Our small-boat fleet includes several sailing dinghies, which are sensitive to weight distribution. Depending on the number of crew and the wind conditions, we’ve found that a tiller extension is often useful for attaining good balance and trim while maintaining precise control of the rudder. The most versatile extension that we have come across is the Ronstan Battlestick with its fully articulated universal joint.
Photographs by the authorAssembly of the Ronstan Battlestick is straightforward. First the mounting plate is screwed onto the tiller. Next the rubber sleeve (seen here, flattened, at bottom left) is fed onto the extension stick. The mounting-plate cap is then slid onto the swivel joint (bottom right), which in turn is fed into the end of the extension stick and held in place with the stainless-steel pin. The sleeve is worked down and over both the pin and the end of the extension stick to lock and protect the connection. Thus assembled, the swivel joint is slotted into the mounting plate and locked in place by the cap that snaps down onto it. The Battlestick can be removed from the tiller simply by prying the cap off the mounting plate.
The Battlestick is a lightweight fluted aluminum-alloy shaft available in a range of lengths with a comfortable EVA-foam grip—a non-slip, waterproof material resistant to UV exposure and other harsh elements of the marine environment. The extension, including the soft grip, is 1″ in diameter, large enough to feel good in the hand, but small enough that you can hold it and gather line in the same hand while sheeting in. There is a knob on the grip end so you can feel the end of the extension without looking, which helps to prevent the extension from slipping out of your hand.
Fully assembled, there are no exposed moving parts, making the connections between the Battlestick, the mounting plate, and the tiller clean and stable.
The urethane universal joint allows for smooth movement in any direction. It is securely attached to the tiller with a flat mounting plate and provides excellent fine-control movements with no slop. A curved mounting adapter is also available so the extension can be mounted on a round tiller. The extension is easily removed when not needed: the quick-fitting universal joint slides in and out of the tiller-mounted plate and is held in place by a snap-on cover. If you don’t want to remove the extension completely, but don’t need to use it all of the time, it can also be folded back along the top of the tiller and held in place by either an optional Ronstan retainer clip or a simple piece of line or paracord looped around the tiller.
The Battlestick comes in lengths from 24″ to 98″, and Ronstan also offers telescoping Battlesticks, which would be useful in small sail-and-oar dinghies.
The Battlestick comes in various lengths. For the Sunfish, the 33” fixed extension is the perfect length, allowing the helmsperson to move their body weight both forward and out to balance the boat.
For our Sunfish, we chose the 33″ fixed-length extension. It allows us to use a shorter tiller when we’re sailing with two people, but to introduce extra length when sailing solo. On windy days, the extension, plus the secure fitting of the universal joint, is great for rudder control when hiking out. The Battlestick is also fun when it’s a ghosting day: I can sit in the cockpit with my feet stretched out on the deck and prop the Battlestick over my shoulder to steer—often with no more than a nod of my head. We plan to fit a telescoping Battlestick on our Penobscot 14. It will be useful for solo sails, when it’s best for me to move my body weight forward to almost amidships, but we’ll be able to retract it when Skipper and I are both on board and she takes the helm and needs to sit farther aft.
For many years the Ronstan Battlestick has been popular among dinghy-racing fleets, and while we may not be out there racing, we’re enjoying the versatility and control it brings to our boats.
Audrey “Skipper” and Kent Lewis mess about in the Tidewater Region of Virginia with their fleet of small boats. Their adventures are logged at smallboatrestoration.blogspot.com
The Ronstan Battlestick with Universal Joint is available from Ronstan and other online retailers. Prices start at $63.54 for the fixed-length 610mm (24″) extension.
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Hello,
Great article, thank you. Have you tested the twist-lock telescoping tiller extension (Ronstan or other)? Are you aware of a telescoping tiller extension longer than 8′? I want one for the Norwegian tiller of my Caledonia yawl and I need at least 9′ max length.
Thank you,
Viktor
Do you need the push-pull tiller that comes off the cross piece or an extension for the push-pull tiller?
Hello Ben,
I am not sure I quite understand your question. I want the actual tiller to be adjustable in length, and ideally in an easy and efficient one-handed operation. The only system I can think of would be a kind of twist-lock with inner and outer elliptical or oval tubes. My current tiller is about 8′ long and that forces me pretty much to sit at the aft end of the cockpit. I usually sail single-handed and I think it might help to be able to move further forward especially when going up-wind. I could of course make a longer tiller, but that would be in the way when tacking. I can think also of several ways to make an extendable tiller that would require two hands for adjustment, but I am not interested in that. I would be prepared to buy an extension like the Ronstan Battlestick, but they seem to have only a max length of 8′.
Thank you,
Viktor
We have used other telescoping tillers (Alcort) and they work well. We have not come across a tiller longer than 8′, for that requirement we’d start to look at continuous line steering like some sailing canoes use. There’s no reason you couldn’t have both.