Conversion from wheel to tiller

[wmcunninghamii]

I own a Freedom 30. Owned her for 22 years. She is a forever boat for me. No worries re resale value.

Having said the above, I am on the horns of a dilemma. I have just experienced an engine control failure, throttle arm sheared off. No big deal I thought. Called Edison to obtain info on replacement parts and was advised I ought to take the opportunity to inspect the entire Edison system given my boat is 34 years old. I asked about cost should I have to replace typical age related parts wear/tear. Answer was around $1500. I could cheat and fix just what is broke for a fraction of that but Edison made a pretty good case for a full refurbishment given system age and 22k nautical miles on the boat during my ownership including a few ocean crossings.

But...I sail and race singlehanded. Why not take this opportunity to remove the Edison system and convert to tiller? More room in cockpit, much easier to move around under sail, etc. I have a tiller arm on rudder stock hooked to my belowdecks linear drive AP so all good on the AP front. My emergency tiller drops right through the transom bridge to the top of the rudder stock so it seems a relatively trivial job to install linkage and a deck level bearing/flange and we are done.

Also my rudder bearings need replacement so the rudder needs to be dropped regardless.

Given the above, this seems like it might be the right time to take the plunge.

I would appreciate it if my colleagues here would talk me out of ...or into executing this project.

[Mike OReilly]

I've had wheel (Edson), I've had tiller. I prefer the tiller. It's simpler, smaller in the cockpit, and communicates most directly what is going on with the boat.

A wheel can work just fine as well, but since my current boat has a tiller, I prefer it .

[wmcunninghamii]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I've had wheel (Edson), I've had tiller. I prefer the tiller. It's simpler, smaller in the cockpit, and communicates most directly what is going on with the boat.

A wheel can work just fine as well, but since my current boat has a tiller, I prefer it .

Well, you are in agreement with about 99% of singlehanded sailors if the folks I race with are any indication.

I forgot to mention removing all that steering crap will drop my weight by 75 lbs plus or minus. Probably will impact my phrf a bit now that I think of it. That's assuming I fess up.

[ArmySailor]

You sound like you have already made the decision, based on how you've written the question! Not many compelling reasons I see to not convert. As long as you plan through the whole project in detail to ensure you don't run into an "oh ****" that makes the whole enterprise cost beaucoup $$.

I'm a tiller fan, wouldn't have it any other way. When I was shopping for boats couple years ago I always looked at wheels and thought, ok, how can I dewheel it right after purchase?

Got lucky though and found a tiller, so I bought it.

(The boat it was attached to came with it)

[Ziggy]

How are you planning to fill-in the openings in the cockpit floor under the pedestal and pedestal guard? There is also some additional cost to replace the pedestal mounted compass with bulkhead mounted.


Otherwise, seems like a no-brainer.

[Don C L]

I don't know the cockpit of your boat, but I 'spect you'll be able to lift the tiller up out of the way when needed, freeing up the cockpit. You won't have to worry about cables, quadrant and links anymore (if you did.) The only downside I see is that non-sailing visitors may feel in the way in the cockpit if the tiller is sweeping back and forth. I'm more of a tiller guy, but on bigger boats I am good with wheels. 30' is not a big boat in my book.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Don C L

I don't know the cockpit of your boat, but I 'spect you'll be able to lift the tiller up out of the way when needed, freeing up the cockpit. You won't have to worry about cables, quadrant and links anymore (if you did.) The only downside I see is that non-sailing visitors may feel in the way in the cockpit if the tiller is sweeping back and forth. I'm more of a tiller guy, but on bigger boats I am good with wheels. 30' is not a big boat in my book.

My boat is 37 feet and 15 tons. When I first looked at my boat I was initially concerned. That concern quickly vanished once I got her on the water.