Emergency tiller for Ericson 31

[George Poszich]

Hello Everyone,
I’m looking for information on the emergency tiller for the Ericson 31C, a photo of one installed would be helpful. Did Ericson issues a standard tiller with these boats, or was it left up to the owner to find and mount their own? I’m assuming it would mount to the top of that very tall transom mounted rudder.

Thanks
George

 

[Glyn Judson]

Emergency tiller mounting.

George, You are correct, it slips over the top of the rudder head and is secured with a 3/8"(?) through bolt, attached photo of one assembled but not mounted. If yours does not have a hole there, someone along the ownership train had it glassed over and painted. It would be a simple matter of installing the head and match drilling two new holes for the through bolt. By the way, if you don't already know this the factory location for stowing the tiller arm is in the bottom of the starboard lockers behind the backrest in the main saloon. The head itself stows beneath the starboard settee in one of the lockers. I only mention this because a lot of E31 owners have assumed that the tiller arm had been lost along the way only to be delighted to find it wedged well down on that space and virtually out of sight unless you know exactly where to look. Hope this helps, Glyn

 

[ABN]

E31 Emergency Tiller

Here's a picture of Fairhaven's emergency tiller in place after the steering cable broke. The cap fit easily over the top of the rudder, but the bolt needed a bit of a tap with a hammer to get it through. The cap ended up marring the paint. For whatever reason though, the tiller handle was reversed in the cap fitting, so it would have extended aft instead of into the cockpit. We had to switch it out while drifting in a ferry route between Seattle and Bremerton. The cap fits only one way.

I recommend testing yours before having a need to put it in place.