Shan's Tiller

Having just come back in to the bush from being in town for a while, I didn't have a lot of time this weekend for anything but laundry, laundry, and more laundry... oh yeah, and unpacking boxes and boxes of food and trying to organize it all. Imagine only getting a grocery run every 2-4 months.

But I did manage to get some little bits here and there, during which I managed to glue up one more paddle blade, and even better, construct the tiller for Shan Skailyn's rudder. I was concerned about using a bolt at the pivot point (at the base of the tiller) for fear that the thing might work itself loose. Since I still have some leftover brass rod, and some loose stainless steel washers and retaining pins, I decided to rig something up with that. My only concern with the retaining clips is that they're yet another little pointy, grabby thing that a rope is bound to snag. We'll deal with than when it becomes necessary.

For the paddle blade, I'm not sure what kind of wood I'm using. It's the same stuff that the Mibu folks use for making siding for their huts. It's very very lightweight, long grained wood. Hope it's strong enough for a paddle blade.