Laminated tiller
Ian has made a lovely job of his tiller. Here are his comments...
"Here are some photos of my tiller. Each side has seven layers of American ash, cut on the flat grain, 3mm thick, but the rudder end of it had to be trimmed down to six to fit it into the rudder head. I'll lash the wedge in, eventually. In the last photo it has two coats of epoxy on it, and I have put a couple of coats of varnish on it since, with two more to go. It is the first tiller of this style that I have seen, which is the closest you can get to the drawing. As I said on the QT, the drawing has the wrong distance from the rudder head to the position of the mizzen. It should be 16", not 9". The distance between the straight parts is 32". The distance from the CL to the inside of the curve is 11". The curves of mine are as tight as they can be without steaming. A WoodenBoat article about steaming recommends you use freshly cut (green) white oak, which is a total impossibility here."
Here is the whole thing dry-assembled prior to gluing...
and the final result after shaping, some artistry, and two coats of epoxy.
There is a decorative circular pattern of centre-punch dots on the sides of the tiller handle.
And here's the completed tiller in place; very nice, Ian.