I would regularly tow 2-4 time/year with a Uhaul. I would get their pickup truck, which in FL was a Ford F150. I had my own hitch and ball, which I bought from UHaul. It cost $19 for the day plus mileage. I usually also got the insurance from them. My total cost was usually about $60-$70 to tow the ...

Also, I think worth mention is the high freeboard of the Mac makes it react strongly to any type of wind -- more so in my experience than most powerboats. Compensating for the wind at low speeds is very important.

I did this job, do a search and you'll find alot of advice on replacing the steering cables. I remember the hardest part was routing the cable through the stern of the boat. The cable has to make a turn through there and it is difficult to access and see because of the low headroom in the rear berth...

I'm not selling, still enjoy it -- but I'm glad that people here still think it has value. One thing I'm sure nobody wants is the original trailer, which I still have. I'm going to have to invest in a new one either this year or next before it completely rusts away.

Reading this post made me think of what I told my wife a month or two ago; essentially our 96 26X Mac is worth very little because there is no market. With this economy, luxuries such as boats take a back seat. Where I keep my boat in Miami our mooring field has experienced about a 20% decrease in b...

At the Mercy of the Sea by John Krestschmer. He tells the actual account of three very different sailors who get caught in "wrong-way" hurricane Lenny. The author who lives in Florida had a personnel connection to one of the sailors. It was a good read. Also, all the books by Patrick O'Bri...

I just did a repair below the waterline. When the axle on my trailer broke, the wheel turned in and rubbed against the hull. It burned into the fiberglass. The damage was about 0.25 inches at its deepest and about 3 inches round. I cleaned and sanded the area lightly and then used MarineTex to do th...

I've never seen this anode mentioned in my Honda manual. The engine is from 1996, my guess is this anode has never been changed on my engine. Yet, I've changed the other anode three times in the past 5-years.

I saw the post on the Champion axle replacement and I may go that route if what I'm doing doesn't work out. My neighbor has a construction company and he said he had the material and his guy could replace the square axle with a new one. If this doesn't work out then I'll either find a local trailer ...

My 1997 Mac 26X trailer almost snapped clean through while driving about 35 mph on the road. It failed about 1.5 feet from the right side. The crack was from the bottom of the axle almost clear through to the top. Only about 3/8 inch of metal on the top remained. The reason I new it failed was becau...

I am going to the boat tomorrow, so I'll write down the part numbers and take some close-up photos for those interested in this approach. There are two custom-made brackets attached to the stanchion on each side. The brackets are help to the stanchions by cable clamps. If you look close in the pictu...

I have a traveler over the cabin cover attached to the stanchions on either side. YOU can see it in this photo.

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n32/ ... 2007-1.jpg

I frequently have this problem on my Honda. I might also try this solution. As of now, I use the plastic line from a weed wacker to ream out the hole whenever it gets clogged. I remove the cowling, pull out the rubber hose and insert the plastic weed-wacker line from there. It works well, but always...

If you come up to Miami for the Boat Show a nice place to keep your boat is the Coconut Grove Sail Club. They have daily rentals, and from the marina you can walk to all the shops.

I have three young girls (8, 6, and 2). None of them have been aboard before they were about 1-year. It's not so much that we were worried about their safety -- it is more a lack of time, the logistics, and other issues (my wife not wanting to go with the baby). One time I remember my middle one who...