Where to mount X-5 tiller pin - is shorter distance better for small light boat?

The instructions for the X-5 indicate that the tiller pin can be mounted from 14 to 18" from center of rudder shaft. Shorter distance = less ram force, greater and faster tiller deflection, longer the opposite (this being the real as opposed to the political world -sorry you're probably as sick of this campaign as I). Any SSS members sailing a smaller ULDB (in this case Moore 24) have any suggestions? One factor I considered is if the X-5 ram dies, the other TPs have less force, and might struggle with the shorter tiller pin mount.

Thanks, John

Ruben?

Don't just epoxy it into the wood tiller - it will work loose. Also, I snapped one off due to crevice corrosion. I now have two pins welded into a SS plate and screwed to the top of the tiller with four long wood screws. I can switch between the two pins if I want more leverage/slower or less leverage/faster. Ruben did a nice SS U-bracket on Rushmoore - very Gucci.

The stock X-5 drive unit is 5 sec. lock-to-lock - there's nothing faster. If you go with the 14" make sure you set the stops so it doesn't jam hard over and give you a Drive Stop error. It's all in the Commissioning manual.

Thanks Bob. I hope to see Ruben's Rushmoore this week. I like the two pin idea in fact have one installed by PO for an Autohelm 800. I hear you re: strain on pin. Not the strongest mechanical design I've seen. John

As a dude prepping a Moore for the SHTP that lives in Fernley, I was kind of astonished that someone's doing it in Reno. Excellent! Perhaps we can have a singlehandled tahoe-pac to prep.

A bracket of some sort is a must, because as Bob stated, the pin "will" work loose. I had a SS U-bracket fabricated for me that is not only strong, but very pretty.

FWIW, my pin epoxied into the tiller stayed tight for several years before the 2010 SHTP, through the race, through the return, and is still going strong. I did ponder Bob's advice and made up another one welded into a bracket that I could have screwed onto the tiller mid-ocean. Maybe a Martin 32 has a lighter helm than a Moore 24 (I doubt it), or more likely I've just been lucky.

All good advice above.

Keep in mind that you may want to "design-in" a failure point that is easy to repair at sea. My pin is just a SS bolt going through an aluminum bracket, so I carry a few spare small bolts . The pin at the tiller is easy to replace, the outboard end, not so much. If you have a pin epoxied into the wood tiller & it shears or rips out, make sure you've thought about how to effect a repair at sea. I also carry spare bolts for the bracket as they go through the wood tiller. I used to use 1/4-20's but after 2 failures, I up-sized them to make the pin the failure point. I don't carry a spare bracket, though it hasn't bent or failed - yet. I'm pretty sure the pin is the weak point in my tiller drive system, and I keep an eye on corrosion between the aluminum & SS bolt, and make sure it has plenty of lanicote on it.

Sorry, couldn't resist weighing in here after having a few 3am moments of tiller drive failures of one sort or another. Maybe this will save someone the experience.

Max, you are a lucky man...

The pin came loose during my qualifier, and Ronnie's got loose during his qualifier. Ronnie mentioned to me prior to my qualifying sail that the pin will work itself loose and for me to reinforce because it would happen...he was right. Bungee cords worked great as a temporary fix, so needless to say, the bracket was high on my list before sailing to Kauai.

All great advice - thanks. RM lists a threaded tiller pin as an option which would seem to be the simplest way to put together a more stout rig. I agree about the ram end, certainly I can fabricate a stout socket with G10, epoxy, etc. but even though tethered a more robust mount allowing pivoting but connecting to the boat would be great. Too bad it's so difficult to engineer a below deck solution even though there are some cleaver examples out there.

Now, about the tiller pin distance thing....any one deviate (surely singlehanders are deviant in some respects) from the ~18" distance?

Talonf4u, happy to get together and share knowledge (or lack thereof in my case). Where's your Moore? #66 lives in Alameda Marina now. John

And, anyone know the skipper of Nice, a Jeanneau from Nagasaki JP that is docked at the Alameda Marina just now?

there is a raymarine part number for about 50 or 55 bucks that is a bracket with a pin on it. the bracket is held on by two through bolts and the pin is held on by a threaded pin with nut underneath. underneath that i had two epoxied pins into tiller. do that.

i had 1 or 2 failures of the wobble loose variety on my old tiller with just epoxied pins. they iwll fail.

ronnie