MacGregorSailors.com

Yes, our boat "La Perla Noir" had a custom designed weighted keel. This was designed by Todd and Roger MacGregor at the factory and many tests were done to both the keel and the hull. I would not recommend adding this to a standard factory boat because the daggerboard trunk and the hull in our boat was substancially reinforced. You can read all about this boat on our web site www.bwyachts.com. It is an interesting read. Our goal was to make the boat sail better in light wind, the results were that the boat could carry more sail area in heavy wind. Exactly the opposite of what we really wanted! In heavy wind the boat was a rocket ship, and could point high! In light wind it was a little slower than a standard boat due to the extra weight and drag of the keel. Didn't care....had lots of fun! Also, from my point of view to raise the keel was more difficult for me when sailing with just the kids. I know it is fun to make mods to the boat but this one I would leave alone and if the wind picks up just reef!

Just reef, and relax your course!
I have been on much faster boats that can point much higher but when you point the boat that high it slows down. I just end up backing off the wind a bit and taking an extra tack which makes me go faster and get there before the other guy anyway. While some guy is beating the hull out of his boat to point that last degree I'm slowly going by faster because I am NOT pointing so high, yeah, I gotta make a tack at the end to get back to finish, but by then I'm SO far ahead that last tack hardly matters anymore.

We used to plot it on a chart during the regatta to get the location for the turn right there on the spot! The math is easy! Now with the ipad on board you can do it on google maps! You just draw two courses on the chart, one for the straight line at 5 knots and one with the tack leg in it at 6 knots and then calculate the time required to cover the distance for each course and adjust your tack to get the best location for the turn.

We have done a lot of bench test runs and found 'boat' is WAY FASTER at 15 to 20 degree heel than it is at 20 to 30 degrees. The plowing sucks a full 1 to 2 knots. And it does it to most other boats too, (only not as badly. Pointing high is sometimes overrated because it's not always needed.

I am always out in the ocean so that may really jade my opinion because I do not need to navigate real tight spaces like most of you guys seem to require because of all the dangerous inland waterways and straights you folks seem to frequent. That's professional stuff navigating those waters, but really, out here it's all wide open, no real need to point that high.

thanks guys,
great info all round.
i really hear you on the high weight when motoring- valid point.
will leave it be.
my only concern was to improve righting ability, the rest was not a real concern.
but thanks for all the feedback
cheers

U can always try it with just adding sand to ur D/B , if u want to see the diff, then just wash it out afterwards ,
My boat is loaded heavy & I have no issues even cutter rigged with standard D/B
http://s844.photobucket.com/user/TheHig ... 4.mp4.html

http://s844.photobucket.com/user/TheHig ... 5.mp4.html

J
PS if keep more weight in the bow she will cut through the waves better

U can always try it with just adding sand to ur D/B , if u want to see the diff, then just wash it out afterwards

Sand wouldn't be dense enough, Its less than 2x water density, while lead is over 11x. You could only fit about a few pounds more sand than the water it replaces.

I like what Highlander said, I'm going to put all my fresh water tanks in the front so I can weigh down the front end like that. Putting a lot of weight in the front for heavy seas is a GREAT idea - I never thought of that. It also will make the boat faster under power.

Really, the only drawback to Highlanders suggestion is the loss of speed under sail - in light winds the MAC needs the weight to the rear, and in any type of wind you will slow down if the nose is heavy, but in a rough sea who gives a hull! On a long ocean going trip to the channel islands or catalina I could load up on fresh water and cut the chop better, on a little trip I would not need the water and I have a choice to dump the fresh water overboard if for some reason I feel the need to go faster.

I have seen picture of Highlander burying the cockpit gunnels and on our boats that's a sure fire way to round up too early - I think added weight in the nose would help that too on our boats that are lighter than Highlanders boat.

I wonder if that would work?

BOAT wrote: I have seen picture of Highlander burying the cockpit gunnels and on our boats that's a sure fire way to round up too early - I think added weight in the nose would help that too on our boats that are lighter than Highlanders boat.

I think most combat vehicles are lighter than Highlander's boat

I have my 4ft bowsprit & double anchor roller , two S/S claw "Bruce" anchors with 250ft 1/2" rode & 50ft 1/4" chain , fluke anchor & 150ft 3/8" rode 15ft 1/4 chain , windlass , windlass/house battery + storage all in the bow & now just add my 4th furler a profurl spinnaker furler for my drifter on the end of my sprit , just finished installing it a week ago in my driveway will post pics soon I also carry a lot of hardware under the seat across from the head thats still to be installed when ever I get the time

J

Oh Yeah, and he pulls the whole thing on a single axle trailer too just like the rest of us! I have seen the pictures!

It's pretty incredible.

& now just add my 4th furler a profurl spinnaker furler for my drifter on the end of my sprit

Hey J!

I installed a Profurl for a gennaker on a Beneteau 34 a few weeks ago. A very impressive setup in use (not just at the boat show demos). Have used it several times – it does get better with each use as the memory in the high modulus line gets fixed.

-B

mastreb wrote:That's awesome! The autohelm must be key to this. The Mac is so wondery that just a second's glance off the prize and you're ten degrees off on the helm.

But no, Mike wasn't claiming better than 30 degrees.

Sorry, should have also mentioned, but I keep forgetting what I have....
I replaced the stock rudders with these long ago


High performance Macgregor 26M rudder blades feature a foiled design to improve the boat's handing while under sail. Improvements include reduced helm effort, better pointing, improved tacking in light air and improved downwind speed.

http://www.ruddercraft.com/catalog/prod ... cts_id=116

Had the boat 7 years
Forget what I have....

Until I used these, I was having issues pointing

Have to also mention that was when I was using a FF2 with 150 Genny

So that would also make a big diff to my current setup of hank-on jib and IDA rudders

Hey Bean!!

I have a hard time about the 750 bucks on the rudders, I really want to be convinced - I will buy them too - do they really really work? It sounds like such a great thing! I wonder why no one has ever mentioned super duper rudders for the MAC before. I WANT super duper rudders but only if they really are SUPER and DUPER!

Will they make 'boat' go faster in all tacks or is there any pro's or cons?

What's the catch? What do I have to give up on the performance side to get the benefits of these rudders? It sounds too good to be true. I have contacted the rudder guy in the website and I sent an email to Todd and his wife at BWY too - I want to know why they are holding out on us if there is a really improved rudder for the MAC.

Thanks for telling me about it - I had no idea there was a better rudder for the MAC than the one we have.

BOAT wrote:I have a hard time about the 750 bucks on the rudders, I really want to be convinced - I will buy them too - do they really really work? It sounds like such a great thing! I wonder why no one has ever mentioned super duper rudders for the MAC before.

I've known about those rudders for a while and also question $750 worth of performance gain. With the M, it seems alignment is the biggest performance issue. You can't align them without bending metal.
And why didn't Roger look at making better rudders? The stock rudders are foil shaped and seem undersized, but not poorly designed.
*shrug*
Might invest in them someday.

These were on my boat when I got it, though the PO had them on backwards (foil shaped, with thin edge leading when down).



This is what most of the boats seem to have.



What I don't know is whether or not the ones on my boat are a newer style, or aftermarket, like from IdaSailor.