Tiller Grip

I'm a product of the old school, several years sailing Herons (transom sheeting) and OKs (centre mainsheet) in the '60s & '70s. For the last 8 years I have sailed a Topper Spice (preceded by a 30 year hiatus racing Windsurfers) which has a centre main, twin strings & an assay kite. I have always held the tiller with a 'frying pan' grip, even in the OK. Dagger grip just seems clumsy and un-natural to me and completely impractical with the 6' tiller extension on the Spice which, if it doesn't get tangled in the mainsheet or helm's trap wires, regularly pokes the crew up-side the head if I attempt a dagger grip. I do get the advantage of been able to sheet in with two hands but, for me that's more than outweighed by the loss of feel and control through the tiller extension. I'm thinking of buying a singlehander (Blaze is top of the shortlist just now) so I will definitely have to rethink when I get the new boat. What do others do?

Edited by Sam.Spoons - 21 Sep 16 at 2:09pm

Reading that I have just realised that it's not the dagger grip as such that I find difficult but the angle it places the extension to the tiller when held across your body and the loss of control, feel and power this causes. I do, now I think about it, use dagger grip when hiking/trapezing low, but with the extension aft of my body rather than across my chest. A tiller extension will always give most feel and power when it is at 90º to the tiller, when sat forward in light airs it can describe an angle of, maybe, 5-10º and you are no longer pushing or pulling it but 'cantilevering' it to move the tiller. In light airs with light loads and subtle movements being the order of the day this is not a problem but pounding upwind in chop and a breeze is another matter.

Yes that does, I see a lot of sailors holding the extention across the chest which I definitely find awkward and harder to control. My point about light airs vs upwind was that when sitting in the boat in the light stuff you would probably have the tiller extension to windward of your body which would put it in a similar position to that when hiking with it across your chest. Upwind, hiking hard and sitting forward (as you would upwind in a hiking boat to maximise WL) with the tiller ext across your chest you still have a pretty small (big? close to 180º from pointing dead aft anyway) angle between the tiller extension and the tiller making control very difficult. As I said I have only tried across the chest in the Spice and found it difficult even when aft in the boat and planing but that boat does sometimes need some stick wiggling sometimes (usually when it's all gone a bit 'Pete Tong'). I will try it again when I get the new boat 'cos the advantage of being able to use both hands on the mainsheet is clear. I guess I need to get the crew trimming the main in the Spice to keep it on it's feet   That way I could concentrate on not poking him in the ear with the extension.....

Edited by Sam.Spoons - 21 Sep 16 at 7:43pm

Will try all these things. I do know the "flat is fast" mantra, I'm just not as good at it as I''d like (combined with a less than optimal crew). Hopefully that will improve when I buy whatever singlehander I choose.

So do you hold the tiller extension across your chest at all times or behind you (aft of your body in boat-speak)? The Olympic Laser sailors all seem to hold the tiller across their chests whatever the wind strength or point of sailing? 

Edited by Sam.Spoons - 21 Sep 16 at 11:24pm