DaySailer.org Forum

Yes and no.

No, it wasn't supposed to leak into the bilge - nothing ever is.

Yes, if you seal the leaks into the bilge, water can then leak into the cuddy (from where it drains into the cockpit and from there to the drains in the back, or pumped overboard). It's still a nuisance, but no longer a problem, because you can deal with it in the open. (I've sailed in a boat where that happened, and every hour or so, some bailing action was needed - no self-bailer on that boat. It interrupted the routine a bit, but it was manageable unlike if the same amount of water had been found in an inaccessible bilge. The cuddy was full of gear, the trick was to use truly waterproof bags for the bottom layer ...).

The only way to reduce that problem would be with some kind of foam/rubber gasket that holds back the water but lets the rope/cable pass. Not impossible to do, but won't be perfect.

About the picture a few posts above: looks like somebody used galvanized. That's not going to resist rusting. Best you can do is to regularly apply a bit of corrosion inhibitor (comes in a spray can).

Tiller tender...

I've been thinking a lot about a tiller tender, heaven forbid I actually buy one.

A friend suggested this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VidYQOGw9T4

I've just finished installing it, it seems to work as advertised on the dock. I'm going to give it a whirl tomorrow.

Unfortunately, I just ran across Greenlake's solution, and I think it sounds like simpler version of this one. The only change I may make is to use shock cord instead of rope.

My system may be simpler especially as it does not require any fittings other than an eyestrap (or equivalent) on either side. The one you chose might prove more durable, bungees don't live forever. The principle is rather similar, being based on having just enough friction to hold the tiller, but not so much that you can't force it into a new position. In my setup, because of the bungee, the tiller "gives" a little bit in a gust, which allows the boat to round up. At least I've seen it do that in light airs when the sail trim was just so. The boat would luff up in a puff and fall off in the lulls as if there was someone live at the helm. Some of that will happen even with a rigidly fixed tiller, one would have to do a comparison.

I think you'll be happy with this setup. (Now that you've drilled holes below, you might want to mount your battlestick more permanently. Duck tape becomes such a mess when it ages

Heh, I started fabricating that tiller, and gave up on it being nice, when I realized the battlestickwas too wide to mount pretty on the round end of the tiller. I'm going to make a nice one when figured out what I want.

The battlestick is screwed down. Battlesticks have a fixed, and mounted base, the swivel joint slides into that base, then then plastic box snaps in to hold the swivel joint to the base.

The gorilla tape is there to ensure the plastic box doesn't come loose, and the joint pops out at a really bad moment.

When the tape starts looking nasty, you cut it off and replace it... or not. While we are close to Annapolis, we are also close to Baltimore, we gotta keep some street cred.