there is no need to adjust tension in the system at all, and no moving parts (other than the tiller itself), and no hardware. The tight bungee wrapped around the tiller and athwartships line holds the tiller reliably in place (just with friction) whenever you take your hand off the tiller, but you can still steer normally, too, with full range of motion for the rudder. Try it for yourself sometime if you’re curious, and you might well find you like it better.
Or is there some advantage to your system that I’m not seeing? I admit to being biased in favor of simplicity, so maybe there’s something there I haven’t considered. Thanks for the discussion!
Hi Tom,
I just wanted to say thank you for such a useful and simple idea. Like Ole, I have a Drascombe Scaffie, which came with a DIY tiller tamer fitted by the previous owner. This worked well most of the time, but was prone to jamming at the most inopportune times. I have tried other ideas, notably the Huntingford Helm Impeder, which worked superbly most of the time, but was overly complicated and again prone to jamming. I have been using your idea for several weeks now and so far it has been excellent allowing me to confidently leave the tiller to tend to the trim etc. One other notable benefit is that I was able to fit it well aft on the tiller so it was less likely to snag the outboard or any of the running rigging.
Brilliant idea – thanks for sharing.
Dom,
Sorry for the late reply. I’m glad the system is working for you. I have been really happy with how well it works, how simple it is, and how easy it is to rig. I doubt I’ll ever have a boat without it now that I’ve used it for a couple of years.
Brilliant! I like it so much I think I might remove my regular factory-made tiller tamer and use yours instead, because it allows convenient “foot-tillering”, while not having to use either hand to disengage and then re-engage the taming mechanism.
This is great! I used to just tie the tiller to an horizontal line every time I need my hands free. The idea of the bungee is definitely worth a try. 🙂
Yes, it works really well as described. The one drawback I’ve discovered is that the friction does wear out the bungee loop eventually. Depending how often you sail, you might find yourself replacing it every year, or even several times a year. Still cheap, though.
Tacos at 60 knots? LOL, just happened to notice the plate mounted on the gunnel on the CY
That plate caught the eye of one of our other readers in a photo in my review of the Gas One Mini stove. Here’s the reply I posted:
I’ve been waiting for someone to notice that little sign mounted above the fire extinguisher. When my kids, Nate and Ali, were in middle school, I took them out for a summer dinner sail in ALISON, my Caledonia yawl. I thought tacos would be an easy meal to prepare for a picnic under sail, but I hadn’t anticipated what it would be like to eat them. We had a good breeze, and with full sail set, ALISON charged through the chop. Assembling the tacos—a fragile crunchy shell, shredded lettuce, grated cheese, pulled chicken, and diced tomatoes, topped with salsa—was difficult enough in a constantly moving boat. Eating a taco with all of those slippery moving parts was impossible to do neatly. We would have to hold the taco upright to keep everything from spilling out and turn our heads sideway to take a bite. Do that as the bow dropped into a trough, and most of dinner would wind up on our shirt fronts and on the floorboards. Ali, with a skilled deadpan delivery but a poor grasp of nautical terminology, said “Great idea, Dad. Tacos at 60 knots.”
I thought it was only fair to warn others about the dangers of sailing aboard ALISON and had the plaque made.
Great story. Thanks for sharing and clearing up that inside joke.
Best regards and Happy Holidays!