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Proud owner of a tiki 30. The tiller arms have been replaced with straight aluminium tubing. I would like to  put them back to the original curved wooden arms but have no plans. The boat did come with some plans and designs but not the tiller arms, is it possible to beg/borrow/steal/buy a set of plans for the tiller arms?

Andy

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they look like what I need to make, what wood did you use and how did you get the curve in there, screwed some guide blocks to the ply base? and then clamped the arms to them  

Hello- my tillers are similar to these (Tiki 31). I made the first ones from American white oak, as I happened to have some offcuts around. Even though I degreased the timber, the glue joints failed when I tested them quite violently after the WEST epoxy had cured. I made a new pair with Utile and these are fine. The others were firewood. Utile is lighter, so better, but I am now convinced that we must use local timber wherever possible.

I think I clamped a big weight to them to bend them. I have silicon bronze pins in them working into oilite plain bearings on the tillerbar.

So I'm not at all happy now with using woods such as Uitile, and would use European Ash for this if I were to do it again. The ash needs to be quickly converted from logs here in Europe, not sure if dead ash (ie killed by disease) is ok, I have some in my wood and will find out I guess, as the disease is spreading for ash.

I'd laminate up old good redwood floorboards for that now at a pinch, in between the knots............

I don't use WEST anymore, good performance,  but destructive to human beings.

glued and screew, 2,5x13x190cm timber (x2) with inserts of 3x13x20cm,  the last insert have a round finish to fitting in rudder

Rogerio Martin said:

Very nice, the round section in the spacer at the end of the tiller works very well into the back of the rudder cut-out in practice. It locks down very well. That's a Wharram design winner: ie the design on the Tiki 31 has the tiller socketing over the rudder head, rather than the tiller being shafted into the rudder as on the photo above.

FYI- gluing white oak with Any brand of epoxy is problematic. 

Yes, that's why I told this story. Anything I say is not prescriptive, just my own experience. I am not a professional boatbuilder, but I am a professional woodworker (retd, c 40 yrs experience).

Aside from that, I only use FLAG now, and would rec this to anyone else: based on my experience only of course!

Ive got some planks of blue gum hardwood that i was cut some strips out of to laminate up for the arms. Titebond do a waterproof glue or maybe epoxy? and then I was going to cover the lot in epoxy resin. Then to mix it up a bit more use a length of bamboo for the steering arm.

Being in the UK I cannot give any opinion on blue gum, dunno what it is! Must look it up.

I am a timber/woodwork person but for in- service stuff you need the experienced sailors on here to tell you what they think, I am just a one-off silly person who built a boat or two and doesn't like bad plans.

Ash is the allround best timber for tillers, or wych elm which is not available now apart from in my own stocks!

ps not selling any of my precious elm!

Ian R said:

Being in the UK I cannot give any opinion on blue gum, dunno what it is! Must look it up.

I am a timber/woodwork person but for in- service stuff you need the experienced sailors on here to tell you what they think, I am just a one-off silly person who built a boat or two and doesn't like bad plans.

Ash is the allround best timber for tillers, or wych elm which is not available now apart from in my own stocks!

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