a simple method for tiller self steering

[francois.lavoie]

It seems that there are a few methods for tiller self steering with bungee holding the tiller center, and in addition for backward winds, retroaction of the jib sheet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnkDsDWl8zQ

https://www.cruisingworld.com/simple-self-steering/


Have some of you used these approaches? What are your experiences? Is it in any way useful for tacking on short distances (like 100m to 500m)?

[Pete17C]

seems like it would take longer to rig up after each tack at 100m then spent on that tack

at 500m (and a guess of ~4kts) your about 15min between tacks, might be worth it then

[francois.lavoie]

Good calculations.



Do you use self-steering tiller?

[TeddyDiver]

Originally Posted by Pete17C

seems like it would take longer to rig up after each tack at 100m then spent on that tack

at 500m (and a guess of ~4kts) your about 15min between tacks, might be worth it then

Did you look at the video? It takes longer, way longer to adjust than rig it up. Thou sailing days on the same tack 1000Nm away from land as the guy in the vid that doesn't matter

[Pete17C]

Originally Posted by francois.lavoie

Good calculations.



Do you use self-steering tiller?

nothing that extravagant, just a simple lashing occasionally if I need a minute or two away from the tiller

[Pete17C]

Originally Posted by TeddyDiver

Did you look at the video? It takes longer, way longer to adjust than rig it up. Thou sailing days on the same tack 1000Nm away from land as the guy in the vid that doesn't matter

no i didn't, but once you've rigged it and made the adjustments the first time, I would think re-setting it would go fairly quick

[boatman61]

Have used the bungee method in the past.. kept me going on course long enough to get things done, coffee, cheese on toast etc.. kept an eye on the compass for any drift, usually to windward then pop up and re head her.
Gives a nice break from helming, just sit back in the cockpit and give her a little tweak now and then.

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Pete17C

nothing that extravagant, just a simple lashing occasionally if I need a minute or two away from the tiller

Does this mean you are normally always on the tiller?

It gets old fast for me (unless I'm racing) so I use one of two tiller pilots and have the write-up for sheet to tiller steering onboard should I need to switch to that due to failures of the pilots

[Pete17C]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Does this mean you are normally always on the tiller?

It gets old fast for me (unless I'm racing) so I use one of two tiller pilots and have the write-up for sheet to tiller steering onboard should I need to switch to that due to failures of the pilots

I sail OPBs (other peoples boats), so tiller, wheel, autopilot all depend on what the boat is equipped with.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by francois.lavoie

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Have some of you used these approaches? What are your experiences? Is it in any way useful for tacking on short distances (like 100m to 500m)?

I used to use mainsheet to tiller on my Catalina 25 on SF Bay. That boat had end boom sheeting. I got rather good at tacking up the Cityfront with it. I had clam cleats on the coamings which made switching and adjusting a breeze. Then I got a tiller pilot. Then I got a boat with a wheel (and still dream about figuring a way to do it, but with a cabintop mainsheet now, it's harder, so jib sheet to bottom spoke of the wheel would seem to be one way).


Good luck, it can be done, just learn how to set it up.


Note that the video is different than John Letcher's sheet to tiller system in the first part with just the tubing, until he connects to the jib sheet.

[HappySeagull]

I used it quite a lot on a couple of boats before I had a vane. It works quite well but needs learning to suit the boat...best way downwind is the "extra staysail shadow" you can maybe see set flying leeward of the poled genoa...


upwind, if you want to do this a lot, little mizzen affair can work ..a lttle junk sail with battens won't flap. Such a sail powerful enough to shift the tiller commonly changes the boat's balance so if you get the idea the same mizzen affair will work downwind?-not so. Not well anyways ....


...but for a hundred yards? If you take some wraps round and round the tiller of a boat with weatherhelm it'll do but it'll take you a hundred yards to get the wraps to stay on course ...a tip I might add when the more exact balancing of forces is wanted, you can use one or more parts of your mainsheet purchase to adjust the force...p


Look up "John Letcher" (on the Aleutka?). He got into it in great depth.

[francois.lavoie]

Thanks for these many thoughtful interventions. I understand that simply blocking the tiller is good enough for going one tack to another. This self steering method would be more useful for longer tiller timeout upwind.

For those that use the bungee method of so, you do not seem to report it as a difficult strategy to implement.

I will look at the references.

I have a small sailboat, electric autopilots are said to be energy eaters and could fail. Windvanes seem to be an interesting alternative.

[boatman61]

With the bungee method the tiller is allowed some movement to and fro but has the capacity to return the tiller to the angle/position you set it.. combine this with good sail trim and you should be fine..
Fixed lashing of the tiller is not much use for longer than a few minutes.. it needs to work a bit.

[francois.lavoie]

The book of John Letcher on self-steering methods for sailboats is available freely as a pdf with the author`s permission:
https://jesterchallenge.files.wordpr...r-jr-small.pdf

[thinwater]

I've fooled with rope-to-tiller steering over the years, and it works, but invariably it is 1-3 knots slower than an accurate electronic pilot. You also don't point as high. You can say speed is not everything--if it was we would take a plane--but we do spend money on new sails and bottom paint to sail faster. Baggy sails are no fun and a boat with a beard is a dog. Rope-to-tiller steering feels like that to me.



So what is the $/knot benefit of an electronic tiller pilot vs. rope-to-tiller or a transom vane? Go ahead and throw in the cost of a panel to drive it, but they've gotten cheap. For example, skip bottom paint for a year or two and you've paid for it.



(That said, rope-to-tiller and drogue emergency steering are methods every well-rounded sailor should know and practice, just in case. I believe this very strongly and have published on drogue steering.)