MacGregorSailors.com

BOAT wrote:

dive4it wrote:I would like something I can leave on the mast when i trailer the boat - something like an ultrasonic wind sensor - I just can't get to the top of the mast on the trailer without carrying around a huge ladder.

I'm the opposite. I would like something I can easily and quickly remove from the mast (because I don't this the wind instrument likes being bounced around or dragged through the air at 110Klm/H!!). I can do this easily with the SailTimer's, single bolt fitting and no wires.

Boat, No ladder required .... Once the mast is lowered I put a piece of soft wood across (on top of) the bow rails. I then pull the mast forward and rest it right on top of the wood/bow rails, a couple of feet past the crutch. Then I go to the back, climb over the helm seat (unless it's open) and stand on top of my OB cowl. The instrument is just above my head and easily reached

All the best.
Neo

Tomfoolery wrote:. . . to medium tech.
(just couldn't help myself)

Good on ya Tom !! .... But you understand that this is just an early indication of HighTech things to come

I don't know if it's just my inexperience, my lack of sensitivity or the Bimini but I'm just no good at sensing wind direction .... Others onboard have looked at me like I'm crazy when I've tried to steer to the wind.... that not coming for there
When I sailed on a friends Magnum, a few weeks back, it had a smart Raymarine Wind gauge which made sailing so much easier for me.

Neo wrote:I'm the opposite. I would like something I can easily and quickly remove from the mast (because I don't this the wind instrument likes being bounced around or dragged through the air at 110Klm/H!!). I can do this easily with the SailTimer's, single bolt fitting and no wires.

Boat, No ladder required .... Once the mast is lowered I put a piece of soft wood across (on top of) the bow rails. I then pull the mast forward and rest it right on top of the wood/bow rails, a couple of feet past the crutch. Then I go to the back, climb over the helm seat (unless it's open) and stand on top of my OB cowl. The instrument is just above my head and easily reached

All the best.
Neo

Bolt fitting.... you mean tools? The Wind Sailor mast head slips off very easily with two thumb nuts, the wire is a cannon type connector that twist off. The whole operation takes about 30 seconds. It does not loose calibration during set up or tear down. The nice thing is the whole system is designed around the Macgregor 26M and has been time tested with years of ocean and inland lake operations. It's a real sailing instrument.
http://www.flyorsail.com/Wind_Sailor_Installation.html

Chris.

u12fly wrote:.... you mean tools?

Well actually no. You can use a wing nut (as I do) or those plastic/nylon thumb nuts ... Just need to buy them thats all

u12fly wrote:.... It does not loose calibration

Sailtimer doesn't need any calibration.

For me that ali frame at the top of my mast would be a worry and an eyesore!
Tried, tested or not. It needs updating and made much smaller for my liking, sorry.

I need someone to help me get the wire down the mast - when I can get some help with that I guess I will have to decide to buy something - so far the Pegasus unit is still in the top of the running.

I just can't decide if I should run a conduit of some kind down the mast for future - I need to prepare the mast for a wind instrument first no matter what I decide to buy so I need to get that done first. I'm thinking of putting a camera up there too (and NO neo, I am NOT going to remove the camera every time I trailer the boat! ) at least I sure would like to not need to do that oh man, I hate adding more hassle to trailering! I got a trailer boat with the rule that I would not complicate the trailering process! The biggest mistake trailer boat owners make is they dodgy up the whole process so it takes so long to set up that they give up on the boat.

Boat : Depending on the year of your MAC, you may of may not want conduit.

The later years (2006-though the Tattoo 26's) all use the smaller mast. You can tell you have the smaller mast via the mast gate. The older Mac have the sail slot spread apart for feeding the sail (or sail slugs) in. The later models have a cut in the side of the mast. The older 2003-2006 26M's have their mast plugged with 2 sets of expanding foam. Those need a conduit (which is really not that hard to put in). The later model boats have foam blocks inside the mast... the foam leaves space in the aft corners of the mast to slip cables down easily.

Chris.

u12fly wrote:Boat : Depending on the year of your MAC, you may of may not want conduit.

The later years (2006-though the Tattoo 26's) all use the smaller mast. You can tell you have the smaller mast via the mast gate. The older Mac have the sail slot spread apart for feeding the sail (or sail slugs) in. The later models have a cut in the side of the mast. The older 2003-2006 26M's have their mast plugged with 2 sets of expanding foam. Those need a conduit (which is really not that hard to put in). The later model boats have foam blocks inside the mast... the foam leaves space in the aft corners of the mast to slip cables down easily.

Chris.

"aft corners" So when the mast is down for trailer position we have the "aft" part of the mast facing DOWN, right? If what you say is true a fish tape should be able to push right thru the mast along the "bottom" while the mast is in the crutch?

That does sound easy - you sure there is not foam blocking that "bottom" corner (that is facing down)? I can put a 50 foot tape thru.

What kind of wire do you want me to pull? (or do you supply that?)

Boat:

Yes, when the mast is down, the AFT corners face down. Yes you can slip a fish tape all the way down the mast. If you want to try it one day and prep it, just run a piece of string in there and leave it. The Wind Sailor kits include all the wiring, and cannon type connectors pre-assembled. After you pull the wire through the mast you need to crimp a few mating wires together from the bottom mast sensor and deck wire. You can see some of these in the video.

Chris.

Okay, it's still raining here - I will get a fish down that mast and get back to you. Does that indicator panel that mounts on the bulkhead output any NMEA sentences? Should I connect the bulkhead indicator to my Ray Marine backbone or do I need another device for that?

Edit - just checked the website - it has NMEA I guess I can figure out your wiring colors after I see them (you use the white brown yellow or green, right?) Probably Yellow and Green, right?

BOAT wrote:Okay, it's still raining here - I will get a fish down that mast and get back to you. Does that indicator panel that mounts on the bulkhead output any NMEA sentences? Should I connect the bulkhead indicator to my Ray Marine backbone or do I need another device for that?

Edit - just checked the website - it has NMEA I guess I can figure out your wiring colors after I see them (you use the white brown yellow or green, right?) Probably Yellow and Green, right?

Units come with 30 page manual with all the details... (So you don't need to pay a shop to do it), No one has ever failed in installing them. RM-10 unit is a black box that requires your chat plotter screen for display and is the most popular version right now. RM-20 has a dedicated display (analog needle driven by a stepper motor) but also supports NMEA 0183 output.

Chris.

u12fly wrote:

BOAT wrote:Okay, it's still raining here - I will get a fish down that mast and get back to you. Does that indicator panel that mounts on the bulkhead output any NMEA sentences? Should I connect the bulkhead indicator to my Ray Marine backbone or do I need another device for that?

Edit - just checked the website - it has NMEA I guess I can figure out your wiring colors after I see them (you use the white brown yellow or green, right?) Probably Yellow and Green, right?

Units come with 30 page manual with all the details... (So you don't need to pay a shop to do it), No one has ever failed in installing them. RM-10 unit is a black box that requires your chat plotter screen for display and is the most popular version right now. RM-20 has a dedicated display (analog needle driven by a stepper motor) but also supports NMEA 0183 output.

Chris.

RM-10, okay - got it - I will make sure I ask for the RM-10. I will find RM-10 on the website. I would prefer to display it on the chart plotter because I use my plotter to run a wifi network on the boat for my ipad and iphone and tablets.

I assume I call the number on the site to place an order.(?)

BOAT wrote: RM-10, okay - got it - I will make sure I ask for the RM-10. I will find RM-10 on the website. I would prefer to display it on the chart plotter because I use my plotter to run a wifi network on the boat for my ipad and iphone and tablets.

I assume I call the number on the site to place an order.(?)

There is a Contact Form that you fill out: http://www.flyorsail.com/Contact_Sales_Service.html to get in their system.

u12fly wrote:

BOAT wrote: RM-10, okay - got it - I will make sure I ask for the RM-10. I will find RM-10 on the website. I would prefer to display it on the chart plotter because I use my plotter to run a wifi network on the boat for my ipad and iphone and tablets.

I assume I call the number on the site to place an order.(?)

There is a Contact Form that you fill out: http://www.flyorsail.com/Contact_Sales_Service.html to get in their system.

Okay, I am going there today - thanks!

I wouldn't be too fast to jump on what will "work" on a or not, what-ever you get you might need some of your own testing to proper located the sensor. If you look at the frame shape on this wind sensor top:

You'll notice that the wind speed cups are over a foot in front of the mast. After a season of testing in different configurations, this is the geometry that worked best on the Macgregor 26M. Spilled air from the front sail, intermittently interfered with the wind speed in previous placements. Also tested various wind vanes and gimbals in the direction sensor electronics. Its easy to make a wind vane that works on land, the hardest thing to do is make one that works on a boat traveling down wind, when the relative wind is less than a knot. It's supper critical to know when your going to jibe, so the direction indicator needs to work in super light air. Personally I don't think swinging solar panels and batteries wound pass these conditions, but I've never tested them.

Chris.

Hi
i use the pegasus from 2 years in all condition and it is my best mod.
no problem, acurate and easy to read.
never saw sutch good quality on ray marine or other suposed to be good quality instruments.
the pegasus is simple acurate and it work wen you need it.
for me it is perfect.
Jean-Francois