1st sailer- MacGregor 26x -Any tips? No pun intended

[ETx]

Been cabin cruising for 30yrs and seen lot of people jump into the boating venue trying to bite off more than can chew. Just hope I haven't put myself in that category.

This year decided to buy my 1st sailer. Being a whole other ballgame I did a fair amount of research. Single and since the last kiddo graduating next year didn't need anything huge, but still comfy.

Basically just plan on doing some leisurely big lake hopping around the US so wanted something easily trailered, launch and recovery that as well would double nicely as a camper on the road between destinations. All signs pointed to a MacGregor 26x or m.

Found a pristine 1998 26x that already had professionally upgraded amenities such as easy double custom door hinged cabin entry, galley with built in under counter microwave and mini fridge, ducted ac, heat, small genny, TV, 5k watt inverter and 4- 1yr old 100a batts, solar, remote anchor and spotlight, remote 80lb troller, pressure and hot water.... I mean seems like the guy put everything you could on it but without clutter and always kept waxed, out of water under cover, new sails, bimini, new tires and spare on trailer.

The owner had simply gotten too old to use it and needed quick additional cash for down on a condo.
Jumped on it at the 15k asking price because comparably seemed too good to pass up. Actually paid an additional $500 to hold it till I could make the drive from TX to FL to pick her up. Hopefully it's a good single handed learner and sailer.

Only down side is he removed the rudders to put swim steps on. Also a lot of other hardware as towards the end he was just using it to motor around in canals. Launched it once. Runs very light and shallow with ballast tank empty and keel up.

The 4 stroke 50hp mercury Bigfoot purrs like new and pushes it well enough to pull a tuber. I've got the rudders and everything, boxes of hardware that needs to go back on to make it a sailer again. But no instructions. Only viable tip he gave me is not to put the mast or sails up without water in the ballast tanks. Seems common sense reasonable.

Bought a couple basic sailing books. Any schematics for refitting all the hardware on this particular vessel? Of course I'm sure it'll be easier when learn the ropes more.

Thanks much for any input.

[dlandersson]

Not gonna lie, I'm jealous

Found a pristine 1998 26x that already had professionally upgraded amenities such as easy double custom door hinged cabin entry, galley with built in under counter microwave and mini fridge, ducted ac, heat, small genny, TV, 5k watt inverter and 4- 1yr old 100a batts, solar, remote anchor and spotlight, remote 80lb troller, pressure and hot water.... I mean seems like the guy put everything you could on it but without clutter and always kept waxed, out of water under cover, new sails, bimini, new tires and spare on trailer.

[pitchpolehobie]

Very neat can you get some pics for the boat tour? Those are interesting mods.

[LordElsinore]

Wow...sounds like a great find! Congrats! I'm sure you can get the rudders back on. Did you get them or do you need to find new ones?

[Russ]

Welcome to the forum and congrats.
We have 20 years of Mac experience here to draw from. The search box above will yield lots of information. It's this forum and their knowledge that I bought my Mac site unseen.

That boat does look like a great find. Yes, we are interested in the mods. They looks very nice.

BTW, the resource section of this site has lots of good info for you like the manual for the boat and other goodies.

[leefrankpierce]

More Picts.
If you are intending to restore the sailing abilities, we can certainly help here.
The remainder presumes you do not have the orig. rigging. If you have it, ignore the remainder.

If I were in your shoes, I would not get too hung up on using factory stuff.
The boat was put together with the most affordable rigging the factory could source, so there is plenty of room for upgrades.
With most of yours missing, the cheapest alternatives may actually be upgrades.
Step 1 = find a mast.
They sell replacement masts at Blue Water (our best supplier), however the shipping will cost a lot.
I think you would be better off looking for a local salvage mast, approx 30' (I never measured mine).
The base connection is just a simple bracket, easily bought, or reproduced, the stays are also simple brackets via bolts that can be easily recreated on your own.
The rudders and centerboard = probably the one thing you will need factory as they kind of fit the hull, especially the centerboard.

[Russ]

Here's the link to resources

https://www.macgregorsailors.com/resources.html

There you can download the manual for your boat. There are some videos on rigging.

One tip....I always rig the boat before launching. So much easier on dry land. Of course once rigged, be mindful of overhead wires to the ramp.

Did I understand that there are no rudders or are they just removed?
The rudders have a "safety" bolt when in the up position while trailering. I'm embarrassed to admit this year we removed the pivot bolt, not the safety bolt before launching. Once floating....alas the rudders would not go down. Arggg.. Had to fix that in the slip which wasn't fun.

Ask questions. This is a very friendly forum with folks who love to help new owners join the club.