Anyone tried to use a carbon fiber fishing rod as a tiller stick ? Can it do the job ? Carbon fishing rods are less expensive then the carbon tiller stick. But they are just carbon tubes right ?

My initial tought is that a fishing rod would be to thin and flexible to work well?
Some of the "Swiffer" kits comes with a pretty nice universal joint and telescopic handles. I always tought they might be a cheap solution in a pinch.

Rolf, I've got an old fishing rod that is really strong,
I think I'll give it a try next spring. If it breaks well...but if not I'll have a carbon stick for free.
Any ideea how thick a regular carbon stick is ? I like the the fishing rod ideea beacause it has a nice grip handle at the end. I assume you will be using Alu tubing for your Blade, or get a stick from a used cat.

Have a Happy New Year everyone !

I dont think the fishing rod can't take the loads, but I think it will be too flexible. You want something fairly stiff and the best way to increase stiffness is to increase the diameter of the tube. It is nice to have something fairly substantial to hold in your hand as well, but that can always be fixed. You will need to watch the weight on the end of the tiller when you flip it around behind the mainsheet when tacking/gybing.
We will probably make some carbon tubes for our boats. We need tubes both for the tiller and the tillerbar. That way we can always make some extras as replacements "when" (knock on wood) we break them.

Well, the rod I wanted to test is 28mm in diam. and about 1,5mm thick. It's the first part of a big telescopic fishing rod. It feels quite stiff. The first part of the rod was designed to bend very little and the top sections very flexible. It's a long way till spring but I'll give a shot then. Maybe it's just a stupid ideea and it will brake, but the thing is sitting in the garage and I don't see no use for it anymore.

If it is long enough, go for it!

I have know people using carbon fibre fishing rods for tillers at least 20yrs back. Just put a small ball or something on the thin end so it does not take someones eye out.
They work great.

Regards,
Phill

Thanks for the answer Phill. I was hoping someone allready tried it and shared the experience. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

On my 18Sq Meter (12 foot beam and a 6' 5" skipper) I used to
use a 5/8" X 10' (.065 wall) aluminum tube, attached to a Ronstan RF3133 type Universal Joint. I started out with a 12'
piece of tubing and cut it down to the right length after a few days of testing. I am now using the same setup on my Laser and use bike handlebar grip tape for the handle.

I've used a West Marine telescoping boat hook, maybe a little heavy, but I think I pd $20.

Dave

electrical conduit.. plenty flexible.. when it starts to fade or get brittle its time to replace it.

Qb2,
I've used electrical conduit and for me it is a little too flexable.
But then each to his own.

Regards,
Phill

I used to use half aluminium and half conduit, stiffer than all conduit, but would flex over the side without damage if you capsized or fell off.

Matt,
I've tried that too.
Probably the best of both worlds if you don't have a carbon fishing rod handy.

Regards,
Phill

Check out the tillers on this baby!!
http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=17561&d=1197127591

I have been using the telescoping aluminum handles sold at Lowes or Home Depot for years. Cheap, expandable and even fairly light.

When I first bought my hobie 14, I used a wooden dowl about 5 feet long and about 5 inchs around. I carves some grip into it. To attach it I screwed in an eyebolt and just put a pin through that when the tiller normally attaches.

It worked well until I needed to trapeze!