Fiberglass Tiller Handles?

[SomeGuyInaShirt]

I'm a lazy guy and I don't want to do more maintenance than necessary, for this reason I was considering making a fiberglass tiller handle for my boat as a spare for when the wood one eventually breaks. Wouldn't fiberglass be easier to make and stronger and lower maintenance? Why is this not common?

[sailingharry]

Lightning tillers were originally wood. Most now are a piece of 1.5" aluminium tubing. So it's not a completely crazy idea.

[Matt Johnson]

I made our last boat's tiller handle out of fiberglass tube. Worked well.

[psk125]

Ever get a fiberglass splinter from a batten? You remember it for a long time. A fiberglass tiller will need a good coating of resin on the outermost layer to make sure all the fibers are well encapsulated. An aluminum tube might be easier and cheaper to make into a tiller.

[SV Confianza]

Originally Posted by psk125

Ever get a fiberglass splinter from a batten? You remember it for a long time. A fiberglass tiller will need a good coating of resin on the outermost layer to make sure all the fibers are well encapsulated. An aluminum tube might be easier and cheaper to make into a tiller.

That was my first thought

[SomeGuyInaShirt]

Good point about the splinters, aluminum pipe sounds easier for sure.

[OldManMirage]

Originally Posted by SomeGuyInaShirt

Good point about the splinters, aluminum pipe sounds easier for sure.

I dunno, I sure like wood. It looks nicer too. Aluminium sounds like it might be slippery when I get sweaty.

With a tiller cover - which is super cheap - a decent varnish job will last years. That's pretty low maintenance.