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Tiller Cheek Plates?

  • September 29, 2013 12:11 PM
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    Message # 1401021
    Anonymous member
    My tiller was delaminating so I bought a new one from Bud.  The new one is all finished and varnished now I'm ready to install it.

    I see that the old tiller has nylon cheek plates.  But that the width of the new tiller minus cheek plates is almost identical to the width of the old tiller including cheek plates.  It will take some fancy carpentry to make the cheek plates fit on the new tiller with the right total width. (I lack tools and woodworking skills so any carpentry is fancy carpentry for me.)

    My question, how important are those cheek plates?

    A picture of the old and new tillers side by side follows.

      Photo
    Last modified: September 29, 2013 5:23 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)
  • September 29, 2013 12:40 PM
    Quote
    Reply # 1401029 on 1401021
    Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Dick:  Send me the images and I'll post... I had to add nylon sheets between the tiller and the stainless steel metal box that fits over the rudder (and is hidden under the rudder cheeks) to remove the slop between the tiller and the rudder. 

    So I guess I'm saying either shave down the tiller now to fit with the nylon or keep the nylon cheeks for use when the gap needs to be filled - Pygmalion didn't have anything there for the first ~30 years.  

    On Pygmalion once the slop was out of the tiller/rudder connection it was much easier handling the helm.

    Jay 

    Last modified: September 29, 2013 5:26 PM | Anonymous member (Administrator)
  • September 29, 2013 9:42 PM
    Quote
    Reply # 1401293 on 1401021
    Anonymous
    I've also heard of just sticking a formica washer in between or something to that effect.  If there is no play in the tiller as it is, why worry? 
  • September 30, 2013 9:21 AM
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    Reply # 1401630 on 1401021
    Anonymous member
    I ground away a bit and glassed in some cloth. Without this "wear strip" the finish on the wood gets eaten away and rot starts. Anything could work, the original stainless was a good idea
  • September 30, 2013 6:53 PM
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    Reply # 1402022 on 1401021
    Deleted user
    Tamzin had the same problem so much so that the pivot pin hole wore out to about half again the size it should have been.  I inlet a stainless steel cap on the top and sides then dirlled out the hole for a stainless tube for the pivot pen then welded and ground the whole thing down.  Over kill I know but the #6 owner from now won't have to worry about it.  Interestingly I saw a boat at the Houston rondevouz last weekend that had done the same thing.  His was a lot prettier than mine.
  • October 01, 2013 7:34 AM
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    Reply # 1402354 on 1401021
    Anonymous
    You don't need any "play" in the tiller, for all the reasons given, plus "no play" makes your wind vane more efficient.

    When I replaced my tiller, I measured for the correct thickness and had two stainless steel shims made by a machinist:  just took the tiller down to the machinist so that the shims matched the tiller end.
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