My 2 1980s Vintage Mac 25s

[NavySailor]

Ok - so it all began when I was a little kid and put my toy sailboat in a creek. I've always wanted one! Now - 35 years later I have bought my first real sailboat. Well - TWO sailboats. Thanks in part to all the helpful folks here on the site.

I was prepared to pay up to $1500 for a Mac 25. I found two contestants in the local area. Both have their ups and downs but I managed to talk the owners down and got them both for $1400.

First I have a 1986 Mac 25'. Came with a homemade (but looks like factory) trailer and a 5hp Nissan motor.

Later this week I'm driving 100 miles and picking up a 1981 Mac 25'. It has the original Mac trailer and a 9.8 Mercury motor.

My original plan was to merge all of the useful gear onto 1 boat. Who needs two boats, right? Of course the Admiral and the kids (16,15,13) are now saying we should keep both boats. Name them 'Thing 1' and 'Thing 2', you know as in Dr. Suess and take them both out. That way the boys can have their own boat. LOL - I dunno. We'll see what happens.

I did get aboard today and start removing the junk and supplies. Sails look OK to me (but what do I know?) no fraying, rips, tears etc... and there's a genoa too. VHF handset is shredded. Who knows if the radio works or not.

More to come...

[81venture]

if there's no pics then its not real

c'mon, lets see em

[NavySailor]

Hooked up and the arrival at home:



Gear:

[NavySailor]

Sails:



Interior:

[NavySailor]

Motor:



Pop-Top: (this doesn't seem right... shouldn't it stand straight up and not lean aft like that?

[NavySailor]

Couple of holes in the hull I didn't notice the first time:


Raised the mast: (you guys see anything blaringly wrong?)

[NavySailor]

Raised the mast: (continued - this 3 pic limit per post is a pain in the butt)

[NavySailor]

There's quite a bit of rainwater in the bilge - what's the best way to dry out the boat. Those big foam blocks are all over the place and in the way. Should I take them out and towel up the water?

[J--]

Uh...that doesn't look right. I'd replace that bent one. You might be able to straighten it, but I'd be worried about fatigue on that piece.

[Tomfoolery]

That kinked adjuster goes with the kinked shroud, or so it looks from here. I'd be inclined to replace the uppers, at least, and they come with the inner adjuster piece attached.

The pop top may have a link to the mast, but someone with that model would know better. Probably in the manual, too.

That mast also looks taller than the stock mast, unless it's originally a 3/4 or less fractional rig. That's how it looks in the pics, at least.

[finding41]

Having 2 identical boats is great. Especially if you can keep them at different marinas to suit your sailing whims.
I happened to pick up a 2nd Mac 26D last year. It was offered to me at a price I couldn't turn down. I tried to purchase it 2 years before and the deal fell through. But here it was again. So....
I sailed it last year and thought I'd keep the better of the two boats and sell the other. The only difference is one has a traveller and the other doesn't. I came up with an idea in the winter of offering one or both of the boats up for charter in the North Channel of Lake Huron. (Why not start a small charter company that caters to sail boat owners...?)
So I did.

Those foam blocks.... I got rid of mine. They were full of mold and water logged.
The pop top on the 25 swings toward the back of the boat and has legs that hold it up.

[topcat0399]

I think the pop top raises to the rear and then settles down going forward on to a pair of removable braces (struts).
There should be a pair of bases mounted on the cabin top for the braces to fit in and a set of matching bolts in the pop top.
Some pop tops settle forward and are secured to the mast.

We actually added quite a few blocks of foam. There are lots and lots of places to put added flotation if you are so inclined.
We even gained room for storage after rearranging. Take the blocks out and hose them off and let them dry in
the hot sun and go from there.

A wet vac works well to remove water at home. Otherwise bucket, mopp, sponge.
If you will keep the boat you will need to find where the water is getting in.
We prefer a dry boat and have succeeded in making it so at great effort.

Holes in the transom - no biggie; learn to lay up glass and fix 'em up.

Un unbeknownst to us our boat was secretly a WRECK when we bought it and each year I am
managing to make it less so. Lucky you on the sails.

[finding41]

I should correct my pop top statement.
It lifts toward the back and is held by 2 aluminium posts that slide in the front under the lip and connect to the deck. This leaves the pop top in a forward position. They are kind of a _/''' shape. Or backwards Z.
So up it is kind of strait but not leaning way forward or back at all.
Don't stand on top of it in the raised position.
Some people have added small shock type holders to hold it up and aid in raising it.

About cleaning the bilge areas. I use a power washer. i have removed al the foam from the bilge area and just blast it with the power washer. I then use a shop-vac or the bilge pumps to get the water out. If there is foam bits floating around I don't use the pumps.
After the boat is empty I go at it with TSP and water. Give it a good scrub and empty it again. I don't rinse the bilge area. But I do rinse and wipe down the cabin floor as TSP is slippery.
The foam blocks I sent for recycling.

[NavySailor]

Got the boom in place, began raising the sail and discovered there was a line tied around the mast about 3/4 of the way up. Had to disconnect the boom, lower the mast, get the line off, raise the mast, reattach the boom and run the main sail. Worked great and we got some extra practice. Unfortunately when I lowered the mast for the night the bolt slid right out and my Son wasn't 100% ready and his shoulder got whacked pretty good. But he'll live.

[mrron_tx]

Looking good BTW...Anyone wanting to replace missing ,waterlogged foam.....If You live near a TSC store/ Tractor Supply store.....They will usually have a lot of these big foam blocks used for transporting trailers and stuff. I bought two blocks for $10. Ron