Newest owner of a 26X

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dlandersson
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Re: Newest owner of a 26X

Post by dlandersson »

My boom has a link that I can attach a safety line to - when my kids were 2 - 5 or so

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Jimmyt
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Re: Newest owner of a 26X

Post by Jimmyt »

dlandersson wrote: Mon Mar 20, 2023 6:48 am My boom has a link that I can attach a safety line to - when my kids were 2 - 5 or so
Were you motoring with the mainsail down while you had your kids tethered to the boom, or was this the kid version of the slingshot thrill ride? :D
Jimmyt
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Cruising Waters: Mobile Bay, Western Shore, Fowl River
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Be Free
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Re: Newest owner of a 26X

Post by Be Free »

Just checked with my son to see if he had any practical suggestions. He does not remember the brand or where he got them but he said that the key was to normalize wearing the jackets while they are young. The only problems he ever had with kids and life jackets were guest's kids who did not grow up wearing them.
Bill
2001 26X Simple Interest
Honda BF40D
"If I were in a hurry I would not have bought a sailboat." Me
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dlandersson
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Re: Newest owner of a 26X

Post by dlandersson »

Mainsail down. 8)
Jimmyt wrote: Mon Mar 20, 2023 8:12 am
dlandersson wrote: Mon Mar 20, 2023 6:48 am My boom has a link that I can attach a safety line to - when my kids were 2 - 5 or so
Were you motoring with the mainsail down while you had your kids tethered to the boom, or was this the kid version of the slingshot thrill ride? :D
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dlandersson
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Re: Newest owner of a 26X

Post by dlandersson »

Ditto 8)
Be Free wrote: Mon Mar 20, 2023 11:16 am Just checked with my son to see if he had any practical suggestions. He does not remember the brand or where he got them but he said that the key was to normalize wearing the jackets while they are young. The only problems he ever had with kids and life jackets were guest's kids who did not grow up wearing them.
OverEasy
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Re: Newest owner of a 26X

Post by OverEasy »

Hi LandLady!

Glad you had what sounds like a wonderful multigenerational vacation trip with you Mac!
It was great to see pictures of your beautiful daughter.
Before you know it she’s gonna be asking for the keys to the truck AND your Mac!
Don’t blink!

Thank you for sharing your adventures!
You have a wonderful family!

Best Regards
Over Easy😎😎🐩🐈
TheLandlady
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Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
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Re: Newest owner of a 26X

Post by TheLandlady »

Thanks again everyone for the advice and stories and well wishes!
Seaweed is back in her parking lot now, for now. We had a nice trip from Sarasota a week ago today, just the boat, the road and me. Storms plagued southern Mississippi that day, as some may have seen on the news. I stopped in Tampa at the Cigar Cathedral, which happens to have a perfect parking lot for a Ram pulling a Mac and some excellent house rolls as well.

My shortest route is up 75 through Atlanta to Nashville but it looked pretty awful on the radar… so to skirt it I banged west on route 10 all the way to Destin before turning north. The panhandle is really something unique, and I can’t wait to come back to sail it. Stopped at the highest point in Florida just around sunset, then spent the night in the cabin at a truck stop just outside of Birmingham. Also had to hit a Bucc-Ees for some souvenirs and the last Publix before St Louis (right at the Tennessee border) for some key lime pie for my wife and a pub sub for myself.

I have to say, the “Heart of Dixie” has, by far, the best roads I’ve ever experienced. I have driven through 45 states before this first time through Alabama, and it doesn’t come close. It was quite surprising. Crossing into Tennessee the roads were horrible in comparison. And by this I mean potholes and general pavement condition, bumps going across bridges, etc. Alabama was just fresh smooth blacktop the entire way. We dodged all storms save for a quick shower just before crossing the Mississippi, and she spent two nights in a parking lot behind my house before I took her back to the storage facility in Carlyle IL.

Seaweed was rigged for travel as we had it rigged on the way down, except this time I stripped everything off the mast. Perhaps it was a sort of self-prodding to replace the halyards lazy jacks and shrouds, but I won’t be able to afford all of that before I launch again because I went ahead and rented a slip on Carlyle lake for the summer. Back in the water 5/20, and this time for a long time! I plan to spend the first day practicing going in and out of the slip. I’ve been watching lots of videos and I welcome and suggestions. One of the best was a video from the Maryland School of Sailing on Docking, I’ll provide a link if anyone wants it but should be a quick search.

The slip is about 30’, close to the parking lot, floating dock, lots of room to turn, a bit of distance to the break wall but what really surprised me is just how large Carlyle lake is beyond the wall. Google maps puts it bigger than Sarasota bay, which I found to be quite roomy in my Florida adventure. Very excited for this season! Stop by if you get a chance!


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Last edited by TheLandlady on Sat Apr 01, 2023 9:01 pm, edited 2 times in total.
2001 :macx:
2008 Mercury 50 2 stroke
2016 West Marine 9’ Dinghy
2019 Honda 2.3 4 Stroke
South Royalton, VT
Saint Louis, MO
TheLandlady
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Re: Newest owner of a 26X

Post by TheLandlady »

I’m going to have to work on posting pictures in the right order…
2001 :macx:
2008 Mercury 50 2 stroke
2016 West Marine 9’ Dinghy
2019 Honda 2.3 4 Stroke
South Royalton, VT
Saint Louis, MO
TheLandlady
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Re: Newest owner of a 26X

Post by TheLandlady »

Hello sailors it’s time for another update on SV Seaweed!
She’s been on the hard since we got back from Florida, and I hadn’t even been out to check on her since the end of that trip. I did, however, take a trip over to the West Access Marina at Carlyle Lake in Illinois after I put her to bed, and ended up signing the paperwork to lease a slip for the summer! Move in day was 5/15 and she has to be pulled by 9/15.

So I got home from work on 5/19, planning to drive east 5/24 and see both my family and the in-laws over Memorial Day.
With packing and baby et al, time was scarce to pull off the launch but my wife let me go for it on Sunday morning 5/21. I left the house with the dog at 5am, dropped my flatbed as a place holder in the dry parking and had Seaweed at the ramp parking lot by about 7. Solo job, rigging was pretty straightforward but time consuming because I had completely stripped everything from the mast for the drive from Florida and the subsequent storage.

Overall it took about 2 hours. No real issues, aside from the bolt securing the mast to the bow pulpit had seized so I borrowed a grinder from the boatyard and cut it like butter. Always carry spares! The standing rigging definitely needs tuning, it’s very loose, including the forestay inside the roller. That one is going to be the trickiest one to figure out. I’m thinking about replacing all the cable but nothing is failing yet so maybe this winter. I’m going to order that tuning tool from BWY, does anyone have any thoughts on that? I also forgot to put the windicator on, which I didn’t realize until I had it in the slip! Not sure what to do about that, maybe I’ll beach it one day and drop it.

Anyway, I brought the boat to the ramp, launched it solo and tied it to the floating dock, parked the truck, and figured out a way to rig a quick release with the spring line so I could get free and clear without any help but a boat hook. The boat on the next ramp was having major issues trying to turn their engine over and stress was building as the line for the ramp was packed on a beautiful Sunday, so I was quite relieved when my Merc fired right up and kicked into gear. I backed her out, did a bit of a K-turn to leave for the short trip to the marina and in a few seconds I had that warm fuzzy feeling again that comes when you first launch after a while. Just me and Jake and Seaweed out on the open lake.

I didn’t have much time to play around, I had a deadline of 1pm back at home and an hour drive after I cleaned up, so I just rode the channel into the marina and figured out how to get to my spot. Earlier I had walked the docks and found a few sailors willing to catch a line for me when I made it to my slip. One even told me his first boat was a 26x. He in a beautiful hunter 36 now.

The wind was not blowing hard but it was definitely there, and it was about a direct crosswind to my slip. It felt easier to do everything in reverse until I had a big area to turn and then nose into the slip. While in reverse, I attempted to drop the keel to help with the crosswind and to my surprise it went right down. I guess in Florida i was still moving forward too fast when I tried and thought it was stuck. Great news! I still want to replace the line tho.

Navigating was pretty easy through the docks and I just kept it really slow on the approach. It turned out I didn’t even need the helping hand but I was glad they were there anyway, nice people to meet. I played around a few different ways of tying up and rigging the deck to be clean and tidy while I’m gone, picked up my truck and dropped the trailer at marina storage and got on my way.

That night my heart almost stopped when I get a call from the marina saying I’ve got a fuel leak and the mechanic went out and disconnected my tank and it stopped but I need to come check it out. So Monday morning again at 5 am I’m back in my way out there and I arrive to find that my 9gal tank, which was full, now has about 1-2 gallons left in it. No standing fuel is in the fuel compartment, and the motor well is dry but looks like there is some residue. I think the problem was I pinched the fuel line at the motor when I raised it before leaving. I turned on the battery and dropped it a little to remove the pinch, but I didn’t want to mess it up so I didn’t try to start it or anything and just removed the tank and brought it home.

Anyway pretty long post for a simple rigging and a quick motor to the marina but it was a really big day for me in my Seaweed Saga, because now we can just go to the marina and fire it up whenever we want to get out in the water without having to rig anything. Plan is to do at least one day a week. Also anyone have thoughts on a good dock box?

Thanks for reading!


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2001 :macx:
2008 Mercury 50 2 stroke
2016 West Marine 9’ Dinghy
2019 Honda 2.3 4 Stroke
South Royalton, VT
Saint Louis, MO
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dlandersson
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Re: Newest owner of a 26X

Post by dlandersson »

:D :D :D
TheLandlady wrote: Sat Apr 01, 2023 8:54 pm I’m going to have to work on posting pictures in the right order…
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Jimmyt
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Re: Newest owner of a 26X

Post by Jimmyt »

Great writeup and pics! Thanks for posting! Seems like a successful day, in spite of being a tad hectic. A big fuel leak is always concerning. Glad it all ended well. The slip will be nice.
Jimmyt
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Cruising Waters: Mobile Bay, Western Shore, Fowl River
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Russ
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Re: Newest owner of a 26X

Post by Russ »

Looks great!

When I went to launch for the first time, hooked up the fuel line and my son saw some fuel slowly leaking. It turned out to be a fitting on the fuel filter.

I'm not sure how pinching your fuel line would cause a leak.
--Russ
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NiceAft
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Re: Newest owner of a 26X

Post by NiceAft »

TheLandlady wrote: Sat Apr 01, 2023 8:54 pm I’m going to have to work on posting pictures in the right order…
While you’re at it, would you explain this photo :?:
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Do the contents give some kind of mind-expanding experience :?: :wink:
Ray ~~_/)~~
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PhysicsTeacher
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Re: Newest owner of a 26X

Post by PhysicsTeacher »

One cheap way to make rigging way quicker (and avoid having bolts seize up) . . . order the quick rigging kit from Bluewater.
https://shop.bwyachts.com/product-p/3459-1v0.htm

The bow pins are great. I ordered 4.
-- one for the mast support crutch (this is the one that I also use to pin the mast in place once the mast is upright)
-- one for pinning the mast on the bow pulpit
-- two more for when I have to rig on the water and there is the inevitable "bounce, bounce, SPLASH".

It's a cheap order but basically means you can raise your mast without any wrenches.
No trees were killed to send this message, but a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.
TheLandlady
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Re: Newest owner of a 26X

Post by TheLandlady »

NiceAft wrote: Sun Jun 04, 2023 9:04 am
TheLandlady wrote: Sat Apr 01, 2023 8:54 pm I’m going to have to work on posting pictures in the right order…
While you’re at it, would you explain this photo :?:
Image

Do the contents give some kind of mind-expanding experience :?: :wink:
Ha well I think I have heard somewhere that nicotine opens your mind… those are house brand 5 packs from Grand Cathedral Cigars in Tampa
2001 :macx:
2008 Mercury 50 2 stroke
2016 West Marine 9’ Dinghy
2019 Honda 2.3 4 Stroke
South Royalton, VT
Saint Louis, MO
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