Buying a 1989 26D

A forum for discussing topics relating to older MacGregor/Venture sailboats.
TrailerTrash
Deckhand
Posts: 46
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2024 2:52 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26D
Location: Puget Sound

Re: Buying a 1989 26D

Post by TrailerTrash »

The new LiFePO4 battery arrived today. A full 100aH and it is tiny compared to the lead acid monster I pulled out. A full 35lbs less than the lead acid monster and a massive improvement in capacity and cycle life.

As with everything in this brave new age, you can see capacity, discharge rates, and all the other parameters directly from your phone.


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tuxonpup
Deckhand
Posts: 27
Joined: Fri Oct 25, 2024 10:37 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Tucson AZ

Re: Buying a 1989 26D

Post by tuxonpup »

TrailerTrash wrote: Sat Jan 18, 2025 1:55 pm The new LiFePO4 battery arrived today. A full 100aH and it is tiny compared to the lead acid monster I pulled out. A full 35lbs less than the lead acid monster and a massive improvement in capacity and cycle life.

As with everything in this brave new age, you can see capacity, discharge rates, and all the other parameters directly from your phone.


Image
Nice, that mini battery size is great. Our new LiFePO4's case is huge, but it is lightweight. I just got in a couple 40A fuses yesterday to put between the batteries and the DC-DC converter/controller. I was going to mount everything but the batteries on a poly cutting board, but thinking of getting one of these junction boxes to screw all the connections down inside and then just mounting our new master switch panel directly to it's outside:

https://www.amazon.com/Zulkit-Waterproo ... r=1-7&th=1

But maybe I'm just overly adverse to cutting any holes in the stock 26X liner...
1996 Macgregor 26X w/ Nissan 50hp 2-stroke
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Be Free
Admiral
Posts: 1592
Joined: Fri Nov 23, 2012 6:08 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Steinhatchee, FL

Re: Buying a 1989 26D

Post by Be Free »

Cutting the first hole is the hardest. :cry:

I don't know if this will be of use to you but perhaps it will apply to someone...

I mounted a sheet of plywood (cut to fit) on the back side of the head facing into the aft berth along with one hole in the corner (covered by the cushion) that all of the wires pass through. I was able to reuse all of holes from the bolts that connect the head to the liner so no new holes there.

By mounting most of my DC components to that board I've been able to avoid new holes (except screw holes in the plywood) for a couple of years now even though I've made a lot of changes during that time.
Bill
2001 26X Simple Interest
Honda BF40D
"If I were in a hurry I would not have bought a sailboat." Me
TrailerTrash
Deckhand
Posts: 46
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2024 2:52 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26D
Location: Puget Sound

Re: Buying a 1989 26D

Post by TrailerTrash »

tuxonpup wrote: Sat Jan 18, 2025 6:55 pm
TrailerTrash wrote: Sat Jan 18, 2025 1:55 pm The new LiFePO4 battery arrived today. A full 100aH and it is tiny compared to the lead acid monster I pulled out. A full 35lbs less than the lead acid monster and a massive improvement in capacity and cycle life.

As with everything in this brave new age, you can see capacity, discharge rates, and all the other parameters directly from your phone.


Image
Nice, that mini battery size is great. Our new LiFePO4's case is huge, but it is lightweight. I just got in a couple 40A fuses yesterday to put between the batteries and the DC-DC converter/controller. I was going to mount everything but the batteries on a poly cutting board, but thinking of getting one of these junction boxes to screw all the connections down inside and then just mounting our new master switch panel directly to it's outside:

https://www.amazon.com/Zulkit-Waterproo ... r=1-7&th=1

But maybe I'm just overly adverse to cutting any holes in the stock 26X liner...
I was going to move mine to behind the electrical panel but I'm rethinking access. I ordered replacement navigation lights on Amazon, and some 16AWG marine wire so I'll just replace all the stock MacGregor lamp cord. Hopefully, I can just tape it together and pull the new wire through the liner as I'm removing the old. I doubt it will be that easy but there is always hope, and now I'll have properly tinned marine wire.
TrailerTrash
Deckhand
Posts: 46
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2024 2:52 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26D
Location: Puget Sound

Re: Buying a 1989 26D

Post by TrailerTrash »

I finalized buying 95% of the goodies for my Mac26D refit today.


My Autopilot arrived this week too. It has been too cold to do any of the fiberglass work so I've mainly been wet sanding the hull and cleaning her out and doing a lot of thinking about how I'm going to mount the various bits.

The only thing I still need to purchase at this point, is the deck hardware and I wanted to get feedback from anyone who cares to give it.

For rope clutches I was going to do two of these:

https://www.mauripro.com/products/lew29 ... 8866801970

For a deck organizers, a pair of these.

https://www.mauripro.com/products/lew29 ... 8377870642

And to mount above the daggerboard:

https://www.mauripro.com/products/sel40 ... 7691315506
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Stickinthemud57
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Sailboat: MacGregor 26S
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Re: Buying a 1989 26D

Post by Stickinthemud57 »

The Lewman clutches are super! They leave all the older designs in the dust.

Those deck organizers look nice and trim and the price is good.

I have no experience with the deck block, but the specs look like they are well-suited for the load.

It's been fun following your saga. Keep posting!
The key to inner peace is to admit you have a problem and leave it at that.
TrailerTrash
Deckhand
Posts: 46
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2024 2:52 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26D
Location: Puget Sound

Re: Buying a 1989 26D

Post by TrailerTrash »

Stickinthemud57 wrote: Fri Jan 31, 2025 1:53 pm The Lewman clutches are super! They leave all the older designs in the dust.

Those deck organizers look nice and trim and the price is good.

I have no experience with the deck block, but the specs look like they are well-suited for the load.

It's been fun following your saga. Keep posting!
I'll have some pictures once the weather warms and work moves forward. ;-)
TrailerTrash
Deckhand
Posts: 46
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2024 2:52 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26D
Location: Puget Sound

Re: Buying a 1989 26D

Post by TrailerTrash »

Parts are filtering in, and I'm anxiously awaiting warm weather to work on the boat.

The Rolly Tasker Main & hank-on Big Jib along with the Stackpack for the main storage on the boom.

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Assortment of parts. I'm impressed with the quality of the Garhauer blocks. I was also trying to figure out how I was going to run a line for my daggerboard back to the cockpit and Todd to the rescue, pulled the stock 26M part out of the bin, and that worked perfectly.

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Some new LED running lights, and the quick rig parts, of which I'm not 100% certain where they all go yet.

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The electronics package, which isn't complete yet because I need to buy a VHF but I have the simple depth meter, which doesn't share data with anything. The Wind Instrument and the HAL 9000 Autopilot, all the way from the Netherlands. It arrived faster than most of the things from this side of the pond.

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The Boomkicker is very nicely made. If it works half as nice as it looks, I'll be thrilled.

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And the final boat candy of the day, the LiFePO4 battery with Bluetooth connectivity showing the state of charge, discharge rate, and other functions that I don't need.

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Jimmyt
Admiral
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Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 9:52 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
Location: Mobile AL 2013 26M, 60 Etec

Re: Buying a 1989 26D

Post by Jimmyt »

That’s quite a haul! You’ve got some great projects lined up there!
Jimmyt
P-Cub-Boo
2013 26M, Etec 60, roller Genoa, roller main
Cruising Waters: Mobile Bay, Western Shore, Fowl River
TrailerTrash
Deckhand
Posts: 46
Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2024 2:52 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26D
Location: Puget Sound

Re: Buying a 1989 26D

Post by TrailerTrash »

Jimmyt wrote: Wed Feb 12, 2025 7:59 pm That’s quite a haul! You’ve got some great projects lined up there!
I enjoy working on the boat so it is a labor of love. I got to climb around on Todd & Cheryl's 26D, which is the same year as mine to check out how they had it set up. He rescued that one from sitting in the water for a decade and has it looking tip-top. I don't have indoor storage for mine but I think I can get mine looking as good.
tuxonpup
Deckhand
Posts: 27
Joined: Fri Oct 25, 2024 10:37 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Tucson AZ

Re: Buying a 1989 26D

Post by tuxonpup »

We just got our Lite Skin 26X main sail this week! Was hoping for some higher temperatures next weekend when I'm off for four days, but that's not the direction it's trending...


Image
1996 Macgregor 26X w/ Nissan 50hp 2-stroke
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Stickinthemud57
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Re: Buying a 1989 26D

Post by Stickinthemud57 »

Trash,

I envy you (to an extent).

While I doubt I will ever entirely run out of mods and projects, all the big ones are done.

Enjoy your "labor of love"!
The key to inner peace is to admit you have a problem and leave it at that.
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