Tiller question - International GP14 Class Association

This topic has 7 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 4 months ago by Anonymous.

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- 02/08/2018 at 10:14 am #15723
  
  Anonymous
  Inactive
  
  Greetings to all.
  
  I’ve finally got my new (to me) Mk2 boat in the water and just joined this very useful association.
  
  I have a question, probably the first of many.
  
  The tiller has been riding down in the rudder stock and wearing the gelcoat of the rear deck through to the fibreglass. That’s now repaired, but I want to prevent this happening. I see there’s a hole in the metal piece on top of the rudder stock into which the tiller fits, and a corresponding hole in the end of the tiller. At present, the tiller doesn’t insert quite far enough for these two holes to line up. Should a bolt be going through there to keep the tiller in place? And should I sand the end of the tiller down so that it inserts fully and the two holes line up?
  
  Apologies for any incorrect vocabulary and many thanks in advance.
  
  Best, Nick
- 02/08/2018 at 10:45 am #15724
  
  dirose
  Participant
  
  Hi Nick, sounds like the rudder pintle and gudgeon may not be not set right for the rudder stock. The tiller should rest well clear of the aft deck. How the tiller is fixed depends on the rudder stock design, some are clamped, some bolted, some fixed rudders are glassed in.
  
  Can you post a photo?
- 02/08/2018 at 11:02 am #15727
  
  Anonymous
  Inactive
  
  Thanks for such a speedy reply. I’ll try to post a photo later this afternoon.
  
  Cheers, Nick
- 02/08/2018 at 7:50 pm #15873
  
  Anonymous
  Inactive
  
  Here are three photos.
  
  The first shows the clearance of the tiller above the aft deck. It looks OK but when I had her out yesterday and was using the tiller extension, there was some contact between the underside of the tiller and the deck.
  
  The second shows the tiller inserted into the rudder stock. The hole I was talking about is in the centre and the corresponding hole in the tiller is just shy of it. Should they be lined up and connected? The bottom of the opening in the rudder stock has been shimmed to keep the tiller riding higher.
  
  The third shows the whole assembly mounted on the transom. I just noticed that the transom gudgeon has already been moved higher to raise the rudder (the pintle hasn’t been moved, blocked by the transom flaps).
  
  Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
  
  Best, Nick
- 02/08/2018 at 10:21 pm #15879
  
  norman
  Participant
  
  Hi Nick,
  
  On tillers of the period the holes in tiller and stock were for a stainless split, usually attached to the stock with a short retaining cord. The poor fit suggests that the stock and tiller were not originally paired and could have been mixed if the boat was one of several in a fleet or a replacement had been acquired. The answer is to carefully reduce the tiller end to give a tight fit with suitable clearance above the stern deck (remove some material from the back of the lower edge of the tiller, and slightly increase the insertion depth so the holes line up.
  
  Norman
- 02/08/2018 at 10:23 pm #15880
  
  norman
  Participant
  
  Sorry, careless proof-reading, it should read”split pin”
  
  Norman
- 02/08/2018 at 10:52 pm #15881
  
  Arthur
  Participant
  
  it certainly looks like your rudder cheeks have been chewed on. I am willing to bet some repair down the line moved the stainless steel downward some on the cheeks and that is keeping you from inserting the tiller all the way.
  
  Of note, my Series 1 rudder looks to be the same construction, I do not know if it were ever changed over the course of GP14 production. The rope that lifts the rudder blade on mine runs up through the cheeks and exits under the tiller whereas yours runs on a dedicated pulley bolted to the side of it.
- 03/08/2018 at 11:34 am #15883
  
  Anonymous
  Inactive
  
  Many thanks to all for the helpful replies. I shall get to work on the end of the tiller.
  
  The hypothesis of the stainless steel top of the rudder stock having been moved down would explain the transom gudgeon having been moved up by a corresponding amount. Also, the top of the cheeks has been shimmed across half its width to raise the tiller. I guess the rudder uphaul would originally have run through there alongside the downhaul, as described above.
  
  Thanks again!
  
  Nick
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