Breaking the wooden tiller
-
Posts
-
Hello,
This message is to inform you that during a recent outing on our pogo 8.50, the helmsman had the unpleasant surprise of breaking the tiller “cleanly” while sailing close-hauled (perfectly reasonable sailing and sea conditions) and without any particular movement.
The wooden tiller broke cleanly in line with its fastenings via through-bolts.
Our wooden bars were not treated (varnished or otherwise), as we had been advised. With the exception of a very small area close to the break (about 1cm²), where the wood seems doubtful, it doesn’t seem to us that the wood is rotten, but it’s true that they’ve been in the open air for over 10 years.
It’s true that, in retrospect, the bars seem a little “harder” than the previous year.
So we can’t really explain the breakage. We’re going to replace them and try to check/grease the joints and check the pilot cylinder to limit friction and resistance.
As these bars are no longer manufactured, the shipyard is proposing that we adapt aluminum tiller bars from more recent pogos using specially machined adaptors (€€€)
My questions are as follows;
Without taking the boat out, can we “grease” the rudder shafts (to make the bars more fluid)?
Have you had or heard of this type of mishap?
Can you think of other points to check?
Thank you in advance for any feedback,
Matthieu
Hello Matthieu,
My two bars were 17 years old with no worries.
However, for wintering on or off the water, it is recommended to remove them. Easy and radical.
Good luck with your refit. A good marine carpenter with your model should be able to do it. Placing an ad on our site would be another possibility…
Hello
Same remark as Xavier. My 8.50 pogo is also 17 years old with its original bars, which I preferred to varnish. It’s not a big deal to do a refreshing coat every year. My bars look almost like new. I now protect them with Goretex covers made by my wife.
As for greasing, I did that a few years ago when I replaced the bushes, which were starting to play up.
It’s a must when you go out on the water.
Good sailing
In the same vein, if the bars were to squeak during navigation, a few drops of washing-up liquid on the white washers would be radical!
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
