Jim Martini took the time to
convert an old copy of the original Chrysler 15 Mutineer Owner's Manual to
MS Word, and I converted it to HTML. Scroll down this page to see the manual.
The Mutineer owners, led by Gib Charles and Rey Garza, have reformed the Mutineer Class in 2003/2004 and
launched a website dedicated to this venerable sailboat. Their page is located at
www.mutineer15.org. Their page contains a really nice
interactive version of the Mutineer Owner's Manual, and I encourage you to check it out.
While the Mutineer Class page located at www.mutineer15.org
contains the most up-to-date information on the Mutineer One Design Class, additional information from the 1970's
era on the Mutineer Class Association Rules, Measurements & Constitution can be found by following this
link.
If you are looking for cool Mutineer apparel, you must check out this website:
www.cafeshops.com/mutineer
To find out more information about the Mutineer, exchange information with other Mutineer owners, and so forth,
check out the Yahoo! Groups Mutineer Discussion Forum: groups.yahoo.com/group/Mutineer/.
Also, here is a Mutineer website developed by Rey Garza, Co-Commodore of the Mutineer Class Association. His
URL is: www.reygarza.net/mutineer15.html.
Congratulations on your choice of boat!!
You have just acquired a thing of beauty - a Chrysler sailboat - which
has been conceived for the express purpose of giving you many hours of
carefree pleasure on the water.
We have given considerable thought to the design and construction of each
boat. We have gone out of our way to provide you with a quality product,
second to none.
A vigorous owners association is in existence, with the object of
stimulating the class and keeping people who own Chrysler sailboats in touch
with each other. You have a free subscription to this organization for the
first year. We hope that you will continue it in the years to come.
We have written the following Rigging Instructions for your convenience,
so that you should be aware of our suggested way of putting the boat
together.
Let's assume that you have your boat on a
trailer when you take delivery from your dealer.
Start off by taking the mast and boom package off the boat and the two
packages out of the boat and lay them along side of the boat. Then you will
need a small selection of tools to put the boat together. It's suggested you
have:
In this package, you will find two shrouds and one forestay (the forestay is the coil which is the most flexible stainless steel wire). You will also find two hose clamps, one ordinary shackle, two shroud adjuster plates and three clevis pins (one of these clevis pins is one inch in length and the other two are one half inch). Lastly, you should have a cotter pin for each of the clevis pins. REFER TO MISCELLANEOUS FITTINGS DETAIL BELOW.
This consists of the mast, boom, and the roller reefing gear, which in turn consists of an aluminum tube inside a plastic tube.
Undo the sailbag package and lay out the parts
that are enclosed.
The pivoting centerboard is already fitted to the boat. Should you need to
take it out, first check the detail arrangement drawing #12. This will show
you the components involved. To withdraw the centerboard slot from underneath,
press the pivoting pin assembly together and withdraw the centerboard down.
To replace, insert the pivoting pin assembly in the hole in the centerboard,
compress it to the thickness of the centerboard case, and insert the whole
unit up into the centerboard case, having first established where the
pivoting pin locates. The pin assembly will expand when it reaches its
location point and the centerboard is ready for operation.
Start, first of all , with the mast. Beginning
from the top, take the main halyard, which is 3/16" line, and one shackle,
and with a bowline knot, tie the shackle onto one end of the main halyard.
Then, tie a figure eight knot in the halyard at a point 9" from this shackle.
Take the free end of the halyard and pass it through the fitting at the top
of the mast, from the back (grooved side of the mast) through the fitting at
the top of the mast, and down again, on the front side of the mast through
the small fitting (halyard lock) which is mounted a short distance from the
top of the mast (the chromium plated or polished fitting with a hole in it),
and pull it right down to the bottom of the mast. Just for convenience, you
should take both ends of the halyard to the bottom of the mast and attach
them to the cleat; this will keep them out of the way before the mast is
stepped (raised). REFER TO DETAIL 2 BELOW.
Next, take the shrouds, that is, the two coils of wire that are similar
(the other coil of wire, which is flexible, is the forestay). Take the pair
of pliers and proceed to the point on the mast where there are three tangs
sticking out, and with your pliers gently bend the tangs away from the mast
so they are approximately one inch from the mast so that you can get the
female fitting on the shrouds into them more easily. Undo the coiled up
shrouds and fix the female fittings to the tangs on either side of the mast.
Using the screwdriver, make sure that you open out each cotter pin so that
it does not come undone (don't forget to do both sides). REFER TO DETAIL 3
BELOW.
Start off by taking one of the hose clamps and
thread it on one end of the plastic tube assembly and slide it all the way to
the bottom (that's the end with the two white plastic flanges). Now, take the
jib or small sail, unroll it and fit it onto the plastic and aluminum roller
reefing tube assembly. Before passing the pocket or sleeve of the jib over
the aluminum tube, it is advisable to check to see if there are any small
burrs which might tear the sail. If there are any, they should be scraped
off with a fine file or knife. Having put the sail on, roll it up around
itself, and when you finish, tie a clove hitch knot around it using one of
the short lines provided, to keep it neat. REFER TO DETAIL 4 BELOW.
NOW, ATTACH THE ROLLER REEFING UNIT TO THE MAST.
Take the other hose clamp and pass it over the top part of the rolled sail
and secure it, using the ordinary screwdriver, with the top of the sail
approximately four inches from the top of the plastic tube. The bottom hose
clamp is left loose at the present time. Now, take the flexible wire forestay
and put the male end fitting in the end of the aluminum tube which has the
slots and hole in it (in other words, the opposite end to the nylon flanges)
and pass the wire forestay all the way through it. You are now left with the
female fitting, that is the fork end, at the top. (That is the same end as
that of the aluminum tube with the hole going through and the slot in it).
Now get the 1" clevis pin and pass this through the aluminum tube, forestay
fitting and the tang. Finally, put the cotter pin through the hole in the
end of the clevis pin and open up the ends of the cotter pin with your
screwdriver so that it does not come loose. REFER TO DETAIL 3 BELOW.
Next, take the two plastic tubes, which came out of the miscellaneous
fittings package, and pass them on to the shrouds (that is, the two wires
coming down from the tangs or hound fitting). Attach one of the chain
adjuster plate fittings (the 6" "U" shaped plates with holes down both sides)
onto each end. Connect the wire shroud into the fittings at approximately the
seventh hole down. REFER TO DETAIL 5 BELOW.
Then, is sequence, place the mast on top of the boat and connect the hinge
fitting at its base (heel) with the fittings on the deck. Attach the shrouds
and shroud adjusting fittings to the chain plates, which come out of the boat.
Next, take the flexible forestay, the male fitting end, and go to the front
end of the boat. There you will find there are 2 lead lines coming out of the
holes in the deck. Take the 3/32" forward one of these, that is through the
largest hole, and attach the lead line from it to the forestay fitting,
making sure there is rather a large loop before you tie a bowline knot. Pull
the lead line, which in turn pulls the wire forestay through the hole in the
deck. It passes through the pulley or block which is attached to the stem in
the forward part of the boat and comes back to the lever adjustment fitting,
which is on the right-hand side of the mast, inside the access hole to the
foredeck. REFER TO DETAIL 6 & 7 BELOW.
Ideally, this should be done with two people -
one person in the boat and the other person outside. Start with the person
holding the mast outside the boat and walking it up, passing it over to the
person inside the boat, to continue the maneuver. The person outside the boat
then goes forward and takes hold of the forestay assembly and roller reefing
gear. The person in the boat completes his maneuver of pushing the mast to
the upright position, making sure that the shrouds are not fouling any part
of the boat while he is completing this maneuver.
The person inside the boat remains holding the mast while the other person
outside the boat should be steadying the mast by holding the forestay
assembly and roller reefing gear. The person in the boat now takes hold of
the 3/32" lead line, (this is found looking into the access hole to the
foredeck and should be attached to the lever adjustment fitting), and pulls
the forestay through into the boat, while the second person outside the boat,
guides the forestay into the hole and then when it is through, the aluminum
tube as well. Now attach the male end fitting of the forestay into the lever
adjustment fitting. You will find there is a clevis pin already through this
fitting and you should attach the male terminal fitting on the forestay to
the hole adjustment point approximately five holes from the pivoting point of
the fitting, putting the clevis pin in to retain it in that position. Secure
the clevis pin by inserting a cotter pin and don't forget to open out the
ends of the cotter pin, and tension up the forestay by moving the lever to
the rear of the boat. You should note that it is preferable to retain the
lead line attached to the lever fitting so that you can use it to move the
lever. You also have the line retained for when you want to lower your mast,
in which case the above procedure is then carried out in the reverse manner.
REFER TO DETAIL 8 BELOW.
You will find that the 1/8" roller reefing line
is already in position in the boat - one end being attached to the cleat
which is fitted on the aft face of the foreword bulkhead, the other end
coming out of the small hole in the foredeck and being attached to the other
lead line. (A small point that you should notice, here, is that it is
preferable when disconnecting the lead lines to tie a figure eight knot in
the ends of the reefing line coming out of the rear of the two holes in the
deck, and pass it twice around the white plastic flange fitting at the base
of the roller reefing assembly, and then up through the hole in the upper
flange through inside the hose clamp which is over the bottom of the sail,
and tie a figure eight knot in the end of it. Using the ordinary screwdriver,
tighten up the hose clamp, having first pulled down the pocket or sleeve of
the jib sail to eliminate any wrinkles. The reefing gear is now secure and
ready for operation. REFER TO DETAIL 4 BELOW.
Now take the rope jib sheet (the second largest coil of 3/8" rope) and
pass it through the clew or the jib sail, half the length of rope end to end,
and with two knots (two half hitches), tie the rope to the sail at the
central point. Then, take each end of the jib sheet and pass it through the
jib sheet fairleads going inside the shrouds on the way. Some people prefer
the jib sheets inside, some outside. When using the jib haulers, the sheets
obviously have to be on the inside. Don't forget to put a figure eight knot
in the end of the sheets! REFER TO GENERAL ARRANGEMENT DRAWING.
Next, take the boom and insert the gooseneck fitting in the opening in the
mast provided, and slide it down the slot. Now, take the main sheet (the
largest coil of 3/8" rope), uncoil it and start threading it through the main
sheet jammer cleat fitting, underneath the pulley, up around the pulley on
the boom, (the one which is furthermost away from the mast), pass it through
the pulley going towards the mast and come back down to the pulley fitting
which is attached to the end of the centerboard trunk. Pass it through under
the pulley, once again, towards the mast, now come up once again, to the
pulley on the boom which is nearest the mast, and pass it through going
toward the rear of the boat, and then down, again, to the top of the pulley
fitting (the beckett), which is mounted on the rear of the centerboard trunk,
and attach it with a bowline knot. Finish up by putting a figure eight knot
in the other end of the main sheet! REFER TO DETAIL 9 BELOW.
You should adjust the angle of the main sheet jammer fitting so that if
you took the line from the pulley through the jammer, you would just clear
the side deck on either side. This gives you the correct angle. You then
tighten up the center spindle with your 7/16" wrench.
First, put all the battens in the sail,
starting with the long top one. This batten is what is called a shaping
batten, which means it holds the contour of the sail to a per-set shape,
which is determined by how you tension the batten into the pocket. You should
insure that the angled end of the batten is inserted the correct way so that
the angle of the batten end fits the angle of the end of the pocket. Next,
insert the other three battens. These battens are of a different type and
they are merely to stiffen the trailing edge of the sail. You will find that
there are two short ones and one longer one, the longest one being in between
the other two. To insert them, you merely put them into the pocket and push
against the elastic, which you will find mounted in the inner end of the
pocket. Push against it and allow the other end to slip back into the pocket.
You are now ready to put the sail into the boom. Pull the bolt rope of the
sail into the grove on the boom and pull it along towards the outward end of
the boom, that is towards the rear or stern of the boat. Fasten the sail to
the boom at the tack point with the pin provided, pushing the pin through the
grommet in the sail and twisting it to secure it in position. Now, fit the
clew out haul, attaching one of the pieces of 3/16" line to the sail, using a
bowline knot, then passing it through the grommet in the sail. Go back and
forward a few times to take up the slack and tie off the line, using two half
hitches around itself. REFER TO GENERAL ARRENGEMENT DRAWING.
You are now ready to raise the main sail. Take the main halyard and attach
it by means of the shackle to the top or head of the main sail. Put the bolt
rope or leading edge of this main sail into the grove of the mast and pull
the main halyard down, with one person guiding the sail into the mast and up
the sail goes. Keep on pulling, and if you look up, you will see that the
knot in the halyard has appeared out of the mast head fitting at the top of
the mast and is now in front of the mast, coming down again. You then move
the halyard towards the bow of the boat and let the halyard go back up the
mast again, slightly. The knot will then jam into the mast lock, which you
can check by tensioning the sail down. Take the other end of the halyard and
attach it loosely to the cleat at the base of the mast so that it can be
taken off again easily. Then, take the last piece of 3/16" line that you have
left, which is the tack down haul, and attach it to the ring underneath the
gooseneck fitting with a bowline knot. Pass the other end of the line down
around a cleat which is just below it mounted on the after side of the mast,
(It is sometimes possible that you may need to readjust the position of this
cleat, which you can do, using your Phillips screwdriver); pass the down haul
around the cleat, once, up through the ring again and finish off with the
inevitable two half hitches around the rope itself. REFER TO DETAIL 2 BELOW.
The next step is putting the rudder on, which is quite a simple operation.
The male fitting (pintles) go into the female fittings (gudgeons), but you
must remember to turn the lock which stops the rudder from coming off should
you capsize. Notice that on your rudder, you have two lines attached to the
tiller section. One of these lines is for pulling the rudder blade down, and
the other to pull it up. REFER TO DETAIL 11 BELOW.
The boat is now ready for sailing.
The drawings from the manual were too time consuming to convert to .html
format, so they were simply scanned and saved as .gif files. To view the
individual drawings from the manual, simply click on the descriptions in
the table below.
Please keep in mind that these .gif files are fairly large, so be patient
while they are loading.
Hopefully, this manual will come in handy for you, as it contains a great deal of information regarding the contents of the original boat as well as the intended rigging and tuning for the C-15. Enjoy!