Tiller Stearing on a Widebeam

[Sarah and Ian]

Hello Everyone

 

We have had the opportunity to go out on a friends widebeam. One thing that became apparent that depending where the tiller is when manouvering you can be a long way from the throttle if needed in a hurry.

 

How do folk get around this or what hints and tips do you have??

 

Thanks in advance

 

Ian

[carlt]

Make sure the boat was designed with the boat owner's convenience in mind...not the boat builder's.

[The Bagdad Boatman (waits)]

maneuver at a low speed.

[Guest]

Hello Everyone

 

We have had the opportunity to go out on a friends widebeam. One thing that became apparent that depending where the tiller is when manouvering you can be a long way from the throttle if needed in a hurry.

 

How do folk get around this or what hints and tips do you have??

 

Thanks in advance

 

Ian

 

I have seen a WB up our way that had a home made flexible tiller extension similar to what you see on sailing yachts/dingies. I don't know how effective it was though.

 

A bit like this.

 

[mattlad]

Diesels have throttles? :-|

 

How about developing a tiller mounted power lever or twist grip?

[Alastair]

Rope.

 

Very common on sailing barges. These often have eyes either side of the tiller where you would hold it. Run rope from that to a bollard/rail and back to your hand.

[loubyscooby]

Stop coming out on my boat and making me realise a fault ....... Do what I do - have you there to control the gears xx LOL

[Grace and Favour]

OP: Relocate the 'throttle' to where you can reach it all the time!

[Sarah and Ian]

Stop coming out on my boat and making me realise a fault ....... Do what I do - have you there to control the gears xx LOLAren't we

Aren't we a little bit paranoid android! lol

[Ex- Member]

I know there's some dubious boat builders out there, but to place a throttle in such a way you can't operate it whilst steering seems just plain ludicrous to me.

[FadeToScarlet]

I know there's some dubious boat builders out there, but to place a throttle in such a way you can't operate it whilst steering seems just plain ludicrous to me.

Often the throttle is put on a pedestal to one side, where it's easily reachable 80% of the time! but if you've moved the tiller hard over away from it! it might just be out of arm's reach.

[Tam & Di]

We operated 4 Leeds & Liverpool shortboats (about 60' x 14'), one of them as a passengerboat at Uxbridge. They were certainly common enough working craft in their day, and had the same positioning you describe. They are tiller steered and the speed and gear controls are well out of reach if the tiller is hard over, but I can't ever recall that causing any problem. You just adapt your driving to suit what you have and don't get into the position where you need to make major adjustments to revs or go out of/change gear when the elum has to be kept hard over.

 

Tam

[kris88]

It's definitely like this on my short boat and it doesn't cause any serious problems, you can always let go of the tiller briefly.

Regards kris

[bargemast]

 

I have seen a WB up our way that had a home made flexible tiller extension similar to what you see on sailing yachts/dingies. I don't know how effective it was though.

 

A bit like this.

 

Hi Martin,

 

this tiller extension doesn't look very flexible to me, maybe it's more like an extendable tiller extension, looking at the holes along the tube.

 

Peter.

[Guest]

Hi Martin,

 

this tiller extension doesn't look very flexible to me, maybe it's more like an extendable tiller extension, looking at the holes along the tube.

 

Peter.

Wrong word choice, the picture more than adequately showed what I was on about hence why I posted it...

 

Jeeze..

[Alan Saunders]

Tiller hard over is 35°, maybe 45°. Wherever you position the throttle/gear lever on a cruiser style deck, NB or WB, it will be out-of reach sometimes; I have never found this to be a problem. At 2/4 mph you can walk around the deck, take a swig of tea/coffee and still adjust the throttle/gear lever. If you have totally cocked up and heading for the trees, best leave the tiller, close the throttle and engage reverse; with experience you will never get into this situation.

 

OTOH, with a trad' style you are standing on the step, right next to the throttle and gear lever, speed-wheel etc. and can still obtain the maximum effective rudder angle. Also true for wheel steering but, oddly, in my experience people who have only steered a car or bicycle get used to tiller steering more easily than wheel steering on a canal. In either case they tend to zig-zag from side-to-side making over-large corrections and may panic into an opposite steering command.

 

My mate, who used to deliver yachts for a living, was able to steer my NB with imperceptible movement of the wheel; better than I!

 

What was the situation that required urgent operation of the throttle?

 

HTH, Alan

[Sarah and Ian]

Thanks for all the advice folks.

 

I never said it was an urgent operation of the throttle it was just when maneuvering etc.

 

Hmmm I just need to be able to go out and practice now. aimed at Loubyscooby.

[blackrose]

Make sure the boat was designed with the boat owner's convenience in mind...not the boat builder's.

 

Exactly. Why would the tiller on a widebeam need to be any further from the morse control than it is on a narrowboat? It should only be the beam of the boat that's wider, not the length of the tiller and not the distance between the tiller and the rest of the controls! The widebeam that the OP steered must be a bad design. I've certainly never had this problem.

 

As others have said, if I put the tiller hard over to starboard (steering to port) then the throttle might momentarily be out of reach, but I think that's the same on many narrowboats too and isn't a problem for a competent steerer. It's not like driving a car where the revs are constantly varied - on a boat you just set the desired revs and then leave it until it needs to be reset.

 

Edited January 9, 2014 by blackrose

[pquinn]

 

Exactly. Why would the tiller on a widebeam need to be any further from the morse control than it is on a narrowboat? It should only be the beam of the boat that's wider, not the length of the tiller and not the distance between the tiller and the rest of the controls! The widebeam that the OP steered must be a bad design. I've certainly never had this problem.

 

As others have said, if I put the tiller hard over to starboard (steering to port) then the throttle might momentarily be out of reach, but I think that's the same on many narrowboats too and isn't a problem for a competent steerer. It's not like driving a car where the revs are constantly varied - on a boat you just set the desired revs and then leave it until it needs to be reset.

 

same here.

my wife has never had any problem either and she is small but as was mentioned above by kris and Alan what is the problem with letting go of the tiller for a few seconds wheter it be narrow or wide.i find that there are many instances where the tiller needs to be let go of momentarily.like when it starts raining and you go to close the rear hatch,when you need to ready a rope,lift a boat pole from the roof,grab a sandwich and cup of tea that are being handed through the rear doors.its a matter of timing. paul

[Barry]

I have found that rather than let go of a tiller to reach the throttle, if necessary in a sharp turn I can slide my hand backwards along the tiller allowing me to reach the throttle while maintaining some control of the steering

[FadeToScarlet]

During maneuvers such as winding when I'm leaning on the tiller and pumping it, the Morse is out of reach on my narrowboat- sometimes unjust happens.

[blackrose]

same here.

my wife has never had any problem either and she is small but as was mentioned above by kris and Alan what is the problem with letting go of the tiller for a few seconds wheter it be narrow or wide.i find that there are many instances where the tiller needs to be let go of momentarily.like when it starts raining and you go to close the rear hatch,when you need to ready a rope,lift a boat pole from the roof,grab a sandwich and cup of tea that are being handed through the rear doors.its a matter of timing. paul

Being partial to several cups of strong morning coffee, but having been cursed with a girlishly small bladder, I have mastered the technique of taking a piss into a plastic pot while steering my widebeam single-handed on rivers where there is nowhere to stop. For anyone who hasn't tried, it's not quite as easy as it sounds.

 

I once tried leaving the tiller to piss over the side of the cruiser stern, but when the boat started going off course I quickly had to get back to the tiller and it got a bit messy...

Edited January 17, 2014 by blackrose

[fudd]

Being partial to several cups of strong morning coffee, but having been cursed with a girlishly small bladder, I have mastered the technique of taking a piss into a plastic pot while steering my widebeam single-handed on rivers where there is nowhere to stop. For anyone who hasn't tried, it's not quite as easy as it sounds.

 

I once tried leaving the tiller to piss over the side of the cruiser stern, but when the boat started going off course I quickly had to get back to the tiller and it got a bit messy...

Girl!!☺ During my beer swilling days, I developed a 2 litre bladder. Over the years it has shrunk to about 1 litre now but it still comes in handy.

[pquinn]

Being partial to several cups of strong morning coffee, but having been cursed with a girlishly small bladder, I have mastered the technique of taking a piss into a plastic pot while steering my widebeam single-handed on rivers where there is nowhere to stop. For anyone who hasn't tried, it's not quite as easy as it sounds.

 

I once tried leaving the tiller to piss over the side of the cruiser stern, but when the boat started going off course I quickly had to get back to the tiller and it got a bit messy...

now there is the ''handy hint of the day''

 

i have done the slash over the side trick while single handing on a canal but always expect somebody to walk past mid stream.i have also been known to slow the boat to an almost halt and race in to the jax, let fly,grab a beer and race back out again before the boat gets buried in a bank.i know ,very irresponsible but only in the middle of nowhere. Paul

[Barry]

i have done the slash over the side trick while single handing on a canal but always expect somebody to walk past mid stream.

 

One way to find the Messiah I suppose