Islander 36 tiller to wheel conversion

[jerski]

Greetings! I am considering buying an Islander 36, hopefully on the West Coast of the States, but I would like to eliminate the tiller and replace it with a wheel. Has anyone done a tiller-to-wheel conversion and can give me a ballpark price?

[JeffBurright]

Are you already considering a specific Islander 36 that has a tiller? My Islander 36 came with the wheel already. From the sounds of your post, it seems like you're still shopping around, and I think wheels are pretty common on these if you keep looking.

[jerski]

Thanks for the info. I did have one Islander 36 in mind, but if wheels are more common than I realized, I will search onward. I have my heart set on the Islander, just not a specific one yet.

[JeffBurright]

Have you checked the listings on the I-36 website? Islander 36 Association-Buy/Sell Page

You might also try joining the Islander sailboat owners facebook group and asking around there to see if anyone is looking to sell.

Good luck! I cruised for 3 years on a 30' boat before owning this one, and it's pretty amazing how much more smoothly the 36 handles wind and waves.


Also, I see you're scoping out autopilots too. Check out my posts if you want to see how I built a wheel pilot for mine for around $150. I haven't tested it in big water so no guarantees, but it works well in the bay so far.

https://www.youtube.com/@JeffBurright
https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...-a-276530.html
https://github.com/jeff-burright/Aut...wifi/tree/main