MacGregor 26X for Mississippi River Use

[sailmgb]

Hello All! I am a new MacGregor Forum member. I've owned a Capri 14 and a ComPac 19 in the past. I am currently without a boat and am considering purchasing a MacGregor 26X for a tour of the Mississippi River in the future. My research leads me to a 26X as I believe it would be a great vessel for a trip like this. I would appreciate any input from members that have used theirs on the Mississippi, especially your insight on the size of the engine with thoughts on adequate power for traveling upriver and economical fuel consumption. Thank you in advance and hope to see some of you soon out on the water!

[FinallySailing]

Won't be able to help you with the X or the Mississippi as I have an S and am on the other side of the water. Just wanted to say "welcome to the forum". You sure will find lots of good advice on here by some really good people !

[Al Garrett]

I did the 2,000 mile "southern loop" beginning and ending in Little Rock (Arkansas) in 2002 in a 36' Gibson houseboat with a 135 hp 4 cylinder Volvo. I spent 12 years equipping the houseboat for distance cruising. I spent almost a year out and it was a great adventure averaging 4 mpg including daily generator use. My goal was not speed but to minimize fuel and let the river take me in its current. Except for 400 miles of Tom Bigbee, and back up the Arkansas River on my return, almost all of the loop was downstream thanks to the Tenn. River flowing north,

The river channels are rarely wide enough to sail and the commercial traffic is heavy on the Miss. River part of the route. Now I have a bare 26X with a 25 hp outboard I'm about to begin building as a economy trawler. I hope to mount a new Johnson 15 I have as back up or maybe a smaller outboard. .The one I built 3 years ago was just too small based on a 23' Aquarius. I hope to do the same loop again with much less gas with the 26X, 10-12 mpg I hope. At least, the trailer will allow me to complete sections of the loop if not the entuire trip in one cruise.

I suggest you plan on going downstream. There's no fuel efficient way to buck the Mississippi, or any major river, going upstream, without towing a fuel barge behind. The farthest I went without gas stops was the lower Miss. 40 miles but I carried 300 gallons my first time.

Most of my boat trips involve spending a couple of weeks aboard at large lakes and rivers in this region so I think the 26X is ideal for what I can afford to cruise in my retirement.

[Chinook]

The 26X would have several advantages for navigating the Mississippi. Shallow draft is helpful in avoiding hangups on sand bars, and also enables use of shallow side channels for anchoring. The big outboard provides power when needed, for bucking current and occasionally getting somewhere quickly (timing bridge and lock openings, reaching destinations before dark, etc.). While sails on the Mississippi won't be much help in most cases, it's always nice to roll out the jib and get a speed/efficiency boost when the opportunity affords. A shortcoming would be its narrow beam, which would make it tender when hit by power boat wakes. Regarding fuel, the 26X can easily accomodate 24 gallons in its two fuel lockers, either with a pair of 12 gallon tanks, or four 6 gallon tanks as some have done. These can be supplemented with plastic 5 gallon jerry containers. We carry two on a stern platform when going long distances. From my experience, 10 to 12 mpg is unattainable at anything much above idle speed. When we run at half throttle (2500 rpm), we can count on 6 mpg when wind and current are not significant factors. Motorsailing can improve the mpg.

[Sumner]

... From my experience, 10 to 12 mpg is unattainable at anything much above idle speed. When we run at half throttle (2500 rpm), we can count on 6 mpg when wind and current are not significant factors. Motorsailing can improve the mpg.

What kind of mpg are people getting the have mounted a second outboard (8 or 9 hp). We seem to get about 10 mpg with the Tohatsu 9.8 on our S. I would think that might be attainable also on an X.

I think for a trip like this the X with the swing keel has a definite advantage over an M. Lots of unknown water and I grew up near the Miss/Missouri and you don't see into that water at all .

We looked at an Endeavour in Alabama that was on the Tenn. River and could of taken it to the Gulf via the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway or the Miss. I read some trip reports and all of the logs and other debris turned me off to the trip. The boat was a mess anyway, so we passed on that one. The Gulf Coast, East Coast, Hudson and the canals part of the trip look really nice,

Sum

===================================
Our MacGregor 26-S

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links

[dive4it]

I have kept pretty good mileage records on my with an Evinrude/Suzuki 4 stroke fuel injected 50HP and at average of 6 knots, I get 10 MPG. Of course there is current and wind, but in the San Juans, that went both ways so I figure it pretty much averaged it out. That's with a pretty loaded boat with gear and crew for 12 days of cruising.

JT

[Sumner]

I have kept pretty good mileage records on my with an Evinrude/Suzuki 4 stroke fuel injected 50HP and at average of 6 knots, I get 10 MPG. Of course there is current and wind, but in the San Juans, that went both ways so I figure it pretty much averaged it out. That's with a pretty loaded boat with gear and crew for 12 days of cruising.

JT

That is good info, is that at 7 knots or below?

Sum

===================================
Our MacGregor 26-S

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links

[dive4it]

That's averaging around 6 knots....and the mileage is (of course) in nautical miles.

JT

[mastreb]

That squares with my experience with the ETEC-60. At 5-6 knots I'm consistently getting 10mpg according to my EMM. Goes down to about 3MPG at WOT.

[Al Garrett]

Correction in my earlier post:

The farthest I went between gas stops was about 400 miles on the lower Mississippi River (not 40.) My fuel conservation approach of going with the flow prevented me from buying the minimum for fuel delivery at Vicksberg, Mississippi. This part is extremely industrial and geared toward giant tows as opposed to recreational uses. You have to be very self sufficient in every way to "fit" the environment. It flows through one of the largest petrochemical complexes in the world.

I like to run the engine at a fast idle just enough for good steerage and enjoy the scenery along the way so 10-12 mpg may be within reach going downstream with a small outboard if I can equip the boat without adding too much weight.

I understand that the upper part of the Mississippi River is much more user friendly although still heavy with tow traffic. That's in my sights as well.

[Johnacuda]

Welcome and good luck. My 2000 has a Honda 50 4-stroke. Since most of my cruises are day or overnight trips, I am able to limit the weight I carry. at about 10 knots, I am getting an easy 10-12 mpg, cut it in half for 17 knots at 500 rpm under redline. These are for round trip cruises with and against the current on the Hudson with the ballast tanks empty.

[Sumner]

Well with those mpg I guess there isn't much point in a smaller outboard. I guess since I'm kind of paranoid I would still want one for an emergency. Our 6 hp dinghy motor fulfilled that and could push the S at close to hull speed if not hull speed. Now we have a 3 1/2 hp for the dinghy and we got it with the long shaft just in case we needed it with the Mac. I'm sure it would at least move it in some direction,

Sum

===================================
Our MacGregor 26-S

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links

[slugbug]

Where would you launch from? The upper Mississippi on lake Pepin is great for sailing. I have not had my M there but have sailed with others. This part of the Mississippi is 3-5 miles wide and this extends for 28-30 miles. lots of room to get out of the way of barges and other very large cruising boats. Scenery is spectacular with 500-600 foot bluffs on both sides like sailing in a mountainous region. Plenty of good anchorages and villages to explore shopping and restaurants. There is a wildlife refuge at the southern end with many places to anchor. You will see bald eagles and white pelicans (yes pelicans) among the wildlife and the fishing is great. The current can be strong and the winds care come up quickly in the canyon like bluff areas.If you are going to be in this area it would be great to meet a fellow mac owner let me know if you are passing by maybe we can get together.

[Catigale]

Our 4HP Nissan moved our heavily loaded at 4 knots....about half throttle. Make sure you are carrying the fuel tank adapter so you don't have to pour one liter of gas every hour...

[sailmgb]

Thanks for all of the replys and info. Looks like I selected the right forum. MacGregor could list the forum as part of the "after sales support"! Looking at some of your mods has given me alot of ideas.
I'm going to look at a '98 26X this morning with a 2000 Merc Bigfoot. I researched other posts on different build years and any concerns to look for or check out. Maybe this will be the one!
My plan is to do the trip in 3 years when I retire. That gives me time to find the right boat, set it up properly and get comfortable with its handling. Maybe trailer to New Orleans a couple times for some training runs in the river in that area. My original plan was to trailer as far north as possible to avoid the current and fuel issues. I wanted to explore other options as starting up north leaves me with the vehicle and trailer on the wrong end of the river when I finish. Sounds like that may be the only option unless I can come up with a 200 gallon fuel barge dingy to tow along
Have a great day!