CD's with tillers - A quick & permanent fix

[s-dupuis]

The two bolt holes in my tiller (CD-22) became a bit elongated from swinging it vertically up and down. When I tack the boat I switch seats and go under the tiller to do so.
The holes were actually slightly hourglass-shaped inside the tiller, port to starboard.
The loosness bugged me while sailing on Sunday (glorious 15 - 18 knots of wind). I took the tiller home to fix it. The opportunity to go sailing on Tuesday presented itself but I hadn't fixed the tiller yet. I had planned to fill the holes with F.G. resin and redrill the holes but that would never be cured in time for Tuesdays day sail. Neccessity is truley the mother of invention. I removed the ink cartridge from a Bic pen (the long cylinder type), cut the pliable plastic tube to the same width as the tiller and tapped them into the two holes. Again, this was the type of plastic that is pliable, not the clear, hexagon type which is brittle.
The bolts for the tiller fit into the tubes so tightly they required threading them in to in to reassemble with the bronze mount.

It's now rock solid - no slop. This would more than likely work on the Typhoon as well. I can't say which other tiller steered CD's have this size (1/4 - 20) bolt through the tiller & mount but if they're all the same this worked really well.

Steve

[Wayne Grenier]

Neal Armstrong would still be on the moon if he hadn't used a pen to fix the broken switch on the lunar module! It must be something in the American pysche!

[s-dupuis]

What a compliment to be associated in any way with one of my great heros of all time, Neil Armstrong.

Thanks

Steve

[Neil Gordon]

Nicely done!!! I might add that if you were trying to fix a problem with wheel steering, you'd still be pondering rather than sailing.