Commander 147

[Commander 147]

Well, after playing with several incarnations of the tiller template this is the one I finally settled on. I am 5'11" tall and when I sit on the cockpit seat with a cushion the top of my knee is at 23" above the cockpit floor. I wanted the tiller to clear the top of my knee by a comfortable margin so the bottom of this template is 24-1/2" above the cockpit floor. The original one I made is behind the one I will now need to build. Because I am making a tighter curve I will need to make the strips I glue up thinner to take the curve. So that means I will need to make one or two more strips. That's a project for tomorrow.

[Commander 147]

We have had the coldest winters I have experienced in Florida and I have lived here since 1977. But we finally got a 70 degree day so I could use the resorcinal to glue up my tiller for Destiny. I glued it up yesterday and today I shaped it and did the initial sanding. It is made out of alternating pieces of mahogany and white ash. I had very little spring back when I unclamped it which you can see from the template laying on it before I shaped it.

The tiller is 3-1/2" above my knee and it easily goes over the top of my leg when I'm sitting in the cockpit. The end that I hold is close to horizontal which makes it an easy resting point for the hand doing the steering.

For anyone who is interested I made a layout so it could be duplicated.

[Ariel 109]

Beautiful! I was wondering what was going on with your tiller. I like the ergonomic thinking that you have put into your design.

I also like seeing your cool workbench.

Ben

[Commander 147]

I built the workbench back in march of 2004. Someday it will belong to my oldest grandson. My youngest grandson loves tools so I will build a top and bottom tool box that will someday be his.