Going over new boat

[mattvct]

Hello all,

My name is Matt, and I recently bought a 2001 Macgregor 26X that I will be sailing out of Connecticut, mostly in the sound but with the occasional coastal cruise or trip to the Cape. I and am currently in the process of going over the boat getting ready to put it in the water for the first time and had some questions for all of you more experienced with this boat:

First, since my last boat was a '79 Catalina 27 that while it was extremely solid and seaworthy, was old and the gel coat had tons of stress cracks, so I wasn't overly concerned about what products I used on it. Since this new boat is in pristine condition by comparison, I wanted to see what everyone uses to keep their Macgregor clean and shiny. I used to scrub my decks with Soft Scrub with bleach and never worried about polishing other than using oxidation remover. What do all of you use?

Secondly, is there any way to replace the centerboard line with the boat on the trailer? The one that is on there currently is starting to get a little frayed in some places and since I will be replacing several other lines and the anchor rope I might as well do this at the same time. I assume the line goes down the center of the mast compression post, but am unsure how to access it since there are no screws on the cover.

Third, is there any way to run wires to the space just under the mast without draping them along the ceiling? I am planning on adding an anchor light on the mast due to how I'll probably end up doing most of my sailing, and while I'm at it I want to put the radio antenna up there since I'm not happy with the current mounting boom the previous owner installed.

Fourth, this boat does not seem to have any true thru-hulls installed on it. How do all of you deal with water in the bilge? When I put the boat on a mooring next year I will want to have an automatic bilge pump on it. I'm comfortable adding a thru-hull fitting, valve and stop-cock, but figured I'd check with all of you to see how you've dealt with this situation before I start poking holes in her.

I think that's about it for now but I'm sure I'll have additional questions as I dig deeper into my new toy. Thanks for any suggestions

[Rick Westlake]

... Is there any way to replace the (26X) centerboard line with the boat on the trailer? The one that is on there currently is starting to get a little frayed in some places and since I will be replacing several other lines and the anchor rope I might as well do this at the same time. I assume the line goes down the center of the mast compression post, but am unsure how to access it since there are no screws on the cover.

Yes - it's not much of a problem, but it does take some work. I've replaced mine, and it's a sweaty but straightforward task.

The centerboard hanger is under the forward dinette seat. It's a "Y" shaped piece of steel plate with a large bolt forming the upright; that bolt sticks up through the top edge of the centerboard trunk, and it's sealed with quite a lot of 5200 (I suspect). To release it, you have to back off the Nylock nut to the very top of the bolt, then put a piece of hardwood on top of that and pound the bolt out with a heavy hammer. It took me a lot of hammering, but it finally came out.

Now you can get under the trailer and pull down the centerboard - it's very light on the X, more of a water-borne airfoil than anything. You don't have to take the hanger completely out - just pull it down enough so the pivot-bearing can be pushed out of the board & hanger. (I wish Roger had made the top bolt long enough that there was a nut's worth of bolt still up in the cabin when the pivot was out.)

The centerboard line comes straight down the compression post, which is at the back of the mast tabernacle. On my boat, there's a stainless-steel rod that serves as a fairlead; this convinced me to replace the existing (and broken) stainless-steel cable with another SS cable, rather than use all line. I bought the cable, two eye thimbles, and the swaging sleeves from West Marine, and the salesman (who I won't identify, to protect him) said I could buy a cable-swager and bring it back tomorrow for a refund. (Fortunately I already had one of my own.)

I dropped the cable through from the deck (with the other end loosely tied around the mast), and swaged the bottom eye before I bolted it into place. (I figured it would be easier to use gravity to thread the cable!) Then I lifted the centerboard back into place (with the help of a ratchet-strap between the rails of the trailer), pushed the pivot-bearing through the board and hanger, and ratchet-strapped the whole thing up till it was nearly flush with the hull. Back inside, now, and I tightened up the bolt to draw the hanger back into the top of the trunk.

Finally I swaged an eye into the top end of the cable, tied the line pendant to the eye, and set the line pendant on the cam-cleat. My cable comes quite close to the cam-cleat, and I put the eye right next to one of the screws on the hatch-slider track; this was so I can judge at a glance how much board I have down. (Maybe one of these days I'll actually calibrate it!)

Hope this helps -
Rick

[Russ]

Congrats on the new boat. I'm sure you will find lots of Mac specific stuff to deal with and this forum is great.

First, since my last boat was a '79 Catalina 27 that while it was extremely solid and seaworthy, was old and the gel coat had tons of stress cracks, so I wasn't overly concerned about what products I used on it. Since this new boat is in pristine condition by comparison, I wanted to see what everyone uses to keep their Macgregor clean and shiny. I used to scrub my decks with Soft Scrub with bleach and never worried about polishing other than using oxidation remover. What do all of you use?

Boat soap or some other mild detergent and some boat wax on non step areas. Personally, I don't trust soft scrub even though they claim it's not abrasive, but they make it for fiberglass bathtubs so it's probably okay.

I have an M, so I'll let X owners comment on your X specific comments (centerboard etc.).

Fourth, this boat does not seem to have any true thru-hulls installed on it. How do all of you deal with water in the bilge? When I put the boat on a mooring next year I will want to have an automatic bilge pump on it. I'm comfortable adding a thru-hull fitting, valve and stop-cock, but figured I'd check with all of you to see how you've dealt with this situation before I start poking holes in her.

Yup, if you have water inside, it's probably rain since there are no thru holes or shafts to allow water in. Do a search on bilge pump. You will probably do fine as long as you put the outflow well above the water line as high as possible and with a check valve to prevent backflow. The problem is the Mac doesn't have a bilge really. So placement is tricky.
If you are getting water in, you should find where it's coming in and fix it. The stay chain plates seem to be a common location for water entry. Other X owners have installed them and you will find a wealth of information if you search.


--Russ

[irayone]

Check out the mods page regarding bilge pump...They suggest 3......I use a portable electric from west marine... It's still in the box... My boat has never seen a drop of water inside the bilge...

[irayone]

I use meguires car wax looks great You will pay tripple if the wax says for boats...carnuba wax is carnuba wax

[red_sky_at_night]

I just used 3M polish and wax to get my black stripes looking black and shiny

[KayakDan]

Welcome to Macgregor sailing in New England. Come sail with us!
http://www.ne-ts.com/
Our Buzzards Bay Rendezvous is coming up soon.

[puggsy]

.....{Third, is there any way to run wires to the space just under the mast without draping them along the ceiling? I am planning on adding an anchor light on the mast due to how I'll probably end up doing most of my sailing, and while I'm at it I want to put the radio antenna up there since I'm not happy with the current mounting boom the previous owner installed]

Exactly what I was on about...

And don't worry about through hull fittings... 's just do not leak...unless there is a breach in the hull...
SEAHORSE stays so dry, i have not even fitted a bilge pump...not much point really...
If you holed the hull, a bilge pump would probably not handle the flow anyway...and "they" will never sink on you...so stay with the boat...

[K9Kampers]

...is there any way to run wires to the space just under the mast without draping them along the ceiling? I am planning on adding an anchor light on the mast...

An ceiling liner has oh-so-many access holes with finish plugs for every cabin top mounted piece of hardware. I just popped several plugs and snaked my mast wires hole to hole.

[Nautek]

Hi Matt

Welcome to the fold

As Rick said the centerboard rope is an easy fix.

As for through the hulls I have just done it with mine as I would not me able to sleep at night without a valve to isolate them if I left the boat unattended.
I used stainless steel through hulls with PVC valves.

As for water in the bilges whilst on the trailer I would suspect chainplates where they come through the deck. I had this problem. Just remove the cap plate seal them and replace the cap plate. You don't need to rivet it back down just stick it down with the goop you use to seal the chain plate.

As for wiring you may be able to use the existing wire as a draw wire to pull new wires through.

Allan