Thanks, I appreciate the info.

Good evening, I've has my 25 for a few seasons now. I'm still new to sailboats and I have a question about the channel on the Mast where the main sail rides. My sail has what appears to be an internal cable that slides into the channel. I've seen other sails that use clips that ride in that channel ...

Fortunately most of the bottom around my area, and yes I have experience, is pretty soft silt, mud. Just the same I may find a happy medium to where my rudder should give me fair warning.

We have a saying in the USCG, If you aint run aground, you aint been around...

This is exactly why I joined this board. I appreciate all of your responses and thats what I was looking for. I think my leisurely jount down river with the keel 1 foot down (which was going to be my next question) will work fine. I read this board for a year before I made my decision on a boat and ...

I've got a question. Can I sail with the swing keel up on my Mac 25? I've been around boats all my life but I'm new to sailing. I understand about weight, ballast, righting moments and all of that. I also figure there's definately a limitation to the conditions I can do this. The reason I ask is tha...

If you have an Android phone, download EarthNC from the android market. A phenomenal GPS / charting solution. There's a free and a $10 version. You can even save charts to your memory card so you can use them without a cell signal, just with your GPS.

Thanks both of your for your replies, The motor and tiller are not connected. I'm not sure what a "slap" is, but there's no bolt its just a quick disconnect pin,is that what a slap is? I thought about shimming it with a piece of metal or wood on either side of the tiller inside of the piec...

I have been motoring now with my Mac 25 with 8hp merc. All's well so far but I have a tiller question. How mushey is the tiller supposed to be. I know that the outboard exerts enough thrust to give the rudder a bit of a hard time, but this seems to make the tiller a little too mushey. The rudder is ...

Mast raising system worked first shot. Thanks for all your input. I'll try the main sail on Sunday. Here goes nothing....

Hector, Thanks for asking the same question thats been on my mind as I am now closer to my first trip using the sail. I've read all the comments about the main but I still have one question. Do you guys think its better to learn with just the jib first or just the main first. I figure I'll learn one...

Thanks for the reply Choc. After looking at the mast that makes a lot of sense. Puts me at ease a little too. I'm putting the finishing touches on my homemade mast raising system. Cross your fingers for me.

Anybody have an idea for a mast crutch?

I was able to get'r up and all is well. Thanks for all the advice. Next, a mast raising system. Any advice? I've checked out several sites and reviewed several pics. Looks like the 2 2x4 method and a hand winch looks to be the easiet and most cost effective.

Well, I had some free time so instead of figureing out how to post a pic, we stepped the mast. Fortunately you guys post plenty of picutures so I was able to figure it out. It all went pretty well but I still have a question. When I first step the mast is it normal that the mainstay is a lot tighter...

Does anyone know how to add a photo to this post so I can show what it is I'm asking about?

Congrats on the boat, I just purchased an 82 Mac 25 myself. Not wanting to get tied up in a wiring project this summer I outifitted the entire boat with those AA stickem lights, and some battery powerd nav lights. Worked great, really bright and I got out on the water fast. Even after I rewire the b...