MacGregorSailors.com

Wind Chime wrote:

mackatt68 wrote: ... not to be a pedantic, but it's a centerboard, not a swing keel. on an X

I stand corrected.
From now on I will refer to the Swing-Keel on our as the Centerboard,
as it is clearly described in my manual on page 17-18. Thanks for making me find the manual, dust it off, and read it again

So with that said ... is the a Centerboard or a Daggerboard

The 26 brochure says "daggerboard".

(Switch to Sailing Anarchy mode)
Nyah, nyah, nyah ... You're dumb and your boat is ugly I want milk and cookies before my nap time WAAAHHH!!!
(For God's sake, Doctor, switch me back!!!!)

... Whew. That was close ... That was DUMB!

Rick Westlake wrote:

Wind Chime wrote:

mackatt68 wrote: ... not to be a pedantic, but it's a centerboard, not a swing keel. on an X

I stand corrected.
From now on I will refer to the Swing-Keel on our as the Centerboard,
as it is clearly described in my manual on page 17-18. Thanks for making me find the manual, dust it off, and read it again

So with that said ... is the a Centerboard or a Daggerboard

The 26 brochure says "daggerboard".

(Switch to Sailing Anarchy mode)
Nyah, nyah, nyah ... You're dumb and your boat is ugly I want milk and cookies before my nap time WAAAHHH!!!
(For God's sake, Doctor, switch me back!!!!)

... Whew. That was close ... That was DUMB!

LOL

O.K. Rick, now you've done it ... you made me read my manual twice in one night.

It looks like maybe even Roger can't figure out what he wants to call it. I checked my manual again, and it says "Centerboard" on page 17. There is no publication dayt on the manual, but we have a 2000X so I assume this is for the 2000 model because it describes the correct ballast vent hole placemnt in the bow instead of under the companionway step.

The X is a centerboard boat as is the 19, the M is a daggerboard boat. The 26' classics came in both flavors as well, often refereed to as 26C and 26D models. These are all the water ballast boats.

The difference being that the centerboards pivot at a fixed point up into a shallow recessed trunk in the bottom of the hull, while the daggerboards are raised and lowered vertically in a trunk that runs right through the middle of the boat from the deck to the bottom of the hull. The centerboard boats have a completely open interior, while the daggerboard boats have better sailing performance. Centerboards will also pivot up on their own if they strike something, unlike a daggerboard.

All the earlier Ventures and MacGregors had weighted (cast iron) swing keels.

Someday I will get the guts to grind off the turning bullseye on the deck and replace with a block on my centreboard

Kelly Hanson East wrote:Someday I will get the guts to grind off the turning bullseye on the deck and replace with a block on my centreboard

With the steel cable, the mast-tabernacle bullseye is quite adequate. No sheave to seize, and wear was insignificant.

... Or do you mean you have a bullseye instead of a turning block beside the hatch-slider track?

I'm convinced the steel cable was the original spec. It is a little more expensive, a little more work, and it requires the right tool for the Nicopress eyes; that could explain its disappearance from, I assume, later model years.
(Remembering the steel cable and 2:1 purchase under the V-berth on my Mac 19)

Ive got a real block on the track, but a bullseye just abaft the mast...thats the one I dont like.

You can install an exit block right next to the CB deck hole, and leave the small stainless steel factory pin-post in place. The line or cable can easily pass at a slight angle over the steel pin, and then over the sheeve at nearly 90 degrees. I did bend the loop above the pin slightly to the side as shown in the photo.
If I had found a readily available block that could straddle the hole, with a wide base and a large open space or hole in the base for the line, that could have worked without using the pin, if one side of the sheeve was directly over the hole, However, mounting the block to the side allows leaving the factory hardware unmodified, the hole is not obstructed, and the added block takes most of the angle.

Rick Westlake wrote:

Kelly Hanson East wrote:...If you know your line is getting frayed or is old, it would be a cinch to replace it on trailer BEFORE IT BREAKS...

I'd just add one tiny refinement: Run the new line from the top down. Let gravity help you here.

(But I'm still glad I replaced mine with stainless-steel cable.)

As of yesterday, I'm no longer so sure ...

I lost the bolt through the centerboard on my way home, across the Chesapeake Bay, from St. Michaels. I discovered it when I pulled on the line and the eye-splice on the upper end of the cable pulled clear back to the cam-cleat.

When I dropped the pivot-fork, I found that the bolt was missing. My guess is that the lock-nut had backed off of the screw - which I use as a noun, but what this did to me becomes the verb, doesn't it?

I have replaced the bolt, but I noticed that the cable shows some corrosion and "meathooks" - especially around the lower eye-splice. This, despite the fact that I keep the boat up on its trailer between cruises - that is to say, at least 90% of the time.

When I replaced the bolt this time, I used a somewhat-longer screw - enough to show a couple of threads above the Nylock portion of the lock-nut - and I hammered down the end of the screw, enough (hopefully) to keep it from backing itself off for quite a while. But the thought of those meathooks on my new cable ... lead me to realize that I'll be replacing that cable sometime soon; and I'd better consider Sta-Set to the centerboard itself!

ALX, if that block doesn't interfere with lowering the mast - it's high on my list of "next mods". What block, from whom, did you use?

ALX357 wrote: You can install an exit block right next to the CB deck hole, and leave the small stainless steel factory pin-post in place.

Do you have a spec/Mfg. part number for that block? I like the way you did that and would like to install one on our boat. That information would make it much easier to locate and order the block.

Ivan Awfulitch wrote:

ALX357 wrote: You can install an exit block right next to the CB deck hole, and leave the small stainless steel factory pin-post in place.

Do you have a spec/Mfg. part number for that block? I like the way you did that and would like to install one on our boat. That information would make it much easier to locate and order the block.

I've been discussing this with ALX357 ... he didn't remember make or model, but that white sheave looks like a Schafer. I'm pretty sure it's the Schafer 200-31 fairlead block. At any rate, that's what I'm going to get for Bossa Nova.

I have three final questions on this:

1. Please confirm the line length and diameter is: 20 feet of 5/16 line.
2. What is the best stopper knot to use at the keel that won't foul. Figure Eight?
3. What is the best silicon/sealant to use on the inside bracket bolt, once it is back in.

Thanks guys! Putting together my shopping list for the spring "Fix-List".

Rick Westlake wrote:

Rick Westlake wrote:

Kelly Hanson East wrote:...I My guess is that the lock-nut had backed off of the screw -

All,
As to self locking nuts, the rule in the aircraft world (I finished building about 60% of a GlassAir and built/flew an ultralight for a while – both stories for another day) is that when a self locking nut is properly torqued there should be between 1 and 3 threads showing. Less than 1 and the nut might back off and more than 3 is excess weight and/or might indicate the bolt is not the proper grip range. Self locking nuts can be reused a few times, but if they can turned by hand they should be discarded and replaced.

Seems to apply to boats,

Dan

Wind Chime wrote:I have three final questions on this:

1. Please confirm the line length and diameter is: 20 feet of 5/16 line.
2. What is the best stopper knot to use at the keel that won't foul. Figure Eight?
3. What is the best silicon/sealant to use on the inside bracket bolt, once it is back in.

Thanks guys! Putting together my shopping list for the spring "Fix-List".

3. I didn't put any more sealant on the inside hanger-bracket bolt, and I didn't find any trace of moisture around the bolt the second time I dropped the hanger.

2. Figure-Eight is correct. I drilled a second hole through my C/B, so I could thread the line through and back from the port side (where the depression is). And I used a butane torch to sear and seal that knot, so it won't come undone EVER.

1. I used twenty feet on my new line, and it's a couple of feet "too long." You might get by with eighteen feet, but better too long a line than too short!

And "zero" - I wish I hadn't used stainless-steel cable the first time I replaced my C/B pendant (in July 09). Using Sta-Set from the first would have saved me replacing the pendant AGAIN, with all Sta-Set, in September 09!

CB knot need only be a simple granny knot. A figure eight knot may be too large. The granny will be secure.


On edit.... but my line is 3/8ths....

I noticed my nut was a bit loose, and as a consequence there are some gouge marks up the inside of the cb trunk
Can't say I like the attachment 'design'. Be careful to avoid this!