Miscellaneous Matilda Meanderings...

I've received a spate of questions about small boat rigging details, some from the Matilda 20 Forum and some from other venues. Instead of trying to answer them in individual posts, I've decided to incorporate them in one omnibus posting.

Rigging Details:
One question concerned how the tack of the Matilda mainsail was restrained. Here you see my solution. Originally, the was a small hole for a cotter pin. The cotter pin passed through a grommet at the tack of the sail. I drilled to hole out and now use a 1/4" Qik-Pin. The pin is tied to the gooseneck by a short lanyard so it doesn't get lost.

Lazy Jacks
I installed a home grown set of lazy jacks to control the mainsail on my Matilda. Here you see them both retratced and extended. Most of the blocks needed were the $1 key chain blocks from the Harken booth at the Annapolis Boat Show.

Mainsheet
One Matilda owner had a question about how the mainsheet and boom were rigged. I have no topping lift. The mainsail holds the boom up when it' up. Otherwise, the end of the boom attaches to a clip siezed to the backstay. The bottom end of the mainsheet runs on a sheet horse that runs over the tiller. No mess, no fuss.

Downhaul
I added a downhaul, the smallest one West Marine carries. It attaches to a clip under the boom and to a bolt through the last hole in the mast step.

Stove
I use a two burmer Coleman propane camp stove. MWhen not in use. I store it bungeeed up ahainst the side of the daggerboard case, on end. I don't use the galley sink or ice box, so I covered the area with a piece of plywood with walnut fiddles. 

I always store the propane cylinders in a propane holster mounted to the stern rail. It holds two bottles and allows any leakage to drain overboard.

Hope this helps answer a bunch of questions with one post!

Capt'n Pauley

Comments

[Keith]

Thanks for the pics - they are helpful :) I ran my main halyard to the starboard side with the jib halyard/boom down haul coming back to cleats about where your two are on port side. The vang, I'm just letting drop into the cockpit for now. I will use the mast pivot in the first set of holes as your do - wondering if this will affect the length of the fore stay as the previous owner used the pivot in the middle holes.