Fitting         

Before fitting
Your Tillermate comes to you ready for use. It is made of two parts:

  • a pulley which is attached to the knob
  • a clamp which has two screw holes in the bottom

    The Tillermate itself is attached to the tiller, then clamped onto a rope which is rigged across the cockpit.

    If possible, you should site your Tillermate about halfway up the tiller where it is easy to reach the knob while sailing, but where the rope can be kept short and out of the way. Exactly where you fix your Tillermate might be set for you by items already in place, such as the clamp for your tiller extension or the pivot for your electronic pilot.

    When fitting the rope, bear in mind that the ropes coming out of the Tillermate should form a right angle, and should be in the same plane as the tiller so that they don’t pull up or down. This is not critical, but it does help to keep the line tight during use. If is not possible to avoid them pulling up or down, then you should use a Leading BLock (Part No 528 LB) with your Tillermate.

    An optional extra is an Installation Kit (Part No 528 IK) that is also available in the online shop. Full Fitting Notes and instructions how to operate your Tillermate come with each unit.
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    Tools Needed
    The only essential tool that you will need to fix your Tillermate to the tiller is a cross-headed screwdriver.

    If you do not purchse the Tillermate Installation Kit, you will require the following parts:

    1. A length of rope 6 mm diameter. (The exact length of line required will depend on the size of your cockpit.)
    2. A pair of small bullseye fairlead guides to suit that size of line
    3. A pair of cam cleats
    4. Screws and fixings for the bullseyes and cleats

    Fitting
    1. Remove your Tillermate from the box and unscrew the knob.

    2. Place the clamp on the top (or bottom*) of the tiller with the screw holes in line down the length of the tiller and the raised part of the clamp (with the red dot) at the top, nearest the tiller hand grip.

    *If you intend to install on the bottom of the tiller, we strongly recommend that you use a Leading Block (Part no 528 LB), which is available from the online shop.

    3. Screw the clamp to the tiller using the stainless steel screws provided (You may need to drill pilot holes and, if you have a very heavy boat or heavy tiller loads, you may need longer screws than those supplied).

    4. Fix the bullseye guides and the cleats for the rope to the cockpit sides or transom. On some boats, you may need through bolts rather than the screws provided.

    5. Screw the pulley back into the clamp by a few turns and then feed the rope round the pulley.

    6. Feed the rope through one bullseye guide and lock the end in the cleat. Then tighten the rope so that it is tight round the pulley before feeding through the other bullseye guide and locking in the second cleat.

    You can keep the line fed through your Tillermate at all times.

    Your Tillermate is now installed and ready to use.

    How it Works
    Tillermate can operate in three ways:

    Free
    Unscrew the knob so that the pulley runs freely and use the tiller as normal, or with the electronic pilot. Do not use the Tillermate at the same time as an electronic pilot system, so always unscrew the Tillermate before switching on the electronic pilot.

    Part tight
    Screw the knob down so that the Tillermate lightly clamps the rope. This will hold the tiller in position, but allows you to move the tiller when necessary. Part tightening is quite sensitive and takes practice and with heavy rudder loads the tiller can still move.

    Fully locked
    Further screw down the knob so that Tillermate clamps firmly onto the rope and the tiller cannot be moved without unscrewing the knob.
    Badbury Tillermate Ltd, 80 Higher Street, Okeford Fitzpaine, Blandford, Dorset DT11 0RQ.
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