MacGregorSailors.com

Ultimate has to be Joshua Slocums "Sailing Around the World"

Of course, on his third such trip, he was never seen again....

Slamjammer wrote:RE: Sailing eastward from Hawaii to California,

The prevailing winds circulate clockwise, with the center of circulation moving north, then returning south with the seasons. To go east, I believe most cruisers actually head NORTH from Hawaii to take advantage of the winds, with a gradual heading change along the route. Finally, when south of the Alutions (sp), the course is directly east, then turning south to follow the coast down to California.

It would make a helluva trip.

All accounts that I have read verified your stated post. I have met some sailors who actually did the trip. The prevailing method of return was on a cargo ship, back to the mainland!

One such person was on a 20' sailboat also! Two people, 30 days, and they were both Padre's, so I guess the big man musta' watched over their voyage....HUH? I have the video here somewhere of that voyage!

Charlie Dewell did that and more in a 20' Flicka. You can read about his trip in "Kawabunga's South Seas Adventure - Bluewater Cruising in a Twenty Foot Boat." His first leg was San Diego to the Marquesas Islands, single-handed, for 42 days. The trip included Tahita, where his wife joined him, Christmas Island and Palmyra Atoll as well as the Hawaiian Islands. His trip home was single-handed from Hawaii to Los Angeles, experiencing one storm he believed was a 9.5. His adventure included having the diesel rebuilt after having the parts shipped twice. They were stolen the first time when he took his eyes off them for only a minute or so. Lots of cruising lessons in this fun-to-read book.

Mike, it's MARACAIBO and I suppose you had arms on board....

I'm a product of East L.A. continuation H.S., spelling was not one of my schools strong points (staying alive & avoiding the street gangs was more the line of study). Without spell check I would never have made it out of Grad. School).

Yes, I am armed (for all the good it would do against a half doz. guys with automatic weapons). I carry a stainless steel 12 gage flare gun, that can handle 2 & 3/4" shells, that are marked as flares (flare guns do not get taken away by customs officials while inj port).

While the Mac may not have been designed for a trip like sailing to Hawaii neither are a number of other boats that have made the trip like a West Wight Potter, a Catalina 22, and a Montgomery 15. Yes even a Montgomery 15. A link describing the trip is here: http://msog.org/yarns/hawaii15.cfm

madmike - What size (or material) shot do you recommend?

Maddmike's centerboard mod and the miles he has on it, shows that a slightly longer (2') and slightly heavier board is no problem with a little beefing up of the slot.

His experience of better pointing is the encouraging result. I would like to propose a mod that would keep the retractability feature of the board (for ease of trailering and beaching) and yet enable a 2' extension of the board.

Maddmike's basic idea to use 2- 3/4'' marine plywood pieces routered-out would be used. Instead of steel rods, I would propose a stainless steel plate or fin 2' long and narrower than the board (say 12-15"). The top end would have a T shape so the fin would not fall out the bottom of the centerboard in the extended position. A bottom opening with a rubberized seal to make it streamlined is contemplated.

Like a switchblade the steel would reside inside the centerboard until released. Two small double blocks inside the centerboard would release or retract the blade as needed. The 4:1 purchase line would pass out the top of the board and parallel the routing of the existing lift mechanism for the centerboard.

The new centerboard will be a little heavier but not much more. The board (retracted) will be shaped like the original board and will retract completely into its slot.

The new board should be fiberglassed inside and out. One could even toughen it up with a layer of Kevlar and a layer of carbon fiber. I would recommend using a bottomcoat on the inside (and outside of course) to minimize marine growth. The bottom rubberized seal will help with that too.

I want to try this on my M26S and see how it works. The S has a very similar centerboard arrangement to the X.

Note: The original board can be carried under the v-berth as a spare.

I'd love to hear your opinions before building it. Forgive me if this is in the wrong section, but I didn't see one for 'Wonker Ideas'

As most everyone knows I'm new to the board (or boards in general). There are a couple of things that keep poping up that I would like to see.

#1 Who is 'Frank' that everyone keeps refering to & where can I find his website?

#2 There appears to be some differences in the 'M' model from year to year, where can I review them?

Note on centerboard; While I have been on a mooring (and at anchor)several times next to a stock 'X' and observed the "extreme" difference between how a stock boat 'sails' back and forth and how stable mine is with the modified centerboard, I have never seen an 'M' model on a mooring or anchor. Do they 'sail' through the wind as much as a stock 'X' boat, anybody know?

Build it, and they will come.

Has anyone any idea what would be the IDEAL solution? Part of my goal would be the following:

!. Be able to retract the board into the hull
2. Improve steering control
3. Decrease sudden heel
4. Reduce crabbing

Are there any CB on other boats which address these points?

MMike,,,,,,,
as an aside........

I guess I am kind of curious here....

is there as much yaw in your centerboard arrangement as in a standard X boat.

I would hate to see everyone go out and add additional keel, if all it takes is tightening up the current CB, arrangement to remove slop.

Just wondering if you have the 10 to 15 degrees of freeplay? in the board.

There are other ways to stiffen up the pointing of the mac, that dont require the drag and weight penalties of handling a longer, deeper cb.

just wondering........

thanks...

Darren

Darren,

Not as much yaw as the stock board, but there is still some. Not sure I would recommend everyone to go out and do what I did; but it is a place to start thinking & working from. The way I see it, the stock board sucks. IMHO it & the rudder mounts are the only really weak points of the boat. I did cut a garden hose in 1/2 lengthwise and attached it to the aluminum sleeve to help reduce yaw noise and flow eddies caused by the centerboard slot. At this point I have the slot sleeve removed and plan on doing some additional modifications. Any centerboard modification is really only for someone who wants to try and get more out of their boat (or spend more time on open water). I believe there may be more practical ways to go about this, but I also believe surface area is lacking on the stock board. It is amazing to watch your boat produce a wake on the windward side almost from bow to stern when a strong gust pushes it over on its side, which has happened to me on occasion (once my main jamed and I was unable to reef the sail in time to avoid a serious squall line. Had to climb the mast in rather nasty conditions with a screwdriver to free it and had a very good bird's eye view of the boat pushing almost directly leeward, amazing!). MM

Isn't that the problem with all narrow keel boats?
Solution, Add more keel or add more speed.

Mad Mike - I think you are referring to Frank Mighetto - who is an Evangelical Mac Xer....

People who have met him say he is a decent enthusiastic guy - there has been some concern on this board that some of the discussions he has had on sailing anarchy have seriously A-bombed might bleed over here.

IMHO Any group like SA that lets people post user names like "the Sphincter" isnt worth the virtual paper it isnt written on. Dont need strife in my life...got too many good things going on like a house full of girls....

No offense meant Frank - I enjoy your posts over here.
I hope you settle your issues (privately of course) with Tripp if you havent already - she definitely kicks butt wherever she posts and is highly regarded here.