Tiller/Rudder Alignment
Moderator: Jim Walsh
Tiller/Rudder Alignment
The tiller on my Cape Dory 25, Elusive Dream is not aligned with the rudder. I removed the tiller and reinstalled it with the square inset key which did not correct the problem. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks
Geoffrey H
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John Stone
- Posts: 3621
- Joined: Oct 6th, '08, 07:30
- Location: S/V Far Reach: CD 36 #61 www.farreachvoayges.net www.farreachvoyages.com
Re: Tiller/Rudder Alignment
Can you provide some additional info? How far off is it in terms of degrees? How do you know it’s not aligned? Has itevery been aligned since you have owned the boat? Is it on the hard or in the water? Why was the key not in the key way? And which 25 is it, the one with an outboard engine or the 25D?
Re: Tiller/Rudder Alignment
My friend has what I think is the same problem with his Typhoon weekender. I went sailing with him and notice that he was doing some strange things with the tiller. When I took the helm, wow no weather helm at all. In just a few seconds I realized no weather helm, NO HELM! The tiller was turning independently of the rudder. We made it back to the dock using the motor. When my husband took the tiller head off, he found the pin was badly worn so he made another. When the new pin was installed the rudder and tiller appeared to be tight and in good working order.
Once again, I went sailing with my friend in his Typhoon and once again the tiller seemed to be going in odd directions. I took the helm. While I had a helm and the tiller and rudder moved together, they were not pointed in exactly the same direction We pulled the boat out of the water and if the tiller is midship, the rudder is about 15 degrees to starboard. The rudder appears to be properly attached to the rudder post and the tiller and rudder are attached tightly and the pin is in. When we pulled the tiller off and looked at the slots for the pin, the pin slot on the tiller is located in the center of the of the head so that the tiller would be pointing straight in the center of the boat, dead ahead. The pin slot for the rudder, however, is 15 to 20 degrees to port when the rudder is placed in the center of the boat.
I do not know how long this problem has existed. We had the local sailmaker and lots of engineers and sailors at the club look at the problem. There were no ideas on how to fix it. And most thought we will just have to live with it.
Once again, I went sailing with my friend in his Typhoon and once again the tiller seemed to be going in odd directions. I took the helm. While I had a helm and the tiller and rudder moved together, they were not pointed in exactly the same direction We pulled the boat out of the water and if the tiller is midship, the rudder is about 15 degrees to starboard. The rudder appears to be properly attached to the rudder post and the tiller and rudder are attached tightly and the pin is in. When we pulled the tiller off and looked at the slots for the pin, the pin slot on the tiller is located in the center of the of the head so that the tiller would be pointing straight in the center of the boat, dead ahead. The pin slot for the rudder, however, is 15 to 20 degrees to port when the rudder is placed in the center of the boat.
I do not know how long this problem has existed. We had the local sailmaker and lots of engineers and sailors at the club look at the problem. There were no ideas on how to fix it. And most thought we will just have to live with it.