Can a tiller extension be used in this way?

[landlover42]

I have a 2015 Carolina Skiff J14 with a 2015 Yamaha F20 Four Stroke tiller, electric start/tilt. I have done the best prop pitch I can and have a stingray fin on it and have it the correct height. Battery and gas are mid ship. All baggage and the anchor are in the very front.

I can plane out, but have the feeling with me sitting in the rear bench that the rear of the boat is too heavy and low and that I might switch places with the much lighter person (who cannot drive) in the middle bench and use a tiller extension. Of course, I would lengthen the safety cutoff halyard to be safe.

To my surprise, when I was looking for a tiller extension, some said it was for trolling speeds only. Are they not intended or safe to use at top speed?

thanks very much,

 

[Capt'n Caution]

Seems like you have done all the basics to get the boat set up right. The engine weighs about 120 lb. so not overly heavy. The reason for your feeling the rear is too heavy is the shape of the hull. The beam is stated to be 64 inches but there is at least 3" of gunwale flange each side. There is not much flare to the sides, but the double chine, if you could call it that, means the actual bottom is probably less than 50 " wide. The angled shape of the side, from the bottom panel, does not support the boat at plane-off speeds the way it would if the bottom had a sharp chine and was as wide as the sides. The advantage of this double chine arrangement is that it provides a non-trip chine. A very important safety feature. You are correct in feeling that weight moved forward would help a more rapid transition to a full plane.
One problem with a tiller extension will be the shift lever at the front of the engine. You could drive from farther forward, but in order to shift, say in docking, you would have to move aft. I could not determine from various photos exactly where the forward seat is. A long tiller is problematic as you need to swing it further to get steering.
Would it be possible to test out a temporary single seat, part way between the current seats, so you could have a shorter extension, turn more easily, possible be able to sit facing forward instead of sideways, and more easily reach the shifter?
I have made my own tiller extension for my last two motors. A mariner 20hp and a Merc 9.9. I bought these engines as they had the shift system in the twist grip, and that made it much easier to use. There is always the problem that a home built tiller could fail at a critical moment causing life threatening injuries. If you want more info on my tillers, indicate that in your next post. My boat with the 20 hp was a shallow v-bottom 14' Lund SV at about 300 lb plus load, and went about 22 mph, so was not overly fast, and I had good control.