diff --git a/cmd/helm/tunnel.go b/cmd/helm/tunnel.go
index abf7fe401..070c1515e 100644
--- a/cmd/helm/tunnel.go
+++ b/cmd/helm/tunnel.go
@@ -13,13 +13,23 @@ import (
 var tunnel *kube.Tunnel
 
 func newTillerPortForwarder(namespace string) (*kube.Tunnel, error) {
+	kc := kube.New(nil)
+
+	if namespace == "" {
+		ns, _, err := kc.DefaultNamespace()
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		namespace = ns
+	}
+
 	podName, err := getTillerPodName(namespace)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	// FIXME use a constain that is accessible on init
 	const tillerPort = 44134
-	return kube.New(nil).ForwardPort(namespace, podName, tillerPort)
+	return kc.ForwardPort(namespace, podName, tillerPort)
 }
 
 func getTillerPodName(namespace string) (string, error) {