New Mac25 owner, new to sailing.. introducing myself.

[evolve555]

Hello everyone,
I hope I'm not breaking any sort of protocol and introducing myself in the wrong forum. I tried to find a beginner's group on here and couldn't find one.
I'm very new to sailing.. skippered a 30 footer a few times, brought it in and out of dock, helped raise a sail or two on it.. but I'm still incredibly new.
A deal came across my way that I could NOT pass up on a 1978 MacGregor 25 down in Alamitos Bay, Long Beach, CA and I just dove in and went for it. My best friend has been going out with his good friend for many weekends on this boat and it went up for sale, as the owner is getting a larger boat this week. The engine is 33 years old, just like the boat, but still fires up on the first try. It's only a 2.5hp Nissan, so I won't take it too far out until I get a new motor on it.
The previous owner took me out on it for a lengthy trip, spent a few hours going over the boat itself and some basics, and I feel incredibly confident with this purchase, as he wants to go out sailing with me on it, show me the ropes, and he's been in constant contact with me about the boat.
I won't just dive into this, and I'm taking it one step at a time.. Starting next weekend I begin 15 hours of training on Capri boats, as soon as the intermediate classes open up, I'll be doing another 15 hours of lessons, followed by keel boat lessons as soon as I can register for those.
I'm not a mechanically inclined by any stretch, but I feel I'm in with a good group of people in real life and on these forums. Forgive me if I ask a redundant or dumb question here or there.. I'm here to learn and to meet new people. I can't wait to get out there and captain my boat, but I want to be as responsible about it as humanly possible.
Thanks for allowing me to introduce myself, I look forward to meeting you guys.
Take care,
-Sam

[arknoah]

So far, I've found my Mac 25 very forgiving. I had sailing lessons last year and have practicing ever since. And while I'm not "handy" by nature, I'm summoning the courage to install jiffy reefing for my mainsail.

I think you made a great purchase. Welcome to the Mac 25 club!

[Matt19020]

Sam,
Welcome...Trust me anything you need to know you will find here. Since you are now a boat owner you also WILL BECOME mechanically inclined.... it just happens..... however some learning curves are larger then others

[pokerrick1]

..... however some learning curves are larger then others

Like mine, for instance

Rick

[tubeydude]

Congrats on the boat. I just got my Mac 25 in the water a couple of weeks ago after spending 3 mo basically re-doing everything. It is solid now and is a blast to sail. Where are you located. I'm just above Santa Barbara. (you said DOWN in Long Beach, so you might be up my way.)

I got a tohatsu 9.8 motor for mine, and it is awesome. Very quiet, starts right up, sips gas. I view the motor as a safety factor and I wouldn't skimp there.

I'm pretty new to this whole sailing thing as well, but have learned a TON from this forum and from a few sailing buddies of mine.

In fact last night after work I took her out after installing battens in the main sail and loosening the leach cord a bit. What a difference! Better sail shape, more forward, less heel.

All good things.

Enjoy

[Crikey]

Welcome Sam!

[snotnosetommy]

Welcome, Sam
I've had my Mac 25 almost 4 years and haven't found much to complain about. She's a good sailer, with a 'big boat' feel. You can do almost anything to her in the way of mods. The prudent sailor can take her just about anywhere with a good weather eye, and she's not too hard on the wallet.
I've learned a lot on this forum. No topic left out.
Some people like to trash Macs, but ol' Roger made a darn good boat for the money.
Happy sailing.

[Catigale]

Welcome Sam.

Been doing this for 20 years. Still a beginner.

The Mac crowd is more heavy on "regular guys" than the usual sailing crowds, so you'll find the forums pleasant and informative no matter what your level or history.

[Tsatzsue]

I recently bought a 1977 Venture 25 (Tsatzsue) and after two months of going through everything I am finally getting her out. I learned to sail at a young age and haven't been out in over 20 years. This boat is everything that I could imagine. Perfect. I even had my wife, three girls and the dog out for the weekend on Narragansett Bay. The best way to learn about the boat is to go through one area at at time and update as you go. I keep notes on a spread sheet. Deck hardware including all penetrations, rigging, electrial, motor etc... There are a lot of great sites with info on anything you need to know.

I have been in some pretty nasty weather and she took it like a champ. I would drop the keel and inspect the keel bolt and cable. there are a lot of nightmare stories about this. Being new to the boat I replaced the cable and had a spare made as well.

I think anything less than a 9.9 is good for a lake but not on the ocean. Currents and tides can make short work of forward motion even at full throttle. You need all the power at times and I would not want to do without it. On the Cape Cod Canal I traveled to the Sagamore Bridge from CC Bay in 20 minutes at low throttle not realizing the the 4.5 knot currect was with me. At a hull speed of 6.5 at full throttle going against the currect it took over an our to get back to where I started.

I love my boat. Have a ball!!!!

[Catigale]

Tsatzsue

I'm headed to Cuttyhunk and the vineyard sound week of AUG 15 on my if you are cruising that week..

[Litlyacht]

hello im also a new m26 owner. just ordered a 2012 m26 from super sport marine, with all the bells and whistles (70hp suzuki 4 stroke). Wont be delievered till end of month. I never sailed a day in my life. But i think i will get yrs of fun with it. Jake btw im in texas on the gulf coast

[Litlyacht]

I would have bought one from bwyachts but they dont deliver to TX. But super sport matched, and alittle cheaper, plus deliver right to my house. the only thing im worried is read few times about mast not rotating in light wind, bwyachts would have put bearing on botom of mast. But i geuss if i have trouble can order one later. Cant wait for the boat. still got 3 weeks to go. super sport ordered white hull from Mac factory, he should get it this week and start fitting it for me. Gotta run. Jake

[mastreb]

I would have bought one from bwyachts but they dont deliver to TX. But super sport matched, and alittle cheaper, plus deliver right to my house. the only thing im worried is read few times about mast not rotating in light wind, bwyachts would have put bearing on botom of mast. But i geuss if i have trouble can order one later. Cant wait for the boat. still got 3 weeks to go. super sport ordered white hull from Mac factory, he should get it this week and start fitting it for me. Gotta run. Jake

Just put three oil bronze washers on the foot and you'll be fine--you'll likely find that they're already there--I'm pretty sure they ship that way from the factory. Factory sales puts them there anyway.

[Catigale]

The engine is 33 years old, just like the boat, but still fires up on the first try. It's only a 2.5hp Nissan, so I won't take it too far out until I get a new motor on it.

Sam..don't be in a rush to replace that outboard if it's working well. Take your time and if it's serving your purposes, stick with It. Sail Boats have a maximum speed that the hull can move, so more power doesn't get you above this speed like a power boat.

[Freedom77]

Hi new guy. Welcome to the Legion of the Damned!! I'm assuming that if your new baby is 33 years old it's a 1977-78. That would probably make it Venture 25 as opposed to the Mac 25 which were very similar with a few design changes. WE have a '76 V-25 since she was brand new. What is your hull #. Do you have the original main and if so what is Sail #. Should be same as hull #. 2.5 OB is a little underpowered but unless you get in some real bad wind it should be okay. We have a Honda 7.5 which is about as much power as we ever need. Torque at the prop is the main thing. I see you are near Long Beach. There are only 80 gabillion Macs in So Cal. Find a Venture/Mac group and hook up. Great people who will assist and you'll make some friends. When you get more experience cruise to Catalina, Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. We used to sail over every year and drop anchor for a week and spend the occasional weekend. Your limits are only constrained by the distance you want to drive. We have been all the way from Ensenada to the San Juans, BC San Diego is terrific. Now we're desert rats. You can see a pic of Freedom on sailboatowners.com MacGregor Forum. Fair Winds and Full Sails....