Boat Steering (tiller vs wheel)
 

Would appreciate any comments as to the pros and cons of tiller steering.
Have been fishing out of 18ft fiberglass for last ten years but will be
changing to aluminum deep V type boat. I have switched from bass fishing to
crappie (spring, fall and winter) and catfish in the summer. Would be
interested in comments from someone that fishes out of say a Lund 1775 Pro V
type with a 80 HP tiller steering motor.

Thanks

Boat Steering (tiller vs wheel)
 

On Sun, 14 Sep 2003 01:48:42 GMT, "Lee Maxwell"
wrote:
Would appreciate any comments as to the pros and cons of tiller steering.
Have been fishing out of 18ft fiberglass for last ten years but will be
changing to aluminum deep V type boat. I have switched from bass fishing to
crappie (spring, fall and winter) and catfish in the summer. Would be
interested in comments from someone that fishes out of say a Lund 1775 Pro V
type with a 80 HP tiller steering motor.
======================================

I have never seen an 80 HP tiller steered outboard but it sounds like
it would be a lot to handle. There is a LOT of torque reaction on a
motor that large and if it gets away from you at speed, things will
get dangerous real quickly.

Boat Steering (tiller vs wheel)
 

My thoughts too..... sounds dangerous.

-W (feels 50hp is MAX for tiller)

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 14 Sep 2003 01:48:42 GMT, "Lee Maxwell"
wrote:
Would appreciate any comments as to the pros and cons of tiller steering.
Have been fishing out of 18ft fiberglass for last ten years but will be
changing to aluminum deep V type boat. I have switched from bass fishing
to
crappie (spring, fall and winter) and catfish in the summer. Would be
interested in comments from someone that fishes out of say a Lund 1775
Pro V
type with a 80 HP tiller steering motor.
======================================

I have never seen an 80 HP tiller steered outboard but it sounds like
it would be a lot to handle. There is a LOT of torque reaction on a
motor that large and if it gets away from you at speed, things will
get dangerous real quickly.

Boat Steering (tiller vs wheel)
 

The only advantage I see to tiller operation is simplicity. Not much to go
wrong. I do see a lot of mullet skiffs here with 5' long PVC tillers, engine a
bit forward of midship. They may see it as easier to operate when you are
standing all the way up in the bow, looking for mullet.

Boat Steering (tiller vs wheel)
 

Lots of the walleye guys use big HP tillers. Try www.walleyecentral.com
Always felt my wheel steering was much more comfortable than the tiller on
my 14' boat. run the rod holders further forward, and can handle from the
console.
Bill

"Clams Canino" wrote in message
news:3nQ8b.334476$cF.101402@rwcrnsc53...
My thoughts too..... sounds dangerous.

-W (feels 50hp is MAX for tiller)

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 14 Sep 2003 01:48:42 GMT, "Lee Maxwell"
wrote:
Would appreciate any comments as to the pros and cons of tiller
steering.
Have been fishing out of 18ft fiberglass for last ten years but will be
changing to aluminum deep V type boat. I have switched from bass
fishing
to
crappie (spring, fall and winter) and catfish in the summer. Would be
interested in comments from someone that fishes out of say a Lund 1775
Pro V
type with a 80 HP tiller steering motor.
======================================

I have never seen an 80 HP tiller steered outboard but it sounds like
it would be a lot to handle. There is a LOT of torque reaction on a
motor that large and if it gets away from you at speed, things will
get dangerous real quickly.

Boat Steering (tiller vs wheel)
 

I have a friend who owned a Sylvan with a 60 HP tiller steer motor. No problem
with torque pull even with fast acceleration. While fishing for walleye from
that same boat on the Illinois river, we saw a Lund with a 100 HP Mariner tiller
steer. There was a film crew on another boat taping them.

The lack of a console leaves a lot of extra room for storage and to move around.

Dan


Lee Maxwell wrote:
Would appreciate any comments as to the pros and cons of tiller steering.
Have been fishing out of 18ft fiberglass for last ten years but will be
changing to aluminum deep V type boat. I have switched from bass fishing to
crappie (spring, fall and winter) and catfish in the summer. Would be
interested in comments from someone that fishes out of say a Lund 1775 Pro V
type with a 80 HP tiller steering motor.

Thanks

Boat Steering (tiller vs wheel)
 

"Lee Maxwell" wrote in message
...
Would appreciate any comments as to the pros and cons of tiller steering.
If you go this route for God's sake use a life jacket and kill switch cord
while under way. A good friend didn't and didn't and when he accidently
knocked the tiller hard to the side while being distracted he ended up
overboard several hundred yards from shore with the boat continuing on it's
way in big circles. Luckily, his wife on shore heard the noise when he hit
the side of the boat, and grabbed their binoculars to see why the boat was
going in circles. She managed to get three guys in adjacent lake cabins to
jump in their boats and go look for him. He says he was about to go down
for good when they got to him. Still has a hard time sleeping at night.
Same thing happened to my father 45 years ago and the boat came back and ran
over him. Luckily he was able to dive deep enough that only his coat was
chewed up a little..and he wasn't too far from shore to swim in.

Boat Steering (tiller vs wheel)
 

"Garth Almgren" wrote...
Bill Kiene wrote:

For lots of smaller boats up to 14/16', I am a tiller fan myself, but
80HP?
wow.........

Hung out at my local launching ramp for a couple hours today and saw two
O/Bs with tillers that absolutely floored me: One was a 175 HP (!!) Merc
with a jet drive (not so bad torque wise, I imagine) and the other a
standard 115 HP Merc.
I chatted with the owner of the 115, and he confirmed that it'd rip your
arm out if you weren't careful. :)


Most of the guides around here run outboards with tillers. A typical setup
is a 18 - 24' sled with a 150 - 225 hp outboard/jet drive. I've heard they
like the room and direct response. Some wear earmuffs to save their
hearing.
-rick-

Boat Steering (tiller vs wheel)
 

"Bill Kiene" wrote in message
...


Another issue is that there is more weight at the rear with a tiller steer
boat. Yes, another 200# in the rear? You.


.....and that's a serious issue. I have the most basic 14' Lund, and I
haven't figured out how to fasten the battery into the bow area ahead of the
first bench (not a flat floor). So, it's in the back with me and the gas
tank. If I'm alone, I'll sometimes stick a large ice chest up forward,
filled to the top with ice, just for the weight. Just once, the wind caught
the front of the boat as I topped a wave. Very interesting experience. I
managed to move my weight forward just enough, and very fast, to push the
thing down again. I don't think I could've done this with a 17' Lund. Even
the most basic models in that size are quite a bit heavier than mine.

Boat Steering (tiller vs wheel)
 

"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
"Bill Kiene" wrote in message
...


Another issue is that there is more weight at the rear with a tiller
steer
boat. Yes, another 200# in the rear? You.


....and that's a serious issue. I have the most basic 14' Lund, and I
haven't figured out how to fasten the battery into the bow area ahead
of the
first bench (not a flat floor). So, it's in the back with me and the
gas
tank. If I'm alone, I'll sometimes stick a large ice chest up forward,
filled to the top with ice, just for the weight. Just once, the wind
caught
the front of the boat as I topped a wave. Very interesting experience.
I
managed to move my weight forward just enough, and very fast, to push
the
thing down again. I don't think I could've done this with a 17' Lund.
Even
the most basic models in that size are quite a bit heavier than mine.


The batteries are 2/3 of the way forward in a 1775 pro vee, add a bow
mount trolling motor and the weight of the floor and no problem. The
difference of me and my console, what 250 lb, in a boat that weighs 2000
lb with motor and 3 batteries and 30 gals. of gas and a live well or two
full is really negligable. If you are worried about it, put a big rock
or a plastic bag or two of sand in the nose.
del cecchi