I needed that....
I needed that....
Don't forget to account for some flatting out of the tiller's curves when you take it out of the form.
All the work you've done on your boat is first class.
Ben
From what you have shown us so far I expect the same from you. With these 45 year old boats we get plenty of opportunity to prove ourselves don't we?
BTW when I released the tiller glue up I only got about 1/8" spring back which surprised me. I expected more.
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.
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.
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
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.
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