SIC tiller adjustment on the fly

[nalu-sup]

On a recent thread asking about the tiller extension on my F16, I got some great feedback that shortening the tiller arm would help me to get more forward on the board to make catching bumps easier, and my experience since then confirms that it makes a huge difference for me and I am catching a lot more bumps a lot easier. I have had some great runs over the past couple of days, and my newbie skills are starting to get to the point where I can focus on turning once I catch a bump to be able to stay with it, link to other bumps, and even switch directions completely during a glide to catch a different bump coming from a completely different direction.
The challenge I am finding is that to keep my foot on the tiller, the nose is often plowing slightly, and the board glides better if I can move back a little, but then I lose contact with the tiller and my turns become much less effective paddle controlled turns. If its a big steep drop, then of course I am way back on the tail, but I am talking about those long glides where the board is more level and it would be nice to stay in touch with the tiller, if only it were a little further back to get the nose and the front portion of the board to release a little more.
I watched a video from a few years ago where Mark Raaphorst said that he and some of his team riders were experimenting with leaving the adjustment screw on the tiller arm loose enough that they would slide the tiller arm back and forth with their foot to change the length on the fly. He talked about putting a small lip on the end so that it would be easier to hook your toes over the end to pull it back with you as you step back, but to my knowledge that design change never happened.
Has anyone played with this idea of changing the tiller arm length on the fly, and has anyone played with any kind of a bump or lip on the end to make it easier to lengthen the tiller arm as you step back when catching a glide?

[laszlo]

I have found on my older, hollow F16 that changing the length of the tiller while on the water is next to impossible. Of course, now that I think about it, it is loosening the tightened set screw by hand is what is so difficult. Even sitting on the board using my hands I find that I cannot loosen a wet set screw. Leaving it completely untightened might work, but then it might move on you when you don't want it to.

[PonoBill]

I find just stepping back with my back leg and dropping my knee as much as my dodgy knee can handle is as effective as stepping back up until the swells get really big or the wind is howling. For some reason just getting low on the board and reaching back with the paddle helps too. I can't figure out why, but it works.