MacGregor Sailing Accident - Safety Reminder

[socalmacer]

Not sure if any of you have seen the story at the following link: https://abc7.com/post/1-person-killed-a ... /15505960/. Anyway, this is the first fatality on a MacGregor sailboat I can remember hearing about in So Cal. Looks like the boat overturned in gusty wind conditions. A reminder to all be safe out there!!!! Make sure the ballast is full, you've checked the weather, etc..... Take care and an early Happy Holidays to all!

[pitchpolehobie]

Tragic...

[NiceAft]

As sailboat owners, we are extra sensitive to this happening; as Mac owners, we need much more information.
Ballast full/partial/empty?
Powering or sailing?
Sail/sails reefed?

Six people on the boat. Where were they? Too much weight?
In this well known video there are two people.

[Russ]

I saw that. Tragic. These boats have an outstanding safety record.

Of course when these things happen there is always conjecture.

What stood out to me was 6 people onboard in bad weather.
The boat was laying on its side which seems odd to me. If the ballast were full, I wouldn't expect the boat to lay on its side. The M has 300 lbs of hard ballast that might right the boat even if the ballast were empty. The fact that it capsized and is lying on the side makes me believe the ballast was not full.

[NiceAft]

Do we know it’s an M? ?

I am still away, so can anyone with an M confirm the black stripe on the deck is an M?

[Russ]

Do we know it’s an M? ?

I am still away, so can anyone with an M confirm the black stripe on the deck is an M?

Looks like an X to me.

[TrailerTrash]

I saw that. Tragic. These boats have an outstanding safety record.

Of course when these things happen there is always conjecture.

What stood out to me was 6 people onboard in bad weather.
The boat was laying on its side which seems odd to me. If the ballast were full, I wouldn't expect the boat to lay on its side. The M has 300 lbs of hard ballast that might right the boat even if the ballast were empty. The fact that it capsized and is lying on the side makes me believe the ballast was not full.

Several of them are alive because of the flotation.

[DaveC426913]

It's an

[Starscream]

100% it's a late-model 26X.

Mast up. Motor down. Rudders and centerboard were almost certainly up, although waves and gravity and flotation mean that there's a small chance that their positions all moved from what's in the video.

Tragic. Sad that someone had to lose their life.

I strongly suspect that the ballast was empty, but we'll likely never know for sure. The captain will almost certainly say that it was, and it's a hard thing to prove. I just can't imagine the weather required to knock down a ballasted 26X, especially with a person in the cabin adding ballasted weight. There's more to the story here. However, if the ballast was full and this happened, then we are driving unsafe boats and this kind of thing would happen all the time. The fact that we are 20-something years after the production of thousands of 26X's and M's and this is one of two or possibly three major events strongly implies that the ballast was not filled.

A problem with the 26X is that if the ballast is out, you can't fill the tanks when the wind and waves are rocking the boat. At that point it's too late.

Something that we don't often talk about with regards to safety of the 26X is the companionway panel. Even if the ballast can't be filled during a sudden weather event, the companionway panel is an important safety element when the cockpit is being swamped. That door is reinforced with horizontal ribs that I'm sure are designed to take a wave through the cockpit. Mike on Zeno's Arrow had his cockpit fill to the steering wheel in a rage cut in the Bahamas, but with with the companionway panel in place his 26X was fine.

[socalmacer]

I found a link to the marketing video for the 26X which happens to show what happens to the boat when the ballast is filled. Also, when the boat fills with water!

On a side note, this is the same location in Newport Beach, CA (MacGregor's home dock ) I got to do a test ride of the 26X before buying.

Link:

[DaveC426913]

The captain will almost certainly say that it was,

I suspect the captain was the victim. 50yo male is the right demographic.

and it's a hard thing to prove.

Only if it's full when they check. If they examine it and it's full, they can't be sure.
But if they examine it and it's empty, they know for sure it was unballasted.

I just can't imagine the weather required to knock down a ballasted 26X, especially with a person in the cabin adding ballasted weight.

Well, and five crew above.

[Ixneigh]

Very sad news.
I though I’d seen the boat name on this forum at some point.
The X and M are really two very different boats. The M seems to have higher sides and cabin and less initial stability. But I’ve had mine in some really windy conditions fully ballasted, and she just lays over. I did add 350 lbs of lead pig to
Mine. Now I took some of that out to make room for a big vise, and other weighty tools

Also; wasn’t there another X which turned turtle mentioned on here a number of years ago? A woman owned it, and she had let some other family use the boat prior, and she wasn’t sure if they left the ballast in? She saw water in the cabin, the boat rolled over and swamped.
The reason I bring this up is, wouldn’t a ballast tank problem do that? I know there was one user on the site who had to repair damage to the ballast tank after hitting a bad pothole while trailering. It was a very small crack if I recall. Does anyone know what it would take for the tank to suddenly fail?
Another thing. The first time I used my boat, the ballast plug actually got ejected when I hit a wave I’m thinking, and that let quite a bit of water into the bilge which needed an hour to bail out. I put a better plug in after that.

Ix

[PSNA]

As sailboat owners, we are extra sensitive to this happening; as Mac owners, we need much more information.
Ballast full/partial/empty?
Powering or sailing?
Sail/sails reefed?

Six people on the boat. Where were they? Too much weight?
In this well known video there are two people.

That video is deceptive as hull. For the life of me, I never understood why they released it.

Notice that the boat is on the same point of sail the entire time. Reason?

[Russ]

Also; wasn’t there another X which turned turtle mentioned on here a number of years ago? A woman owned it, and she had let some other family use the boat prior, and she wasn’t sure if they left the ballast in? She saw water in the cabin, the boat rolled over and swamped.


Ix

I can't find the post, but it was a Mac with opening portholes that got left open and swamped the boat. Water gushed in and filled the cabin.

Many possibilities here with this case. Possible PARTIAL ballast. We all know that is very dangerous. Overloaded? That was the case years ago with a drunk captain and no ballast.

[Ixneigh]

Boat on the same point of sail: no way they are getting her to tack in those conditions. Best you’ll do is a controlled gybe or run the engine.

Yes that’s the one. The opening ports for the back bunk area. Maybe the person who was below was looking for the source of the water. It would be informative to knoe just *how* much water there can be in the boat before the vessel becomes unstable. A keelboat will sink, but she’ll sink on her feet. If you’re used to keelboats, a few feet of water over the cabin sole is alarming but you’re not wondering if she’s going to roll over. It’s quite possible that the same condition on a macgregor will make it dangerous to be below looking for the source.