My tiller extension has open glass fiber on it and it is tearing up my skin all over the place. should i
A.(buy a new one=$45)
B.(build a wooden one=$10)
C.(Build a PVC one that can extend using an aluminum bicycle handle bar lock= nearly no $)
D.(coat the handle with resin and sand smooth=ugly)
E.(cover the exsiting handle with gel flex tubing=$4)
Come on Rob,
You're an engineer student. Do you want it to last? Brush on some resin and be done with it. Or get some handle bar tape and rap it.
How about do both, use some resin to repair the loose glass and then wrap in handle bar tape to cover the resin and give the tiller a custom look. Make sure the tape color matches the boat colors.
Also you could wear sailing gloves to protect your hands a little better.
rch701 wrote: My tiller extension has open glass fiber on it and it is tearing up my skin all over the place. should i
A.(buy a new one=$45)
B.(build a wooden one=$10)
C.(Build a PVC one that can extend using an aluminum bicycle handle bar lock= nearly no $)
D.(coat the handle with resin and sand smooth=ugly)
E.(cover the exsiting handle with gel flex tubing=$4)
what kind/where do you buy a new extention for $45? mine are over $100 (ARRIBA)
rch701 wrote: My tiller extension has open glass fiber on it and it is tearing up my skin all over the place. should i
A.(buy a new one=$45)
B.(build a wooden one=$10)
C.(Build a PVC one that can extend using an aluminum bicycle handle bar lock= nearly no $)
D.(coat the handle with resin and sand smooth=ugly)
E.(cover the exsiting handle with gel flex tubing=$4)
At $45 I would buy a new one. The other options will take away sailing time. Double however many hours you think it will take to fix it, unless you have done this exact thing before.
Triple the amount of hours you think it will take to fix it if you have A.D.D. (and welcome to the club).
Quadruple the amount of hours if your an engineer, because your just gonna get anal about it being perfect and may even decide to first create a few prototypes (again, welcome to the club) 😆
You could also wear some sailing gloves.
But seriously though, you CAN tint resin to color match what's on there now. It's gonna be tuff to match it perfectly, but give it a year of UV fading and you will be the only one that can tell. You could also do like the previous owner of my SolCat and just use spray enamel paint.
Dan
A pair of sailing gloves would help!
i have sailing gloves, but if i bump that thing it gets on my skin. i got it on me last night while trying to get my mast hoist to work.
Gloves, bicycle handle bar tape, or tennis racket tape. I use tennis racket tape, cause it handles getting wet over and over better.
And like mentioned above, make sure the color matches.
Hmmm.. Sailing time vs Fixing a part that cost less than a Franklin. I'd say your time is more valuable.
Telescoping paint roller handle...
oooohh. i like that idea. i am using a broom handle on my other cat.
PVC is NOT the way to go. I have used just about everything. There are twist lock polls available that can be easily converted to use as a tiller. Some are aluminum, some fiberglass. The aluminum polls are available at places like West Marine, designed for hooking mooring floats. They come in a few lengths. Saw the hook end off, drill holes, and attach the fittings off your old tiller.
Fiberglass paint roller extensions work well too, but only the twist lock kind... not the push button variety. Also, with the glass polls, it is necessary to reenforce the cut off end with something like marine tex to strengthen the area where your mounting screws are at. I used PC7 to stuff up inside the cut end of the poll.
The twist loc aluminum polls are easier to find and for some... it may require some nonskid tape be added to it to allow better grip.
i am going to just re-resin the handle and go from there. i currently dont have sails so i have plenty of time. besides the wind rarely blows nicely in mobile bay
the fiberglass paint sticks have a history of wearing down to the fibers and getting in your hands as well... but they are a cheap solution
I have 2 old hiking sticks one probably is not fixable as I had it extended a bit to far and the little plastic bits that it used to lock in place snapped off I have no idea where to replace them from. I have another aluminum one I bought second hand but the little odd shaped rubber washer thing that locks it in when it is extended was not holding and when I pulled it out o inspect it it pretty much disintegrated.
Does anyone know where you can get something like that? By odd shaped I mean that it is thicker and more oblong on one side and the hole in the middle is as well so when you twist one direction it forces the rubber against the tube to lock in place.
If so then I have an extra. The one I am using is also second hand but is of the current fav fiberglass variety that usually starts around $100 or so. It still work well but 10-12 inches or so on the end had broke off so it does not telescope quite as far as original but works good for me. I just put a good rubber shovel handle grip over the end.