Tiller is not in line with the rudder

[clendee 1]

Hi folks,

 

I have a newly purchased boat and the tiller arm is not in line with the rudder, it is out by approx 5 degrees.

 

Is this something that is necessary to fix, if so is it something that  can be repaired while the boat is still in the water?

 

Thanks.

 

[Tonka 119]

new boat or old boat newly bought. Maybe able to undo fixing nut and have enough play to re-tighten nut with tiller in line. look at back of boat where rudder shaft attaches to tiller swan neck unless it is attached differently

[Alan de Enfield 4792]

7 minutes ago, clendee said:

Hi folks,

 

I have a newly purchased boat and the tiller arm is not in line with the rudder, it is out by approx 5 degrees.

 

Is this something that is necessary to fix, if so is it something that  can be repaired while the boat is still in the water?

 

Thanks.

 

 

Dont worry - next time you hit a log / shopping trolley / Motorcycle / Safe / TV etc etc it will get knocked again - may be even 5 degrees in the opposite direction

[mrsmelly 6008]

It is fixable but its of no real concern. In fact this one is a tad out of line deliberately offset to the right to make steering easier when stood using right handed.

[clendee 1]

hahaha, thanks for your reassurance.  Much appreciated.

 

 

3 minutes ago, Tonka said:

new boat or old boat newly bought. Maybe able to undo fixing nut and have enough play to re-tighten nut with tiller in line. look at back of boat where rudder shaft attaches to tiller swan neck unless it is attached differently

 

Old boat, newly bought.

[system 4-50 907]

Is it a blue boat? They tend to the right.

[clendee 1]

Ah yes, it is one of the blue ones.

[Tractor 2]

My tiller is attached to the tiller post on a taper, held in place by a hex head screw. Take out the screw, waggle the tiller and it should lift off.

Edited November 6, 2019 by Tractor

[clendee 1]

Thanks for this tip, I'll see what I can find.

[PaulD 29]

16 minutes ago, Tractor said:

My tiller is attached to the tiller post on a taper, held in place by a hex head screw. Take out the screw, waggle the tiller and it should lift off.

After thrashing it for half an hour with two sledge hammers.

[mrsmelly 6008]

4 minutes ago, PaulD said:

After thrashing it for half an hour with two sledge hammers.

Yep, often the case innitt!!

[Machpoint005 2246]

43 minutes ago, PaulD said:

After thrashing it for half an hour with two sledge hammers.

 

I thought a sledgehammer was a two-handed tool ...

[David Schweizer 750]

The tiller on our boat was a few degrees out of line with the rudder, which puzzled me at first. Eventually it dawned upon me that if it had been in lne with the rudder, the boat would have moved to port because of "prop action" hence the few degrees off centre to counteract this.

[David Mack 918]

Belfast's tiller has been out of line since we bought the boat 2 1/2 years ago. It just isn't a problem, providing you steer by looking where the boat is going, and not where the tiller is pointing. We have had the odd visitor confused when they kept the tiller in line with the centre of the boat, then wondered why it steered straight up the bank.

[The Dreamer 77]

4 hours ago, clendee said:

Hi folks,

 

I have a newly purchased boat and the tiller arm is not in line with the rudder, it is out by approx 5 degrees.

 

Is this something that is necessary to fix, if so is it something that  can be repaired while the boat is still in the water?

 

Thanks.

 

Ours was easy to sort.  Big bolt on the top of the boss, undo it and the swan neck moves freely.  When out on the cut one of us held the boat in line (regardless of where the tiller was pointing) whist the other marked the centre of the boss with a Sharpie, then when moored up, just centred the swan neck to the mark.  Job done...

[clendee 1]

Thanks for these tips, I'll have a look into this.

[PaulD 29]

3 hours ago, Machpoint005 said:

 

I thought a sledgehammer was a two-handed tool ...

Two people! We would use 4 oz of gelignite in my earlier career.

[Jen-in-Wellies 867]

There are lots of different ways the tiller and rudder could be connected. No standard way of doing it. Maybe a few pictures of the tiller around the base would help identify how it is done on your boat and how the misalignment might be corrected.

Jen

[ditchcrawler 1184]

4 hours ago, PaulD said:

After thrashing it for half an hour with two sledge hammers.

Been there, done that

 

5 hours ago, clendee said:

 

 

 

 

Old boat, newly bought.

5 years  or 50 years, if less than 20 what make 

 

[clendee 1]

29 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Been there, done that

 

5 years  or 50 years, if less than 20 what make 

 

The boat was built in 1991 built by Saraband Boats.  45ft.  Cruiser Stern.

 

I know absolutely nothing about boats, seemed like a good idea at the time.

Edited November 6, 2019 by clendee

[Cheshire cat 104]

Our shared boat had a tiller that was never straight ahead, To make matters worse as you moved it laterally there would be a metallic thunk as it moved from one wear pattern to another

[Laurie.Booth 362]

8 hours ago, clendee said:

Hi folks,

 

I have a newly purchased boat and the tiller arm is not in line with the rudder, it is out by approx 5 degrees.

 

Is this something that is necessary to fix, if so is it something that  can be repaired while the boat is still in the water?

 

Thanks.

 

Nothing to worry about.

[jonathanA 66]

23 hours ago, The Dreamer said:

Ours was easy to sort.  Big bolt on the top of the boss, undo it and the swan neck moves freely.  

Ours is a very big nut 38mm - had to buy a 3/4 inch socket set...

 

there’s a joke in there somewhere about the big nut holding the tiller .... 

[The Dreamer 77]

8 minutes ago, jonathanA said:

there’s a joke in there somewhere about the big nut holding the tiller .... 

I am sure there is, but I’m in no position to call another boater a “nut”.  We named our boat in homage to what we believed to be a song by the Carpenters, only to discover, post sign writing, that it was in fact originally written for the Muppets!