MacGregorSailors.com

I bought a 2002 Mac X last week, my first sailboat. I have been lurking and learning and appreciate the knowledge I have gained from this forum.

The boat towed flawlessly and easily for the 550 miles from the Sacramento area to my home in Salem, OR behind my 2000 Honda Odyssey minivan. I installed an Equal-i-zer brand weight distributing hitch and experienced no sway and the surge brakes activated properly. There were no overheating issues in the 102 deg. heat and the large transmission cooler I installed apparently did its job well. The boat tows far more easily than my old 17 ft. Glastron ever did behind my old Econoline van.

I took the boat to a lake about 60 miles away (no towing problems) and motored around with the mast off to get an idea on handling. I got sprayed a lot going upwind, much to the amusement of my wife, who ducked into the companionway to stay dry. It sure was great being back on a boat of my own after several years without.

When I filled one of the 12 gallon fuel tanks, I discovered that I could not get the tank all the way back into the compartment. It stuck on the fuel gauge/supply fitting, so I left it sticking out a little. It looks like the recent mod by Mo is the best solution, short of buying other tanks.

Now I need to find some sailing lessons, preferably on my boat. Does anyone know where I can get lessons on sail handling, trim, etc. for a Mac in the Salem/Portland OR area?

Are there any other Mac owners with a Korean wife? I sure missed having a boat during the years I was there.

Harvey

Harvey,
Congradulations on the X purchase and welcome to the MacGregor family. When I purchased my M last august, it was my first sailboat also and I was hot to take sailing lessons. I then found out that the Mac is indeed extreamly easy to sail and have postponed the sailing lessons until I have more basic skills and can get more out of sailing lessons. My wife and I do want lessons, we just figure getting the feel of the boat and of sailing will help us learn more for the $. Enjoy your boat and again, welcome to the Mac family.

Rich

Congratulations on your new boat, Harvey. Barb bought Don Guillette's Sail Trim User's Guide and laminated charts. It sums everything up pretty well.

Harvey,
If the tanks hang up on the filler cap you can get the new design from your marine supply store which is not nearly as tall as the old one.

Congrats!
I think Don T (otter) is in your neck of the woods.
He might be able to pass on some local knowlege, i.e. what ramps, what lakes, where the coldest beer is, you know, the important stuff.
Your boat is both a sailboat and a power boat, so you'll be learning about handling both. If you haven't been around boats much consider a power squadron course to learn basic boat handling, safety & procedural stuff and make some local friends, a valuable resource. If you just need some sailing instruction inquire wherever you see sailboats anchored. Lots of folks will simply go for a ride when there's cold refreshments involved and teach you the basics. You'll learn how to point your boat in all directions in about a day. Sailing takes a lot longer to explain than to simply demonstrate, the basics come very easily. The terminology turns some folks off, "beat", "reach", "quartering wave", etc. None of that stuff will keep you from sailing, it just makes it harder to talk about doing it!
Once you have some cockpit hours under your belt you'll understand the forces that make you sail better and books and classes will be more rewarding.
Also as you've seen here there are -plenty- of answers to any question anyone ever thought of asking.
Welcome aboard.

Harvey,
Welcome and congrads. You might want to contact Nemo in the Portland area. He completed an ASA class this spring and could give you additional info.
I also bought my 98 X this year down in California and hauled it back from the bay area. It seems to me that they run a few thousand less than our local market.

Happy sailing...and motoring!
Dave

We have the ASA basic keelboat book. For Mac oriented advice go to Roger MacGregor's "how to sail" in the Mac26X owner's manual or on the website.

For help in tuning the rigging for good sailing, see this article:

http://bbs.trailersailor.com/forums/tip ... mes/read/2

Once you master the basics you'll find most Macs have been set up with too much weather helm. You need a little weather helm but less exists on most of the Macs I've seen on the water.

Congrats, Harvey, to you and your lovely bride.

Best way to learn - go out and play.

A book titled, Basic Sailing, whose author's name escapes me now, is very good for first time sailing.

Good luck and welcome to the family.

Michael

I found that i learned more, faster ,by using a sailing video,(learn to sail,with steve colgate),they are available most everywhere,west marine,bennett marine,etc,,to me seeing was easier than reading

Harvey - congrats and welcome.

I would definitely take a sailing course SECOND season after owning the boat, there is so much to absorb in season one that I think you wont latch on to too much due to neural overload. Of course, that might be my experience due to shortage of neurons....YMMV

Spend the first couple of times out as a 'powerboat" and focus on mastering powerboating aspects, slow speed maneuvers, docking , etc.

When you are comfortable doing this, pick your first sailing days of winds between 5-10 mph (just like Roger says in his manual!!) and as steady as you can get. This way you will never be overpowered and can concentrate on getting the sails into position for the various points of sail.

Keep your motor in the water, maybe idling if it is hard to start.

I learned on the Hudson river which is narrow, shifty, gusty....in short a real PITA. BIg lake or coast with a prevailing wind is the way to go.

Below 5 mph you need a lot of skill to move the boat
Above 10 mph wind you can overpower, round up (Lose control) , and get banged around a lot more.
Certainly stay off the water in 20 mph wind, maybe even 15 for an upper limit

Your has a lot of 'freeboard' and windage - which means you stay dry, but the boat will get blown around by wind a lot. Above 10 mph you need to learn new motor handling skills as you have to allow for these effects.

Have fun! Wear comfortable PFDs at all times.

congrats Harvy.I sailed my 96 X for a couple of seasons before I went to the west coast(Canada) and took a cruise and learn sailing course. I had read a couple of books and had a good idea of basically how to sail , but the knowledge learned on a week at sea proved to be be money well spent. Enjoy your boat.....Fair winds.........

Congratulations on your purchase. You have made the right decision. Here is a sampling of what Roger says:
It will easily pull a waterskier
It is a really good powerboat. At high speed, it has a remarkably comfortable, stable ride.
Launching procedure is simple.
The MacGregor 26 is one of the best handling and fastest trailerable cruising sailboats available anywhere.
The relatively flat bottom required for high speed powering creates one of the most stable sailboats you will ever find.


And most importantly Learning to Sail
No boat is easier to sail. You can learn to sail in an afternoon. Read one of the widely available pamphlets on the basics of sailing. Pick a nice day with a light breeze. Take the boat to the water, launch it, fill the ballast tank and buzz around with the engine until you get the hang of it. It is no tougher than driving a car.



Then set the mainsail and let the wind provide some of the power. Keep the engine running at idle to get you out of any tight places. An hour or so of this and you will have a pretty good idea of how it all works. When you are comfortable using the mainsail, raise the jib. An afternoon like this and you will be fairly accomplished. To learn to sail is easy. To learn to make a boat sail to perfection can take forever(this io one of the great joys of the sport). The best argument for learning to sail is that once you start, you will stay with it for a lifetime. It is that much fun.

Then after you learn to sail, it is time to take over the world.

Welcome and congrats:
Well now, what you are saying is you have a perfectly good excuse for someone to go sailing. Lets see..............let me think a second...............OK!! A friend of mine and I are always ready, he's the better sailor and I own a Mac.
Also I think "Pilgrim" is always looking for an excuse to sail and his boat is in the water all summer.

Hey Rick, you like the way I volunteered you?

Don and/or Rick,

I've had my X out on the Columbia mast-less three times now this past week and am ready to rig it up and try my hand at sailing. Would either of you guys be interested in joining me the first time out for some personal sailing instruction? Let me know if you're interested.
Thanks,
Dave

Congratulations Harvey,

I know that feeling of being glad to be back on the water after a time. You reminded me of the first time I had my out and hoisted the sails for the first time. She sat up and took off and I was on the best sober high of my life.

Someone suggested the Power Squadron to brush up. They have a two part sailing course too. I asked one of the guys I met in the squadron who really knows sailing to go out with me one afternoon. We both learned a lot. He learned and was surprised about the and I learned about trimming and pointing our boat.

Call Cindy Nielsen (503) 370-9733 for info on your local squadron in Salem.

Enjoy the your with fair winds and slack tides on the river.
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