MacGregor at Auction- bent mast?

[jmillski1]

Hello all! Years ago I had been looking at MacGregors because I thought the idea of a powersailer was amazing. I gave it up but recently our local habitat for humanity had an 05 26m donated and went up for auction. I ended up getting the winning bid at 16k. I am fully inspecting this this now and the outside is dirty but in decent shape, the interior has held up well. BUT I am wondering if the mast is warped. I have included a picture and it just may be that it is flexible and bends without mud-support but wanted to see what everyone thought. We are new to sailing and excited about this. I am also curious as to what everyone thinks of this price. Thank you!

[DaveC426913]

The mast is supposed to be bent (albeit the other way) during normal ops, so I wouldn't get alarmed just from the pic.


I got an for more than that; I'd have checked out an for that price for sure.

[Jimmyt]

It is flexible, and that pic shows the mast rotated somewhat - presenting a weaker section to the load. I wouldn't panic until you have a chance to rotate the mast to vertical and give it another look. It does droop slightly without a mid support.

Also, stepping the mast will give you the best idea of whether it's badly bent.

I bought my boat from a guy who didn't use a center support. On the way home from purchase, my buddy asked "can you see the mast"? I said, no. He said, "good, you don't want to see what it's doing". Built a center support shortly after. Built an improved one in the last couple of years.

It's probably ok.

[NiceAft]

jmillski1,

The previous advise is all good, just don’t forget to be aware of tire condition.

Regardless of tread depth, you may wish to consider replacement based on the age of the tires.

This will help in determining the age of each of the three tires.
https://m.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/t ... ?techid=11

[Tomfoolery]

The furler and sail, which are quite heavy, are also hanging off that mast. Which has no mid-span support. I'd be worried if it didn't have that bend.

My mid-span support is just a pair of 2x4's, with the ends mitered at 45 degrees, and facing each other on the flat (glued and/or screwed) to make a vee. A couple of stainless eye bolts, one on each side of the mast, allows for a bungie cord over top of the mast to the support. It sits on the mast tabernacle, and never moves while traveling. Others have used PVC pipe, but the flat sides of the X mast are a nice fit for the vee of the support.

Not a great picture, but it's the first one I could find showing the support in place.

[Russ]

Welcome to the forum. You will love that boat. It looks to be in great shape.
All great answers above. As per tradition, you buy pizza. Extra cheese and pepperoni would be nice.

One winter I checked on the boat cover to find the mid mast support popped out and the snow load had the mast pressed to the deck. I thought "I'm buying a new mast, it's toast." After shoveling the snow off, the mast popped back to shape. I wouldn't worry.

[Jimmyt]

As far as feedback on the price is concerned, we'll need pics of the motor, interior, condition assessment of motor;sail inventory and condition to give you an idea.

Since you have the steel trailer, check the members and welds carefully. Check the tongue section very carefully. Depending on how it was stored and used, the tongue member may be held together with paint...

If you have decent sails, a useable trailer, a running motor of 50hp or more, and the boat is in good shape, you did pretty good. More importantly, you did a good thing for a worthwhile charity, so double good.

Russ is excited because he has a new blue-hull buddy.

Welcome to the forum, and congratulations on your purchase!

[NiceAft]

I am also curious as to what everyone thinks of this price.

As far as feedback on the price is concerned, we'll need pics of the motor, interior, condition assessment of motor;sail inventory and condition to give you an idea.

With a risk of offending (I hope I don't), don't worry about this. The money has been spent, just move forward.

If you are concerned about a price on something you are about to purchase, ask then

[jmillski1]

Thank you everyone! They thankfully allowed me to take it to a marine shop to ensure the engine runs and I just got word it needs a new impeller but otherwise runs great. She definitely needs a good bath but I am extremely excited for my son and I to get into sailing now.

One question I have for everyone here, there is a musky almost mold smell within the cabin – it is not horrible at all, it reminds me of an old pop-up camper we used to have. What is the best remedy other than taking out cushions and mattresses to help you get rid of this? Can you somehow wash the carpeting that is mounted to the walls?

[NiceAft]

The boat definitely needs a good drying out, and I don't know what you can do while there is still water (frozen or liquid) in all different nook and crannies.

I see no reason removing all cushions is a bad idea.

If you have put a tarp over the boat, you can still run a fan in the cabin to keep air flowing until you can seriously get to work.

[Democritus]

I like to keep at least one of these open in the boat at all times and also try to remember to keep at least a few of the interior bilge/storage covers open when not in use so air can circulate down there.

[Jimmyt]

One question I have for everyone here, there is a musky almost mold smell within the cabin – it is not horrible at all, it reminds me of an old pop-up camper we used to have. What is the best remedy other than taking out cushions and mattresses to help you get rid of this? Can you somehow wash the carpeting that is mounted to the walls?

It's a fiberglass boat with a fiberglass liner. You can wash it, but you need to have a way to dry it afterward. You can do more harm than good with water in the boat in wintertime- my opinion. Possibly what Ray was getting at above. Also, I'd advise you to get a flashlight and look in the bilge area to see if there is a mold bloom somewhere. The fuzzy liner may be the issue, but it wouldn't be my first guess. Richard (ris) had a mold bloom in his foam flotation under the v-birth if I recall correctly. If you smell mold, chances are, you have a visible bloom somewhere. If you've had water in the bilge, lots of dark, wet spots for it to grow.

If you feel the need to do something with the fuzzy liner now, I'd spray fog it with concrobium and give it time to dry. Then you can go over it with a shop vac. I would avoid saturating it with water, or even concrobium until it's warmer.

Once it's warmer, you can wet vac the interior and bilge after washing and get it mostly dry. A spring day with low humidity would be ideal.

The quicker you get it clean and dry, the better.

[jmillski1]

D193E7CF-E072-4D79-BA10-663F6749682B.jpeg

Thank you, I’m familiar with the moisture absorbing buckets for our basement but just ordered 2 for the boat. A newbies questions keep coming: I just went to check on it at the marina and noted the top of the mast has a significant defect. I did notice that this area was actually contacting the side of the warehouse where it was on display prior to bidding. But it looks like there is decent damage to the top of the mast. What do you all think?

[Tomfoolery]

Did the M even have a mast cap originally? I don't think it did, but BWY sells caps if you want one.