Matilda 20 advise

[Rascal3]

Hi
I've just bought my first boat, a Matilda 20. She's a bit of a doer upper and I knew that when I bought her but I've now got her and am able to really crawl all over her. She's been stored in a garage for years and she's leaking a bit in the rain we've had and I've noticed that around the internal plywood bulkheads that there was damp wood in the corners where they meet the hull. So I did the natural thing and poked them, turns out they're rotten as a pear. Now the drop keel casing in the middle of the boat goes to the roof. Does anyone know then if the bulk heads are structural or whether I would be ok to rip them out and open out her layout?

 

[pvb]

I reckon you'll get the best advice via the Matilda Owners website - http://www.matildaowners.com/index.htm

 

[oldharry]

I had one. I did see one which had had the bulkhead removed as you suggest, and it seemed to be entirely OK, but as above, the Owners club is the best bet to be sure.

 

[Rascal3]

Thanks for the info, I've posted on the owners site as well but it seems quite under utilised so I thought id post here as well. I image I'll be back often for repair advise.

 

[William_H]

One of the common structural purposes of ply bulkheads is to transfer the loads of the chain plates down into the hull.
Other wise perhaps not so much concern. At 20 ft she should be pretty structurally stiff in the hull/deck anyway. ol'will

 

[Rascal3]

With them as rotten as they are I'm not sure they've been supplying much support for a long while.

 

[VicS]

Hi
I've just bought my first boat, a Matilda 20. She's a bit of a doer upper and I knew that when I bought her but I've now got her and am able to really crawl all over her. She's been stored in a garage for years and she's leaking a bit in the rain we've had and I've noticed that around the internal plywood bulkheads that there was damp wood in the corners where they meet the hull. So I did the natural thing and poked them, turns out they're rotten as a pear. Now the drop keel casing in the middle of the boat goes to the roof. Does anyone know then if the bulk heads are structural or whether I would be ok to rip them out and open out her layout?

If you remove the transverse bulkheads you will have nothing giving any lateral stiffness to the centre of the boat

 

[James_Calvert]

Which means under sail the deck might be pulled up by the windward shrouds, if it is not stiff enough. Is the centre plate casing firmly attached to the deckhead? That could help.

 

[Rascal3]

Yeah the centre board is fiberglassed into the roof so it doesn't look too bad. It's 1970s fiberglass as well so built like a tank.