Chrysler Man-O-War Owner's Manual

Lee Yancey took the time to convert an old copy of the original Chrysler Man-O-War Owner's Manual and Jon Tyndall sent it in. I converted the hard copy to .html, so any errors of omission or commission are mine.

Jon sails his Man-O-War in Pennsylvania.

The following is a list of the Man-O-War's equipment nomenclature. To see the actual items comprising the nomenclature, scroll down to the end of the list and click on the link.

1. Tiller Extension
2. Tiller
3. Rudder Blade
4. Rudder Head (two piece)
5. Mainsheet
6. Mainsheet Swivel Block and Jammer
7. Mainsheet Blocks
8. Clew Pad Eye
9. Clew of Sail
10. Clew Snap Shackle
11. Clew Pad Eye for Reefed Position
12. Battens (#1, #2 and #3)
13. Elastic End in Batten Picket
14. Head of Sail
15. Mainsail Sleeve (goes over mast)
16. Tack of Sail
17. Mast (two piece, joined in middle)
18. Reefing Line
19. Mast Deck Casting
20. Tack Snap Shackle
21. Downhaul
22. Gooseneck
23. Daggerboard
24. Rudder Pintle
25. Transom Gudgeon
26. Sail Insignia
27. Racing Numbers
28. Transom Drain Plug
29. Boom
30. Luff of Sail
31. Rudder Stop
32. Downhaul Eye Pad
33. Daggerboard Wedge
34. Daggerboard Lanyard (50-inch)

Man-O-War Nomenclature Drawing

Your Man-O-War is easy to rig and sail; however, her design is such that properly rigged and sailed, she will reward even the most discriminating sailor. The following step-by-step rigging and sailing instructions will assure you the best from this superb design.

A trailer or car-top support for the Man-O-War should have cross supports located at the forward and after ends of the cockpit so as to take the weight on theends of the cockpit walls. The Chrysler trailer is ideal and is designed for the Man-O-War.

The two-piece mast and the boom may be carried in the cockpit by inserting them through the opened access ports forward. The rudder and daggerboard may also be carried in the cockpit while trailering.

Join the two-piece mast, making sure that the notched ends meet and lock together. Take care to brush sand or dirt from the tubes to prevent galling the aluminum.

Note that there is an eye strap at the butt of the mast. Tie the 48-inch piece of 3/16-inch reefing line to this strap and stow by wrapping it around the mast. Do not step the mast until you complete steps 2 and 3.

The sail sleeve is pulled on over the mast beginning with the tack corner at the top of the mast. Seat the nylon strap at the head of the sail against the casting at the top of the mast.

Insert the three battens by pushing them against the plastic in the ends of the pockets, permitting the top ends to be held firmly in the pockets.

Roll the sail around the mast by rotating the mast, making certain the battens lie parallel to the mast until the sail is fully furled. Tie a line through the clew to prevent the sail from unrolling.

Insert the mast through the mast-deck casting on the fore deck until it bottoms against the keel. Take care to raise the mast to the vertical while inserting, since the fit through the deck is reasonably tight and extends to the keel in a glass filler tube.

Lay the boom on the deck with the gooseneck jaws around the mast, and thread the mainsheet through the pulleys and jam cleat as illustrated in the nomenclature drawing (Fig. 2).

The rudder head is attached to the transom by the rudder pintle (pin), which is fixed to the transom by a chain. Raise the tiller, place the rudder head over the transom gudgeons, and drop the rudder pintle through.

Note the action of the rudder. The fully-engaged position of the two-part rudder locks the blade down; yet, if grounded, it will permit the rudder blade to kick up. To lift the rudder blade for beaching, simply pull up on the tiller and pull forward, engaging the stop on the tiller to its fitting on the rear deck to hold the rudder blade up permanently.

The daggerboard is held in the up position by the daggerboard wedge (33), which is tied to the daggerboard and the daggerboard trunk with the daggerboard lanyard (34). NOTE: Be sure the lanyard is knotted on both ends in order to prevent losing the daggerboard if the Man-O-War should capsize. (See figure 1 on nomenclature drawing.) NOTE: The daggerboard wedge has been replaced by a pin. The daggerboard depth is controlled by placing the pin through the holes at various depths along the board.

The downhaul serves two functions:

1. To keep the mast in the boat in the event of a capsize.
2. To pull tension on the luff of the sail.

The reefing line that was wound on the mast in step 1 should be unrolled to enough length to secure it to the remaining jam cleat on the deck aft of the mast.

If the wind is heavy or becomes heavy while sailing, you can reduce the sail area by about 30% by rolling the sail up partially around the mast. There is a second clew pad eye 20 inches in from the end of the boom. Pull on the reefing line until the sail is tight along the boom. Snap the tack of the sail to the boom again and jam the reefing line in the jam cleat on deck. If very young, light-weight children are to sail the boat, they may begin with a reef in the sail and be safe in most weather conditions.

When docking downwind, simply unclip the sail from the clew and let the sail stream free. If the wind is heavy or you wish to dock for some time, rotate the mast by hand rolling the sail around the mast completely. Tie the sail around the mast to prevent it from unrolling.

There is no small centerboard sailboat that cannot be capsized by the elements; however, the Man-O-War is one of the easiest boats to right, and does come up with virtually no water aboard. What remains will be easily disposed of through the self-bailer forward of the trunk.

If you do capsize, get off the boat and into the water as quickly as possible. If you try to stand on the mast or the cockpit edge, your weight will force her to turn turtle (completely upside down, as opposed to on her side). The boat, without anyone aboard, will stay in a 90-degree position. Do not climb into the cockpit. Get around and uncleat and free the mainsheet. If the daggerboard has retracted into the trunk in the up position, push it out or down. Swim back to the bottom side of the boat and put weight on the daggerboard, getting up and standing on it if you are light. Take hold of the edge of the boat and lean backward, climbing in as it rights. If the boat rights before you can stand on the board, climb in over the stern to prevent a capsize from your weight pulling it over the side.

If you did not get off the boat when it first capsized, you may have the boat turtled. It will be necessary to get the board inserted and into the down position. Stand on the bottom of the boat, take hold of the daggerboard, and lean back as far as possible. If you have enough weight (an average person is enough), the boat will slowly come up to the 90-degree position. Then, go through the steps of the preceding paragraph and sail away.

Three drains are provided in the Man-O-War. One at the forward edge of the cockpit, one through the hull, and one in the transom. If water should get inside the hull while sailing, pull the plug at the forward end of the cockpit, permitting the water to flow into the cockpit. The bailer located aft of the centerboard trunk will bail at speeds of four knots or more. Open the bailer by turning and pushing down. If water comes in through the the bailer, you have insufficient speed, and the bailer will not work. Otherwise, leave it open until the boat is dry. The bailer in the stern will drain any water that lies in the hull after the boat is out of the water.

Sailing Upwind: The Man-O-War is equipped with a rather full sail that, when properly used, will give you a proper sail shape over a wide range of wind conditions. The mast, being unstayed, is free to bend and will do so to a marked degree. As the wind increases, the mast, provided the sail is sheeted in hard, will bend aft and flatten the sail - a better shape for heavier winds. One should sheet in hard enough to bring the end of the boom about half-way between the edge and center of the boat. If the boat heels over, tuck your toes under the edge of the cockpit and hike out. The daggerboard should be fully down when sailing on the wind.

Sailing on Reaches: As your course goes from as high into the wind as you can point without the sail luffing to running before the wind, your sail should be left out to the point where it just begins to flutter along the luff and pulled in then just enough to stop the flutter. If you desire the maximum speed, you will also decrease the immersion of the daggerboard from full down "on wind" to full up when running before the wind. If the wind is heavy and the sea rolling, it is wise to leave just four or five inches of board down when running before the wind to give the Man-O-War directional stability.

We, of Chrysler Boat Corporation, trust that you will enjoy owning your Man-O-War. One of the additional joys of boat ownership is being a member of the Man-O-War class organization. You have, by virtue of purchasing a Man-O-War, automatically become a member of the Man-O-War Class Association with dues paid for a full year. You will receive news of class activity from time to time. We hope you can participate in this activity and make many new friends with like interests.