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johnsonp
Admiral

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USA
606 Posts
Initially Posted - 11/04/2011 :  11:01:06  Show Profile

Wish I had one of these on my Catalina 250 days.... in San Francisco bay

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vg-nei4JurM


paulj<font face="Comic Sans MS"></font id="Comic Sans MS"><font size="4"></font id="size4"><font color="blue"></font id="blue">
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SEAN
Admiral

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USA
772 Posts
Response Posted - 11/04/2011 :  12:06:16  Show Profile
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John Russell
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3444 Posts
Response Posted - 11/04/2011 :  12:22:00  Show Profile
I want one! Combine that with a hard link between the outboard and the rudder.
Edited by - John Russell on 11/04/2011 12:28:11
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Tradewind
Admiral

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USA
531 Posts
Response Posted - 11/04/2011 :  15:09:22  Show Profile
Pretty cool! I love my Autohelm though, can't imagine what I'd do without it.
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John Russell
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3444 Posts
Response Posted - 11/04/2011 :  17:37:20  Show Profile
I'm gonna go out on as limb here and say, once into production, this thing will cost 1/10th the cost of an autotiller.
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GaryB
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4303 Posts
Response Posted - 11/04/2011 :  19:34:34  Show Profile
Anyone ever thought of just using some HD Velcro attached to the top of the transom and the bottom of the tiller where it crosses the transom? Probably wouldn't work in heavy weather but for average conditions it might be OK.
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Derek Crawford
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3321 Posts
Response Posted - 11/04/2011 :  21:20:38  Show Profile
My tiller lock (when singlehanding) is about a 7' length of bungee cord tied from stern cleat to stern cleat with 3 wraps around the tiller - works great for short periods.
How do you get a tiller cover over that prototype?
Edited by - Derek Crawford on 11/04/2011 21:22:07
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Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5895 Posts
Response Posted - 11/05/2011 :  04:57:55  Show Profile
Rachel has skills! Watching her is a lesson in efficiency of motion.
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Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9076 Posts
Response Posted - 11/05/2011 :  08:00:15  Show Profile
I did roughly what Derek describes. The bungee allowed for quick corrections and then would re-center itself, or you could grip the coils and twist them to port or starboard on the tiller to make a more "permanent" adjustment. To release the system, push the coils back on the tiller until the bungee goes slack. To set it, slide them forward until you have tension. I like that variable brake, but the bungee system is ultra-simple, cheap, no holes, and very functional.
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Steve Milby
Past Commodore

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USA
5895 Posts
Response Posted - 11/05/2011 :  09:23:24  Show Profile
As with everything, we do what works best for us, but I tried all kinds of tiller lashing techniques, and found the ones that seemed to work best did not involve stretchable elements. If you'll look at the one that is the subject of this thread, it doesn't stretch; nor do many of the most recent and successful designs.

If you think about it, when you are hand-steering your boat, and you want to continue in a straight line, you don't adjust the tiller with every puff and lull. You hold it steady, steering a straight line through the puffs and lulls. You only ease the pressure on the tiller if a puff is so strong that you have to feather it to windward. Otherwise, you hold the tiller steady. You don't, for example, ease the tiller in an ordinary puff, which is actually what a bungee is doing when it stretches in a puff. The best helmsmen keep a steady hand on the tiller. They don't make constant adjustments with every minor puff and lull. There's no logical reason why you would want a mechanical tiller steerer to zig zag, when you would be holding the tiller steady, if you were hand-steering the boat.

Moreover, a bungee doesn't have a brain. It is incapable of doing what you do when you're hand-steering the boat, i.e., it can't decide exactly how much tension to apply to the tiller in either a strong or moderate puff. It stretches just as far as it was designed to stretch by the factory that made it, unless you pre-stretch it when you attach it, but it's difficult to do that reliably, because the stretchiness of bungees changes as they get older and deteriorate, and you can't accurately anticipate exactly the strength of the puffs you are going to encounter on any given day.

Non-stretching line mimics most closely the way you hand-steer your boat.
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johnsonp
Admiral

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USA
606 Posts
Response Posted - 11/05/2011 :  11:46:53  Show Profile
Or.................http://www.wavefrontmarine.com/<font face="Comic Sans MS"></font id="Comic Sans MS"><font size="4"></font id="size4"><font color="blue"></font id="blue">
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Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9076 Posts
Response Posted - 11/05/2011 :  13:15:41  Show Profile
I think I like the variable friction idea--sorta like on an outboard.
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TakeFive
Master Marine Consultant

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2272 Posts
Response Posted - 11/05/2011 :  13:41:08  Show Profile
Well, I think it's brilliant. You lock it and it stays right there (unless you have low friction so it will round up in a blow).

The bungee ideas are less expensive, but also may need more trial-and-error adjustment on each tack. That could be a big pain if you tack frequently.

If a PO hadn't already installed a wheel and autopilot, I would be on this in a New York minute.
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DaveR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2015 Posts
Response Posted - 11/05/2011 :  13:45:54  Show Profile  Visit DaveR's Homepage
In my opinion this may be the best solution yet. Might need a beefier rod setup for a coastal application versus the one in the video that would seem to be for a lake type setting. I could be wrong but it looks like a pass through Ponce Inlet on a rough day would do that one in.
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Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts
Response Posted - 11/06/2011 :  15:42:12  Show Profile
Since the thumb release tiller brake (I forget who makes it) is somewhere around $200, and this one is more complex and probably more expensive, I think I'll stick with my cheap Davis Tiller Master.
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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts
Response Posted - 11/06/2011 :  18:37:32  Show Profile
Neat idea. Would I trade my autopilot for one?...Nope.
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willy
Captain

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USA
422 Posts
Response Posted - 11/07/2011 :  16:31:44  Show Profile
OK Paul...you must know someone involved with this thing in order to send a link to an unlisted Youtube video. I have searched for it online and can't find a half a link to the manufacturer or a distributor. Is it real? Or something someone fabricated on their own? I'm interested in getting one!
Willy
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John Russell
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3444 Posts
Response Posted - 11/07/2011 :  16:38:36  Show Profile
They did say it is a prototype and they only made the video last month. I'm guessing it will be a bit before it's ready for production.
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DaveR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2015 Posts
Response Posted - 11/08/2011 :  06:34:04  Show Profile  Visit DaveR's Homepage
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"> Neat idea. Would I trade my autopilot for one?...Nope. <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

When I say "best solution yet" I mean in it's category and am not comparing it to an auto-tiller
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johnsonp
Admiral

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USA
606 Posts
Response Posted - 11/08/2011 :  10:38:31  Show Profile
Someone sent me this link.
There is an email adress.




http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-maintenance/80332-new-tiller-lock-design.html<font face="Comic Sans MS"></font id="Comic Sans MS"><font color="blue"></font id="blue"><font size="4"></font id="size4">
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Arlyn Stewart
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2980 Posts
Response Posted - 11/09/2011 :  14:25:39  Show Profile  Visit Arlyn Stewart's Homepage
Evidently the video has gone private.
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