Tiller mushiness ?

[Jersey16]

I have been motoring now with my Mac 25 with 8hp merc. All's well so far but I have a tiller question. How mushey is the tiller supposed to be. I know that the outboard exerts enough thrust to give the rudder a bit of a hard time, but this seems to make the tiller a little too mushey. The rudder is attached properly and all the connections appear to be proper, but the tiller just doesn't seem right. Is this normal or is the tiller supposed to be a lot tighter?

Thanks
Joe

[ChockFullOnuts22]

Does the tiller have "slap" in it, like it's loose on the rudder? If so, it's probably just due to average wear or looseness in the tiller pivot bolt. Either way, tightening the bolt a turn or two might help firm the tiller up a bit.

[Hamin' X]

Two questions and a comment:

• 1. Is your tiller connected to the motor when you are feeling the mushiness? The connection is not factory, and might not have the correct geometry.
  2. Are you feeling the mushiness under power, or sail?

The motor is powering from the rear and steers from the rear. When under sail, the sails are pulling the boat and the rudder is steering the rear. This is a completely different feel.

~Rich

[Jersey16]

Thanks both of your for your replies,

The motor and tiller are not connected. I'm not sure what a "slap" is, but there's no bolt its just a quick disconnect pin,is that what a slap is? I thought about shimming it with a piece of metal or wood on either side of the tiller inside of the piece that connects the rudder with the tiller. It is a little old, but not that old.

I feel the difficulty when under power. I haven't had the sails up yet, but i'm working my way up to it. I've taken her out without the mast the first time to get a feel for her under power alone, and to give the trailer a "dry" run. The second time I took her out using the mast raising system I built, which worked like a charm single handed (less than 20 min to step the mast ! ), but I didn't raise the sails yet. I suspected as you said that the tiller may feel a little different under sail alone, thanks for confirming that. I hope to get out this week since she's in a slip for a few weeks while I work on the trailer. I'll let you know how I make out ( I mean I'll be asking more questions later)...

Joe

[ChockFullOnuts22]

"Slap" refers to excessive undesirable movement between moving parts. A loose mechanical connection; in this case, a loose connection at the tiller hinge.

The helm will definitely feel different when under sail with the motor shut down. You won't have the prop wash against the rudder blade to create the resistance that you're feeling now.

[vizwhiz]

I suspect that if the motor is offset to one side also, you'll be getting some power-steer toward the opposite side...making it feel heavy one way and lighter the other way.