Desireable Options for new 26M

[mastreb]

Out here in Northern Canada in March I have Kanouk the wild dog of the North , as a desirable option , protecting my boat.

Egads! Is that actually a picture of your boat? You guys in Canada are welcome to sail my M in San Diego bay in the winter any time you feel like flying out to do it.

[Québec 1]

Out here in Northern Canada in March I have Kanouk the wild dog of the North , as a desirable option , protecting my boat.

Egads! Is that actually a picture of your boat? You guys in Canada are welcome to sail my M in San Diego bay in the winter any time you feel like flying out to do it.

Yes it is...if you close up on Kanouks paws you will notice they are really fury. That's his winter feet fur. In spring he sheds his fur and in summer you can see his feet. ItZ's kind of neat.. Oh by the way, thanks for the invite and I will take you up on it....when is another question.
Q1

[pokerrick1]

Bertrand;

Picture an 18 inch flourescent light fixture above the dinette (on the window side of the ceiling). That's the best picture you're going to get because I don't own the boat anymore!!!

Besides I couldn't take a picture and post it on the web if my life depended upon it - - - and it doesn't!!

Rick

[dlandersson]

Guess I'll have to stop whining.

Out here in Northern Canada in March I have Kanouk the wild dog of the North , as a desirable option , protecting my boat.

Q1

[Highlander]

Three more feet in length & one more foot in width would allow for closet space head with a shower and an open bar !

J

[dlandersson]

Just saw it in half and stretch it like they do those stretched limos

Three more feet in length & one more foot in width would allow for closet space head with a shower and an open bar !

J

[DaveB]

I agree 2ft. more length and Beam 8.5 ft. ( so we can Trailer in most states)
Add 6 inches length in the head, 1 ft. longer in Vberth and 6 inches at gally, and add 2 inches to headroom.
This all goes for the MacX boat.
It is often said one designs a boat according to there size and shape. Rodger is about 5.6 ft , even that is close bunker room.
Dave

Three more feet in length & one more foot in width would allow for closet space head with a shower and an open bar !

J

[Chief Yeoman]

1. The single axle trailer tows fine - I think the dual is overkille and not really needed. Surge brakes can easily be disabled.

2. I have a jib and when the wind is 6 knots or less other boats of various types usually will gradually overtake me, but when the wind picks up to 10-12 knots+ I close on those same boats. The difference in speed between the two headsails is probably no more than a half knot IMO and the jib gives you better visibility. Dacron is 3.8 oz.

3. Yes the CDI is a great system. Be SURE you check the turnbuckle which needs to be safety wired or it can slowly back off the thread over time. Since it is concealed you will not know it until you hear a big crashing sound some day.

4. Just an opinion but the only line I would route back to the cockpit is the main halyard. Use a Becket Block on the starboard side of the mast a couple of fee off the deck and your all set. If you put more lines on there you might wind up with a spaghetti mess. Bare in mind when you lower the main, it will not come down by itself, even if you have sail slugs so you will still have to hop up and yank it down. Some people use a downhaul.

5. Mine came with one reef point only

6. Alcohol is the best from a safety, and simplicity standpoint IMO.

7. No each takes up all the space under the cockpit benches on each side.

I would also highly recommend a lazy jack. I have the bungee type that warps around the mast when not in use so a standard sail cover can go on without having to have slats cut in it. If you plan on taking the boat anywhere you need a chart plotter with depth sounder. I have the Garmin 421 which works great.

Good luck!!!

[powersailor]

Just a few additional comments - I bought my last year: the roller furler is good; Be careful about engine size - the 4 stroke engines are tall - I have a 60 Merc big foot and it will not turn when up without rubbing the seat bottom and I have to sail with the engine less than completely out of the water; on the trailer, I would go with a dual axel if towing distances mostly because you will have a lower tougue weight than with the single axel like I have - would agree that for short distances the single axel they provide is adequate; on the main halyard aft issue, check the mod section of this web page - good ideas and I used the vertical block, clam cleat mounted to the mast lower section shown in one of them and it is great. I also added a pump out porti pot for the head - pretty easy mod.

Good luck.

[seahouse]

Hey powersailor! –

A small point. While it might seem that way, adding more axels does not actually change the required tongue weight (and therefore the position of the centre of gravity) for the stability of a trailer. Assuming all else is configured correctly (either with equalizing shackles, or torsion bar axels) and the trailer is level.

But there certainly are other benefits to having a tandem axel trailer.

- Brian.

[MacTommy]

The difference in speed between the two headsails is probably no more than a half knot IMO and the jib gives you better visibility. Dacron is 3.8 oz.

Interesting!

What about the spinnakers, any general rules for how many knots in advance when raising the spinnaker (both versions) compared to the 150% genoa?

[RobertB]

A small point. While it might seem that way, adding more axels does not actually change the required tongue weight (and therefore the position of the centre of gravity)

Actually, if you do maintain the center of gravity in relation to the centerline between the two axles, you automatically/mathematically reduce the tongue weight. Reports from those who have made the 2-axle mod state a lower tongue weight (expected) and no loss in stability. A reason for the stability staying the same (or even being enhanced) is that there is less weight hanging out behind the axles (a smaller tail wags the dog less).

[kitcat]

I would say that the tongue weight is still a lot. I cannot lift the front up, no way, I can't even make it move. It is still probably well over 150 kgs maybe even 200kgs which seems awfully heavy to me, given that my truck has a limit of 75kgs! In an effort to reduce the tongue weight a bit, so that the rear springs on my Toyota Hilux truck aren't too compressed, I have moved the front axle further forward so that it takes a bit more weight. In fairness I don't know if this has achieved what I wanted, but it doesn't seem to have done any harm, and has contributed to stability because the wheels are now further apart, see my comment below.

Secondly I would say that the stability gained with a second axle is more because of the lack of turning ability with two wheels in line, than the small reduction in the weight of the overhang.

Paul

[seahouse]

Hey Robert!

Actually, if you do maintain the center of gravity in relation to the centerline between the two axles, you automatically/mathematically reduce the tongue weight. Reports from those who have made the 2-axle mod state a lower tongue weight (expected) and no loss in stability.

I disagree. The fact alone that the tongue weight has changed means that the centre of gravity position has not been maintained, rather, the centre of the axel assembly has been moved forward which has reduced the tongue weight. Much the same as the sliding weights on balance beams in a balance weigh scale (like the ones in high school), where the pointer of the balance is equivalent to the trailer tongue.

The key piece of information to understanding this fact is the (I’m assuming proper) arrangement of a shackle-type tandem connection, which allows free pivoting from a point between the axels, but it also holds true for tandem torsion bar arrangements.

You do have to ensure that the trailer remains level, because this does have an effect on the tongue weight, once you move outside a small arc that the ball socket describes. The tongue weight certainly will decrease as you move the tongue downward once you are outside this range, and will increase if you move the tongue upwards outside this range, because the pivot range of the shackle levers’ effectiveness has been exceeded.

I’ll also assume, that the new 10-15% ratio does not consider that the weight of the entire trailer has been increased by the addition of the new axel assembly, which, if it were considered, would actually slightly increase the calculated 10-15% tongue weight of the entire trailer. As rough a rule of thumb it might be to even include this.

Not wanting to (or needing to) split hairs to convey this, but in the interest of safety for future readers, I will reiterate my original statement that the purpose of a tandem axel trailer over a single axel trailer is not to reduce tongue weight, but there are other benefits to tandem axels.

Cheers! – Brian.

[RobertB]

I disagree. The fact alone that the tongue weight has changed means that the centre of gravity position has not been maintained, rather, the centre of the axel assembly has been moved forward which has reduced the tongue weight. Much the same as the sliding weights on balance beams in a balance weigh scale (like the ones in high school), where the pointer of the balance is equivalent to the trailer tongue.

OK, let me state this another way. The single axle trailer has the axle behind the center of gravity such that the weight on the tongue is about 400 lbs. the point of where the axle is located - lets call this the center of lift. The way most of us install a second axle is to move the existing axle with brake forward 18 inches and locate the new axle without brakes 36 inches behind. This maintains the center of lift. The center of gravity or the weight on the trailer has not changed (even though more weight has been added with new axle and wheels to the trailer but this is directly over a support point). But now, the front axle is 18 inches closer to the center of gravity so the tongue load is decrease proportionally. I may not be the most experienced sailor but I have been a mechanical engineer for close to 30 years - this is real basic stuff.

Yes, trailer/boat weight has increased and vehicle must be able to pull - but tongue weight has decreased, and weight behind the axles (of the trailer) has decreased resulting in an increase in stability.
In addition, if concerned about stability, there are now a couple of load equalizing trailer hitches available that work with surge brakes. One is the Equal-i-zer and we would need the pole tongue adapter since our trailer jacks are within 40 inches of the tow ball (I think).