My first 26M - First 2 week experience in SE Michigan

[jasonsjwou]

Hello all

I bought my few months ago (my first boat), and with weather warming up and kids in summer break, I decided to put the boat into water.

My very first day of getting out in the water : Lake St Clair metropark marina. It was a windy day. It was my first time, so it took an hour to rig the boat and launch. As soon as we went out of the marina into the lake, I immediately turned back, because the wind (and waves) were really high and strong to be comfortable (Later I found out it was 20+mph and 2-3ft wave - better safe than sorry). Didn't even put the sails up. We just motored around the marina/channel. Most importantly, I didn't want my wife/girls to hate the boating from the day 1.

I realized that Rigging/launching, then retrieving/derigging and trailering back was so much of work. Clearly I didn't know what I was doing, but it's not as simple as how the "1hr Macgregor 26m video" portrait it as. I live in a HOA-controlled subdivision so I can't have the boat on my driveway for more than 2 days. So I came home, and practiced rigging/de-rigging on the driveway. Went to WalMart and bought some bungee cords to tie everything down. Drove the boat+trailer to the storage.

A month later.....

My 2nd outing : Lake Erie Metropark Marina. I knew one thing for sure: if I have to put the boat in and out of water EVERYTIME I go out, I'll end up not enjoy anything and the boat will get a "ForSale" sign on. So I bought 2 weeks of slip at the Lake Erie Metropark Marina. Put the boat in the water, and docked it. It was really calm day, so I just motored out into the lake Erie and cruised around for 2 hours. I found out that the Mercury 50HP BigFoot on my , can push 15.7MPH @WOT with full ballast/gas and 700 pounds of bodies/stuff. Probably fun but not very comfortable because water was splashing right into the helm.

My 3rd Outing : 4th of July. We went out into the lake Erie, and not even 300 yards away from the marina, I saw about 30+ boats all clustered together in the corner of the lake. People were standing in waist-deep water - it was a nice shallow sandy spot, perfect for swimming. We joined the crowd - we anchored and kids jumped into the water. This was the BEST day so far - kids are totally HOOKED to this idea of jumping off the boat for swimming. Then we went to watch the fireworks on the boat. This made the idea of "boating" even better for kids and wife.

I wanted to make sure the family enjoys boating and not get scared away. Nothing will scare them away more than A sailboat heeling over at 40 deg on their first day on the boat.

My 4th Outing : So far, I've only motored on my boat, and I really wanted to try "sailing". I asked a friend who is an experienced sailor to go out with me, just 2 of us without kids/wife. We went out in pretty strong (10-12mph???) wind. We had both the mainsail and 150% genoa out. I don't know what we were doing (probably lack of experience on my end), but the boat was heeling so much, that the 1st row cabin windows (ones on the side) were UNDER THE WATER!!!!! I thought it would capsize..... It spooked me real good, and it would have totally freak out my kids/wife they'll never want to come on board.

What next.....

I saw couple of and in the Marina. If you are reading in this forum, Could you please help me out with my boat? (make sure I've got everything in order, and perhaps go out sailing for couple of hours to show me how it's supposed to be done)

[Tomfoolery]

I have an X rather than an M, so I can't speak to the peculiarities but I would start with putting the genoa away, and use the working jib, assuming you have one. If not, furl it down to a 110 (or smaller). And perhaps put a reef in the main sail until you get some practice. You shouldn't have the boat that far over, even if you've been sailing it for years. Unless you're doing it just for fun. Which it is. But that's another story.

You may also have had the sails trimmed in way too tight on a beam reach, causing mostly heel and little go-fast.

Just some speculation. Video would help.

[jasonsjwou]

Few questions:

1. Rotating mast - it doesn't rotate smoothly at all. Sometimes it rotates on tacking, but sometimes it doesn't. I can barely rotate it with my hand. What's the point of rotating mast, if it only rotates when it wants to?

2. Rudder Control Authority - The rudder seem to have varying degree of control authority (IDK if that's the right term - that's what airplane guys use) Sometimes the rudder just seem ineffective. Boat seem to have mind of its own when it yaw. Also, the water near the western end of Lake Erie is VERY Weedy - weed always gets caught on the rudder, kicking it backward. Can I "lockdown" the rudder? Anyone else having this issue?

3. Maneuvering around dock - It's really difficult to dock.... (for me at least). I don't know where the center of yaw rotation is for this boat. For/Rev direction seem to behave differently too.

Prior to my , only sailing experience I had was on HobieCat (about 8 hours total)
Recently I took a sailing lesson (about 8 hours total), on a 33ft Abbot sailboat that's rigged for racing. May be my experience/expectation is biased??

[dlandersson]

Great story. You are being really smart about being careful with the family. I bought my X from a guy who took his wife out once - and she refused to go ever again - so after two years on the hard, I got a nice deal.

I agree with you. I have a slip for the sailing season. Makes it very easy to just get up and go when the weather is half-decent.

You do not mention if your Genoa has roller furling (RF) or not. It it does, then you can sail very nicely in 10+ knot winds with just the Genoa.

I do not know how far you are from Michigan City, Indiana, but you are welcome to come down and at least see what NOT to do.

Another Mac owner "found" a treasure map - his kids were so excited. I plan to do this this summer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm_124t ... e=youtu.be

http://macgregor26x.com/phpBB/viewtopic ... 77&start=0

[kadet]

1. Your rig maybe over tensioned or the wind not strong enough... either way the rotating mast on the is a bit of a gimmick, yes a rotating mast can help performance but these boat are so under-performing the rotating mast does not help much. You could try giving your rig a tune to improve the rotation.

2. There a cleats to lock the rudders down make certain they are used. Just like a plane wing the rudders need water flow to work properly. Too much rudder fighting weather helm or heel, or not enough speed you can stall them, this will come with practice.

3. Slow manoeuvring, all boards down and motor free to steer with rudders. Again this will come with practice. For tight docking the is easier for some to drive backwards

Don't give up when I first got my I hated it. I went from 40' keel boats and beach cats to the it is a learning curve but once mastered these are really enjoyable boats when used as intended or modified for your personal use.

[BOAT]

The M boat does not "put the windows in the water" - they are too high above the water line. Something must be wrong. If you are really putting water in the portholes then I suspect your not running a full ballast tank - that should never happen. I have sailed in very high winds in the M boat and I could not put green in the windows if I tried. I have done it before many times on my old A23 but on my M boat it's not possible if the ballast is full - the wind spills out of the sails before I can get the windows under water - I have tried.

The only way i can get water on the windows is to heel over hard in high wind into a wave - that's the only thing that will do it. The boat is just too high and narrow to bury the windows. On wider lower boats it's normal.

I really think you need to check your ballast tank.

[Tomfoolery]

I have done it before many times on my old A23 but on my M boat it's not possible if the ballast is full - the wind spills out of the sails before I can get the windows under water - I have tried.

Good catch, BOAT. I have tried on my X too, but didn't get there. And it has a smaller main sail.

A favorite place to sit on my A7.0 (A23 with external rudder) was on the low side, as you could dangle your hand in the water while relaxing in the vee formed by the seat and backrest/coaming. Didn't help to keep the boat upright of course, with the rail meat on the low side, but it wasn't a race boat, so whatever puts a grin on your face is good.

[Highlander]

If u knew someone who knows how to sail dinghies & operate power boats with lots of experience , they would be an ideal crew member for u & be able to teach u a lot , some yacht clubs & marina,s sometimes have people who have that experience but no longer own a boat for what ever reason ! , but r always lookin to crew on someone,s boat for free , check out the add boards @ these places

when I had my I had this 71 yr old guy left a note on my boat saying I notice u mostly SAIL alone, left me his ph # asked me if I ever needed or want a experienced crew member on board for company to give him a call , told him we could meet and go out for a sail & see how it went, turn out he was a Scotsman like myself he ended coming out sailing with me 2-3 times a month for about 3yrs , he had sailed on 17ft to 38ft sail boats for over 55yrs as a volunteering crew member that,s how he got to learn how to sail & never owned a boat !
we had some good sailing together until his health started to fail .


J

[Highlander]

I have done it before many times on my old A23 but on my M boat it's not possible if the ballast is full - the wind spills out of the sails before I can get the windows under water - I have tried.

Good catch, BOAT. I have tried on my X too, but didn't get there. And it has a smaller main sail.

A favorite place to sit on my A7.0 (A23 with external rudder) was on the low side, as you could dangle your hand in the water while relaxing in the vee formed by the seat and backrest/coaming. Didn't help to keep the boat upright of course, with the rail meat on the low side, but it wasn't a race boat, so whatever puts a grin on your face is good.

I have no problem or issues burying the rail & stern & lower port windows in nice swells
http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab1/ ... 11-3-1.jpg

burying the bow
http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab1/ ... 4942-1.jpg

raising the bow
http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab1/ ... 4942-4.jpg

making water falls from my genny
http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab1/ ... 0_2494.jpg

J

[WASP18]

Highlander:

Nice videos! I noticed you don't raise your motor when sailing. Why is that?

[jasonsjwou]

Highlander:

Oh My God. That'll scare the S**T out of me and my family. No way I'd be able to do that.
And you have TWO jibs!!! You can't get enough power or something???? my gosh. How fast can you move?


dlandersson:

I have 150% genoa on roller furling. It is infinitely easier to just unroll the genoa (than raising the mainsail). May be I'll try that next time I'm out.
I had water ballast in completely (I can touch the water on the vent hole). Does this leak out if the boat is left on the water for a week or two?

I found out that it is very cumbersome to raise the main sail. When I insert the rope (inside the head of mainsail) into the slot, it jams often.
I've been told that I need to screw in some slugs (tracks?) and that'll make raising the mainsail much easier, and I also need a roller feeder(?). How do I get these installed??

[Chinook]

I found out that it is very cumbersome to raise the main sail. When I insert the rope (inside the head of mainsail) into the slot, it jams often.
I've been told that I need to screw in some slugs (tracks?) and that'll make raising the mainsail much easier, and I also need a roller feeder(?). How do I get these installed??

You might want to try a product called Sailkote Dry Lubricant. It comes in an aerosol can and is designed to lubricate things like mast tracks. Unlike most lubricants, it doesn't attract dirt and grime, and it really does enable the mainsail to be raised and lowered easier.

[Catigale]

Highlander:

Nice videos! I noticed you don't raise your motor when sailing. Why is that?

Close hauled or running I don't see any speed difference between motor up or down more than the resolution of my GPS of 0.1 mph

On a beam reach, I've seen 0.1-0.2 mph difference.

Others swear they see 1-2 mph difference.

YMMV.

[dlandersson]

Yoiur water ballast should not be leaking out. The boats are pretty fullproof. The water ballast means that Mac's are "tender" - the boats heel a bit ('cause the water weight is up "high" at the bottom of the boat, rather than at a bulb 4-6 feet down in the water) then stiffen up as gravity kicks in and tries to pull the water weight back into the water. So they heel quickly for 10-15 degrees, then stiffen up.

Something I use (no financial interest) is Bill EZ cleats (http://www.boats4sail.info/optional-items.html), very handy for managing the Genoa. And (especially in 12+ knot winds) the Mac does just fine with just the Genoa. I was surprised (and impressed) to see speeds up to 5.6 last Monday. And they heel less.

On a nice calm day, try some sail kote on your main's lines (all your lines, really). Like others, I highly recommend it.

Here's another account of heeling in high winds in a Mac:

http://www.sailingtipsea.com/2015/07/re ... l?spref=fb

Highlander:

Oh My God. That'll scare the S**T out of me and my family. No way I'd be able to do that.
And you have TWO jibs!!! You can't get enough power or something???? my gosh. How fast can you move?


dlandersson:

I have 150% genoa on roller furling. It is infinitely easier to just unroll the genoa (than raising the mainsail). May be I'll try that next time I'm out.
I had water ballast in completely (I can touch the water on the vent hole). Does this leak out if the boat is left on the water for a week or two?

I found out that it is very cumbersome to raise the main sail. When I insert the rope (inside the head of mainsail) into the slot, it jams often.
I've been told that I need to screw in some slugs (tracks?) and that'll make raising the mainsail much easier, and I also need a roller feeder(?). How do I get these installed??

[Highlander]

Highlander:

Nice videos! I noticed you don't raise your motor when sailing. Why is that?

It,s because my Merc. 75HP 4 stroke 1735cc big block will not fit under the helm,s seat unless I lift it up , so I just don,t bother

J