Pattern and Instructions for a Tiller Pilot Cover

Tiller Pilot Cover: instructions

Materials list:

• Sunbrella (or equivalent outdoor material) 28”  x 14”
• UV-resistant thread (sized to your sewing machine’s capability)
• 3 ¼ x 6 ¼ clear vinyl window material
• grommet/bronze sewn-ring/inner-tube material
• 6 inches of velcro tape
• ¼ inch double-sided seam tape

Instructions:

1. Cut a piece of Sunbrella (or your favorite outdoor fabric) 28” x 14”.  Lay out the cut and fold-to lines in pencil on the back side.  These won’t show in the finished product, and it is easier to keep track of what is happening with the marks all there at the outset:
1. Hem lines: ¾ in seam allowance around the perimeter.  Want something a bit more generous? An inch is fine as well.  It won’t create problems to vary this dimension slightly.
2. A centerline down the long axis makes a good reference line.
3. Measure and mark  2 inches in each direction from the centerline, and draw parallel lines the length of the piece creating a 4 inch wide center panel
4. measure and mark 2 lines across the width of the piece, each 5 inches from the ends.  The interior top panel is now demarcated, 4 inches wide, 18 inches long.
5. Mark a 3 ¼ x 6 ¼ rectangle centered, 1 inch back from the forward end of the interior panel. This is the window panel.
6. Mark a rectangle inside the window panel, ½ inch smaller on all sides.  Connect the vertices of the larger and smaller panels with diagonals
7. Mark a circle ¾ inch forward of the interior panel, in the front panel.

2. The window panel is opened by cutting into the inside rectangle, and carefully snipping the corner diagonals exactly to the corners of the larger rectangle.  Apply seaming tape on the outside of the window panel and fold the trapazoidal hem pieces outward, creasing them carefully, and run over them with a hard-edged creasing tool (a stick of wood or a table knife is fine).  The finished window opening should be neat and true.  As with origami, it often helps to pre-fold and crease the material before taping and sewing.
3. Cut a rectangle of window material that is ½ inch larger than the window panel on all sides.  Use seaming tape to fix the window material to the underside of the open window panel. Sew the window material onto the window panel with a straight stitch, outside face up, so you can see the top stitch developing nicely. This is the most prominent seam on the cover, so you will revisit mistakes here every time you use your cover.

4. Hemming the perimeter of the cover begins with snipping the lines that intersect the perimeter carefully to the fold-to hem line.  There are two on each side of the pattern. Each side of the pattern will now have one seam allowance to fold over twice to form a hem with no cut edges.  Double-sided seam tape is the key to doing this right.  If you’re practiced at this sort of work, a single application of seam tape is fine, but a double application (once for each fold) makes it easier.  Straight stitch the folded, taped, and creased hems, exactly to the edge, which you have defined by the snips into the ¾ seam allowance.  

5. The hole in the front panel, that receives the push-rod of the tiller pilot, can be done in a variety of ways.  I did a sewn-in bronze ring.  If you have a die set to install a brass grommet of the right size, that is a faster solution, and neat.  You might sew a square of inner-tube marterial or something similar, and punch or cut the right size hole that would be even more effective in keeping water and dirt off the push rod where it enters the seal of the case.  In any case, it is probably worthwhile to reinforce the front panel with a a square of material sewn to the inside of the panel (especially if you are doing a sewn-ring or a grommet).  Whichever method is used, take care not to impede the push rod with a too-small hole that will cause friction or binding.

6. Corner seams are formed by bringing the outside faces of the corners together to form a triangular flap that you will seam on the inside surface.  The aft corners are done slightly differently than the forward corners.  The waste corners will not have been hemmed, and the flaps that stick up make the alignment easier.  Line up the edges of these flaps, crease the diagonal, and sew the seam along its length.   Draw a line ¾ inch into the waste flap, parallel to the seams you just sewed, and trim the waste corner away.  If you’re lazy, trim closer to the seam and seize the edges with a butane lighter or a match.  A neater solution is to fold the two flaps into the center, and sew them together, creating a neat, finished edge that cannot unravel.  Cutting a 45 degree angle from the hem edge will help you later when you are finishing the corners at the hem.

7. You can finish the forward corners the same way, but this will leave you with a boxy cover.  A more elegant solution is to set up the seams in the same way, but use a bowl or small plate to scribe a smooth curve to seam that will result in a forward panel that conforms more closely to the shape of the tiller pilot.  The precise shape is not critical.  Finishing off the inside of the seams is less important here, because they are never visible, but the same techniques as described above can be employed.

8. Reinforce the corners where they meet at the hems by sewing several lines of stitches back and forth over the same line as the hem.  This will be easier if you notched the inside seam allowance flaps suggested in step 6.

9. The final step is applying 6 inches or so of velcro tape to the hemmed edges bottom of the box so that the cover can be secured on the bottom of the tiller pilot.

The cover is easy to install and remove, and while it is not waterproof, it will keep the majority of water off the tiller pilot and ease your mind in conditions when peace of mind is scarce.  Probably useful to leave the cover on when storing the unit as well.