Got the 26x, took it out for the first time. OOPS!

[Captain Steve]

I agree with Duane...in fact I stand in front of the pedistal facing the stern and then just steer the helm in the direction you want to go...real intuitive, facing the rear the steering lines up. The bow just follows. The throttle is mounted so up is forward and down is reverse...works great facing aft also. With the rudders now steering the "front" it swings easily.

Gotta practice though. Observers are more impressed when you back in!

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

Very Interesting ! The advice concerning "backing" is something I havent tried. That may be a solution at my dock. I'm occasionally facing a "head on" South wind when trying to tie up at the pier. It becomes quite an event, and the several comments about backing into my Marina just may be the answer.
Ive watched my Mac X video, and the DVD concerning the "M", and the factory makes it look easy. Especially watching Roger MacGregor backing his Mac X into a Marina using sails only.

[Bill at BOATS 4 SAIL]

Louis - Backing into your slip with a "head on" wind should be a piece of cake.

[Greg]

We stayed at a lake in Ohio last year and rented a finger dock for the week. I never really got comfortable backing into the slip. More often than not the bow would swing to starboard too far then stay at the "cocked angle while it backed up. I could only lower the centerboard so far because of the shallows. Is it best to have 1 or 2 rudders down when backing or both of them up? Good idea on standing forward of the pedestal, maybe that would help.

Greg

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

Ideally you want all 3 fins down full. I always use some centerboard and at least 1 rudder around docks. The motor alone does not have enough surface area to give you control when coasting in neutral.

What you describe is a perfect place for a spring line. Once near the dock set a line from the stern cleat to a cleat on the dock that will be amidships when you are stopped. You don't have to cleat it on the dock, just loop it around as you go by and cleat back on the boat cleat. This will stop your rearward momentum as you cleat and the line goes tight. Then continue to reverse gently against the line. Turn the motor to port (like a forward left turn). Doing this will draw the nose of the boat to the dock bringing you into perfect position to hop off and tie up.

[playmaker]

Hi Nettech, I sail out of Tampa Bay (safety Harbor) and many times when coming in I've had shallow waters (3-4ft) and strong winds.My first time with rudders and CB up I was sliding all over the place couldn't turn at all so went in reverse.(It was reverse or take out a nice 30 ft Hunter) Boat handles better in reverse. After that I just give some board when docking and it handles much better. Anyway next time you go out you'll dock like a pro as you learned the lesson many of us did the first time out. Hope to see you on the water.

[Jeff S]

Backing in works well most of the time, but I found with a 90 off crosswind going in forward is easier for me. I push the bow in vice drag it in. This way I can aim the bow where I want (overcorrecting into the wind side)as it slowly blows across I time it so that it happens as it is entering the slip. Once in the slip the wind and current effects usually recede if there are boats on either side. If I go in stern first like this the bow gets blown past where I want it. I used to back in all the time, then one particular windy day I had to wave off several times backing in- going in bow first I nailed it the first time. I had a similar experience another time.

Currently I am at the end of a dock so it is really easy I pull up bow first and pull out bow first. I have 3 large fenders hanging from the pilings so the boat can bounce off these with no worries. I also have 2 fenders on the boat- but they aren't even needed here. There is only one small piling on the other side of the boat- I have bumped it lightly - but the boats rub rail did a wonderful job.

Jeff S

[ALX357]

ditto on the method Duane uses....
especially the docking in reverse.....
but in shallow water, the centerboard and rudders won't kick up.
need to only let out a bit of centerboard for control in reverse.
also keep moving and use motor to stop.
note if you stand forward of pedestal, and face backwards, looking over the pedestal with the wheel in your hands, you are looking "forward" and can steer inistinctively while docking in reverse.
Being closer to the dock at first contact, exiting the boat onto the dock quickly, and being able to use boat pole is also easier in reverse. You need to get onto the dock before the boat is all the way into the slip to protect the rudders and motor. Plus you get to depart the dock next time facing forward.

[Chinook]

With a few years experience maneuvering to and from docks with the Mac, it still amazes me how much trouble I had on my first time out. We put in on the Columbia River in central Washington. This water is a reservoir, lots of open water, some current. The launch area is notorious for its strong winds. Dead calm when we put in. We went out for a lovely weekend, but on the return run to the ramp, the winds kicked up. It was fairly shallow around the ramp, so I tried coming in with fins up. Mistake # 1. I had trouble lining up with the float, but managed to drop my wife off before swinging out of control. I didn't know if I could get the boat up on the trailer with ballast in, so went back out and drained the tank, then tried coming in with no ballast and no fins. Big mistake #2. Winds strengthening, each approach worse than the one before. I'd start the approach, get near the dock, swing out of control, make a panic reverse and try to get back out before hitting rocks with the prop. Finally managed to ding up the prop before actually getting tied up to the dock. Tried to tilt the motor and it wouldn't tilt. (Turned out a ground wire was not properly connected, but I didn't figure that out until much later). Since I hadn't studied the motor manual sufficiently to know how to manually tilt the motor, I loaded the boat onto the trailer with motor down. The skeg just barely cleared. Time to winch up. New problem. Shallow slope to ramp, and I couldn't back down far enough to pull the boat all the way onto the trailer. I tried running the winch strap further back, and it came off the spool. Getting pretty flustered by this time. Lots of trouble reconnecting the spool and getting it to hold while winching out of the water. Wind up to about 35 mph by this time. Taking the mast down in the dark for the first time was not the speediest operation. After all this, it's a miracle I ever got my wife to go out on the boat again. We don't talk much about that experience. I think I made just about every mistake in the book. Fortunately, survived them without serious damage. When I hear about problems and difficulties on the first time out, it's easy to feel very sympathetic.

[Chip Hindes]

I think I made just about every mistake in the book.

Hardly.

First time out, first mate and me, 10-12 knots of wind, got so excited I forgot to ballast. About the third time I put the rail in the water and spilled some over into the cockpit, I'm thinking, "S__t, what in the world have I done to myself? I paid over $30K for this boat, and this is what happens in 12 knots of wind? This thing is looking like a total freaking deathtrap. Wonder if I can get a refund?"

All of a sudden like a 2x4 upside the head, I flash on "Ballast, you idiot. How many times did you read that in the owners' manual?"

Since then, six years later, everything has been pretty much no problem.

Oh yeah, except the time I'm singlehanding, 10-12 knots of wind again. By then I'd had the boat for maybe three years, and I'm a real pro, nothing can go wrong. Forget the ballast, never again! I pulled the ballast handle to fill, shut the motor down and started sailing; what a great day! Middle of the lake, and the boat starts acting really squirelly and sluggish. What the hull? Then I noticed about 8" of water sloshing around on the cabin sole. Went below, found the open ballast vent, realized the valve was still open, and every time the boat heeled over 10 degrees or so that sucker spewed water about like a 2" fire hose. Closed the valve and vent, hove to, and spent about 45 minutes with a bucket and the Thirsty Mate hand pump; I figure at least 100 gallons.

That's it though.

Oh yeah, except the time...

Get the picture?

[Catigale]

My favourite first season was when the furler was stuck, so I pulled on the clew ring on a 150 genoa with my finger....of course the whole sheebang came out, and there I was, 20kts+ (??) with a 150 genoa attached to my hand....

[Jeff S]

My first time out I forgot to put the ring ding in the forestay pin. Watching the mast fall is a bit surreal. I thought- what a lousy boat- then I realized- what a lousy Captain. (I was able to remast, get the sails out of the water, pin her up correctly and sail).

As Chip was mentioning- there are many more mistakes to make. I'd venture to guess that even all of us here on the board haven't made all the mistakes that you can make on a Mac, or a sailboat in general. Surely we have made many, and definitely the most common.

So if you feel stupid- I bet I can make you feel better with my own shennanigans. After one particularly harrowing experience (involving weather) I told an accomplished sailor friend of mine. He laughed, held out his hand, and said "Congratulations, now you are a sailor."

Jeff S

[Rick Mathews]

I would agree with all that is said above, except to be cautious about having the centerboard down all the way when there is a strong current. We sail in the Columbia River where currents can be very strong. We learned this the hard way during our first Spring docking (when the river current is strongest) a few years ago. We have to make a sharp U-turn to get into our dock space. We came in with the centerboard fully down. The current was so strong that half way through the U-turn the current caught the side of the centerboard, and no amount of power was going to allow us to complete the turn. We got pushed sideways into a line of boats. We were able to fend off, and soon some other folks showed up to help. Fortunately, no boats were harmed in this incident, and everyone was sympathetic while having a good laugh. The incident taught us that in a strong current "quarter board" is better than "full board" down.

[nemo]

Gee, what's wrong with all you guys? I've had my boat a year and never made any dumb mistakes.

Okay, I'll admit that my dumbest mistakes seem to happen in clumps of smaller ones that add up to something bad. For example, It was a light wind day when I put in from a ramp. Got the Suburban parked and ran back down to get the boat out of the way as there were others that wanted space at the pier. In my haste I figured I could back my boat out easy enough without rudders down.

I unleashed the lines and started to back up, just as a side wind picked up. Even though I turned the wheel it had no effect on steering. Just then I realized that I had not attached the motor to the steering arm. I quickly regretted not having my rudders and quickly uncleated the lines to let them done. Mistake #2, I forgot to take the bolts out of the rudders so they wouldn't go down.

Luckily, the BWY steering arm mod quick-connects very easily so I was able to get the motor attached to the steering arm fast enough to avoid further embarrassment (nor damage).

I decided then that I would never skip the quick review of my checklist before heading out - things have been much smoother ever since..

[Brian Russell]

I feel so much better now! I'm lucky I don't have several large holes in the hull, about dock level, from my first few experiences at docking. The Mac is tough. And loading in a cross wind first time-eeK! Practicing in a quiet , secluded bay really helped me get a feel for the control of the boat. And it helps not to have the audience of bass boys...