Eolian's cockpit is not large. So, to make room for more than four adults, we used to take off the wheel and bungee it to the bimini frame. Removing the wheel makes the cockpit seem twice as large!
But putting it over on the bimini frame risked rupturing the varnish at the bottom where it rested on the cockpit coaming, as well as where it contacted the frame. And it was not very secure there, with the bungees. So, what to do?
I bought a tee - one of those that is hinged; designed to be installed over an existing piece of tubing rather than sliding on from the end. These have a screw that you tighten to finish the installation and hold it in place... well, I replaced the screw with a thumbscrew that had a phenolic knob on it - this allows me to move and pivot the tee and then tighten it in place:
 |
| In stowed position - out of the way |
Then I added a short piece of tubing to provide a surrogate axle for the wheel to rest on. This is held to the tee, not with a set screw, but by drilling the tubing and thru-bolting it thru the set screw hole with a small bolt and nylock nut.
Finally I drilled the end of the tubing to accept a Fastpin™ to keep the wheel from sliding off.
 |
| The Fastpin keeps the wheel in place |
 |
| Look at all that space! |
(I should have gotten the Brasso out before taking these pictures...)
Posts
Well done, Bob. Very slick and convenient. I love how you were able to use commercially available components with minimal "machining" to put it together.
ReplyDeleteOne of reasons I love our tiller-steered boat is for the cockpit space it opens up. When at anchor, I just push the tiller up to vertical and the entire cockpit is clear.