Tiller Locks
If you sail by yourself there are times when you need a way
of keeping the tiller in position when you have to do something else. There are
high and low tech setups that will do that.
I have a tiller pilot that is great. This little motor
driven pilot hooks to the tiller handle and when you turn it on it will hold
the tiller where you want it and even keep you on a set heading automatically.
When I am not using it I
have two lines, one from each side of the boat that slip over the tiller handle
and they keep the tiller in position. This is an old low tech but functional
way to keep on course for a moment or two.
In some points of sail the helm can have an uncomfortably
heavy load if you have to hold it for a long time. You can easily make a set up
that will almost half the load by tying a line to the side of the boat that you
are pulling the tiller toward, making a loop around the end of the tiller
handle and then hold the free end of the line to keep the tiller where you want
it. The load is dispersed between the two lines that now go to the tiller
handle. You can also tie off the free end to keep the tiller in place if you have
to do something for a moment or two.
Another low tech but very workable system is a simple
knotted line that goes from one side of the boat to the other. The knots fit
into a hook on the tiller handle to keep the tiller in place. Extra knots give
more adjustment positions.
There are a number of neat low tech ways old sailors used to
keep helm in position. You do not have to have an electronic tiller pilot,
but the electronic ones are a real convenience.
It is always nice to learn how sailors of old did things.
8-) I like to pass this type
of stuff on when I run across them.
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