{"id":2302,"date":"2018-06-29T21:32:59","date_gmt":"2018-06-29T21:32:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/narrowboatingforbeginners.com\/wordpress\/?p=2302"},"modified":"2018-06-29T21:41:22","modified_gmt":"2018-06-29T21:41:22","slug":"simple-tip-remove-your-tiller","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/narrowboatingforbeginners.com\/wordpress\/simple-tip-remove-your-tiller\/","title":{"rendered":"Simple tip: remove your tiller"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Short-term boat hirers like me have little opportunity to learn the multitude of tiny tricks that make life on a narrowboat more pleasant. You do quickly learn some adaptations, such as walking like an Egyptian to negotiate the confined corridors of a narrowboat or checking your shoes before boarding to ensure you\u2019re not tracking dog poo onto the boat. But I know that people who own a boat must have a plethora of time-, space- and pain-saving tips.<\/p>\n

One tip that I\u2019ve yet to employ is removing the tiller arm or handle after you\u2019ve moored the boat. It never occurred to me to do that, and yet looking back I remember all the times I caught the end of the tiller arm in my gut or stood up and conked my head on it. The tiller arm, of course, is the long handle that eventually connects to the rudder.
\nOn historic narrowboats the tiller arm is a rather large and long wooden lever that fits into a slot on the rudder post. It\u2019s so long in fact that the person at the tiller often stands inside the hatch to the aft cabin. When the boat isn\u2019t underway, the tiller is rotated 180\u00b0 (around its length), allowing easy access to the rear of the boat.\u00a0The genius of this design is that it there is no other place on board to store the gigantic tiller arm.<\/p>\n

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Historic flyboat Saturn; Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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On the right side of the picture you can see the tiller arm rotated upwward<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On a modern hire narrowboat, however, the tiller handle is a lot more understated affair. The rudder is just below the rear of the boat (although it projects out a little, which is why it\u2019s so important to ensure it doesn\u2019t get caught on a canal cill). The rudder post protrudes through the rear deck where it meets an S- or Z-shaped metal tube (the swan neck). The end of the swan neck narrows, allowing the final length of the tiller handle to be slipped over. The tiller arm is usually a straight metal tube (about two feet in length), although it usually ends in a shorter, wooden handle.<\/p>\n

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Some boats have a hinged tiller handle that allows half the handle to be tilted up out of the way.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To keep the final length of the tiller handle in place, there\u2019s a metal pin that connects it to the swan neck. Many private boats have a decorative tiller pin like a bronze animal or some other whimsical design, and is usually attached to the swan neck with a chain. The pin \u00a0is quite long and can be removed without a tool. The tiller handle can then be stored in a locker.<\/p>\n

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A decorative tiller pin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Unfortunately most hire boats don\u2019t come with an easily removable, decorative tiller pin \u2026 because they\u2019re decorative and easily removed. Instead it\u2019s probably attached with a short steel pin fastened on the bottom with a nut. That nut, however, can probably be removed with the pliers on a multi-tool.<\/p>\n

Of course it would be a pain to use pliers every time to remove the tiller pin, so one could use a tiller pin with a clevis pin. I think 8mm is the standard diameter for a tiller pin and I think most tiller arms have an approximately 1.5″ outside diameter (1.25″ I.D.). You could buy one in advance and take it with you. A simple tiller and clevis pin costs and weighs very little.\u00a0A better option, however, would be to contact your boat hire and ask if there is a nearby chandler. You might be able to buy a decorative tiller pin at the chandler and have the boat hirer install it for the duration of your holiday. You can then bring it back to the U.S. as a souvenir.<\/p>\n

Another benefit of removing the tiller arm and storing it elsewhere is that it would make it harder for someone to take your boat for a joyride. I know it seems farfetched, but it does happen. Just stash the tiller arm in a closet on the boat, especially if you leave it unattended. If you do buy your own decorative, easily removed tiller pin, you should also stash it somewhere on board if you leave.<\/p>\n

Now if I just come up with a tip to prevent you from banging your head on the rear hatch.<\/p>\n