On the tiller head assembly? Gee, this isn't a generic thing!!!
So far as I know bronze is not going to crystalize out of the water.
My original (I'm assuming this) tiller head which is comprised of two unchromed castings, one fitting over the other, seems to be just as malleable as the day it was made. You can see a lot of 'worrying' in the keyway. And some mangling where DFOs cranked too hard on the nut that squeezes that casting around the shaft where it holds the key.
What Broke ? ? ?
Compared to my Edson replacement the original tiller head is a substantial work of art and well worth fixing IMCO. Would weld it with a MIG and reshape the piece back to original dimensions. Piece of cake.
By the way: and I think it was pointed out here (in Search)
The more the tillerhead is in the closed position (the Down position) the stronger it is going to be because there is more metal to metal bearing surface to turn the rudder. Therefor you want a tiller that swings over the knees when the tiller head is in it's resting position. Doubt you can find an offshelf WM tiller which has the S curve required for this.
Oh, and the other thing about the original tiller head is that the channel for attaching the tiller is not only 1 1/4" wide but only 1 1/4" deep. The spread of the holes thru the channel sides is minimal - it means that the bolts go thru maybe two laminations - assuming you have a laminated rudder. The bolt holes are essentially in line along the top of the tiller laminations - pressure on the tiller, pushing downward especially, is made for a split to happen. Don't think engineers would like this much.
My guess is that the tiller installation leaves a lot wood below the metal channel. While this adds to the unity of the whole lamination, it is argueably a flaw in the design. The fix would be to weld on some bronze strips to the sides to deepen the channel so more wood would bear and redrill the holes for a better spread. It would take a sophisticated shop to do this. They'ld have to have some 1/4" bronze plate sitting around.
A better, easier, fix might be to drill thru the top of the tiller channel and put a backup plate on the bottom that incorporates the two or three bolts. Wouldn't look too bad if you squared the holes and used carriage bolts. Plus you're clamping all the laminations together. Epoxy glue doesn't like exposure and will degrade.
Preparing for a broken tiller, would you use butterfly nuts underneath so that you could more quickly attach the ax handle or maybe the spare tiller???
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