Wheel and Binnacle to Tiller?

[SEMIJim]

Just a general, non-maker-, non-model-specific query: Say a boat has a wheel and binnacle and you wanted to deep-six 'em in favour of a tiller: Won't there be a large-ish hole where something from the wheel mechanism goes through the sole and a couple or so bolt holes, or whatever is used to fasten the binnacle down? What do you do about those?

Somehow I think just throwin' a small throw rug over 'em ain't gonna cut it

Thanks,
Jim

[Boasun]

You could turn that hole into an inspection port for that section of the boat. With a custom made port cover.
A FPG boat? Glass that hole over and blend it in to where it matches the rest of the deck sole of the cockpit.
An extra large cockpit drain??
Have plaque marking it as the place where you stuff all of the money you are spending on the boat?

Okay the last two are from a wry sense of humor. And the last one bears a truth that is undeniable.

[sailingdog]

The inspection hatch isn't such a bad idea... and glassing over the area isn't all that difficult a repair to do yourself.

[tommyt]

A whole lot easier to buy one with a tiller. Lots of them out there.

I have heard on people converting from tiller to wheel. I think this is the first I have heard of the reverse. Interesting.

[Faster]

A friend has an Ericson 33 that has been converted back to tiller steering. They have a circular plate cover where the pedestal used to be, and you can still see the bolts for the under-deck sheaves (and the quadrant is still on the rudder shaft).

Other than a mild tripping hazard, it's fine. One has to get used to the bump in the cockpit floor.

On the plus side it's going to be much easier for the next owner to re convert if desired! On the down side he's packing some extra weight in gear that he's not using... not a big dealf or a cruiser, but perhaps worrisome to a hard core racer.

[Valiente]

Originally Posted by sailingdog

The inspection hatch isn't such a bad idea... and glassing over the area isn't all that difficult a repair to do yourself.

There's a variety of square and circular inspection ports from Davis, Beckson, etc. You could go one better and glass in a squared off or cylindrical bucket to hold a few beverages or a bottle of wine. Just make sure the deck cover is gasketed and lockable. Even in my pilothouse, I'm going to replace the existing "loose" wooden hatch in the pilothouse floor with an aluminum gasketed hatch on a gas strut (I get tired of hauling the existing four by five foor slab out!)

Speaking of which, I've seen plenty of smaller boats with tiller steering (through the aft coaming) where the owners have made part or all of the cockpit sole removable in order to get access to the rear of the engine, to service the exhaust system or just to extend stowage. Even if you only had 12 inches of clearance, you could stash fenders, brooms, spare boathooks, inflatables, and loads of line below the sole without much trouble, as long as you separated the stowage areas from anything hot or moving.

Hey, Google found me a nice example:

Pearson Triton #381 Glissando | Aluminum Cockpit Access Hatch

[sailingdog]

Thanks Valiente.. that might be a good solution for another project I have in mind.

[Giulietta]

Buy gun...take gun home.....load gun......unlock gun.....put gun in mouth......press trigger......

[Sailormann]

If you do end up with a few bumps and protuberances there, you can always put in a natty-looking cockpit floor grate...

[SEMIJim]

Thanks for the feedback and suggestions, guys . I just called the seller and told him we'd decided to take a pass. I don't see the sense in buying a boat with a wheel, knowing we almost certainly won't want a wheel on a 28' boat.