Has anyone ever modified their tiller? My husband is 71 years old & his grip is not as strong as it once was. He has tried wrapping insulation around the tiller to make it bigger, but it has the tendency to telescope off in strong winds. He wonders if you could somehow adapt PVC pipe & if it would be strong enough since it is hollow. Any other suggestions?

Is the tiller you are using the standard Hobie tiller? I, too, am 71 and, though I don't have a problem with the tiller, I can imagine the problem. Have you looked at the "hot stick"? It is larger in diameter, telescopes, and has a cork ball on the end so it won't slip out of your hand.

Howard

One other thought about the tiller problem -I always wear sailing gloves and they seeem to give a better grip on the tiller.

Howard

Thanks, Howard. We just found a catalog with the hot stick in it. We may give that a go.

in case that doesn't work out, PVC pipe should be plenty strong to use, especially if it is larger in diameter. there's 2 kinds its like schedule 20 and 40 or something like that. the numbers are probably wrong but anyway get the one with the larger number, that's thicker.

I have a hot stick... mine does not have a cork ball. Mine has some type of rubber handle that comes everey once in a while. I think I have seen the cork ball available as a replacement part. This might do the job with the existing tiller extension.
PVC ... not sure if they are stiff enough. I am also concerned about the weight to stiffness ratio.
Find some type of rod build from composite material (glass or carbon) ... at the end of a the rod you could laminate a section of rod that is 1.5 to 2 inches in diameter. That should be convenient to hold. (hmmm the top part of a modern (skinny) windsurfing mast might do the job)

Patrick

Well about 1.5 to 2 inches was what I was imagining as te grip diamteter too. 2 inch PVC is solid, that's not going anywhere, but your right it might be a little be too heavy.