I am now a sailboat owner... 26’ MacGregor

[Dash-Robo]

Macgregor M19 50hp Honda
Bugger all head room ,pain in the bum setting up the mast and taking it down
but a lot of fun floats in 12 inches of water planes well great for dumping the ballast
great idea is to add a an air bleed in the top of blast tank to ensure ballast is full avoids ballast shifting 0(water ballast only works above the water line ) Small boat furlers are cheap worth a look at anchor locker can be added by removing flotation Foam
Good luck enjoy

[Secondshift]

CONGRATULATIONS ! We have the same boat and have towed it with an Isuzu Rodeo V6 2WD since DEC 2012 though we have no real hills here in S FL. We use it year round.
It's a very fun boat and sets up more easily and faster than a Catalina 22 we had. I was pleasantly surprised how well it sailed.
We've had many fun trips and I'm sure you will to.
A jib furler is very advantageous.
NEVER use this boat without the water ballast tank filled.
Model specific parts are available online at Blue Water Yachts .
Ours is currently being prepped for sale as we've purchased
a larger boat.

Best Regards,
Ed

[Howler]

Congratulations! Our first boat was a MacGregor 26X and I only have good things to say about it.

A technical point on the trailering question. Reading the comments, it sounds like the ballast tanks need to be empty to haul it out with the Siena. You can’t empty the tanks while the boat is sailing or docked. The only way to do empty the tanks afloat is to motor at high speed, assuming you have a big enough outboard, with the ballast tank valves open astern. I suppose one could rig up pumps to empty the tanks while docked but I’ve never seen that done.

The ballast will empty as you trailer it up the launch ramp, but the initial part of the operation will require a vehicle that can tow the full ballasted weight.

Sounds like you need a little more vehicle muscle. I’d suggest 4WD too. Launch ramps can get slippery from algae.

By the way, check the bearings on the trailer carefully. On my first trip with the 26X, the cap fell off, grit got into the bearing and it seized up. Beside that, it seems a little light duty for frequent trailering. I’d consider modfying or replacing the trailer with a more robust, two axle version. Google “modify macgregor trailer”. There are numerous discussions on this topic.

Since you’ll be trailer sailing, make sure to get the mast step kit that MacGregor offered. It’s not a requirement but it makes stepping and unstepping the mast smoother and feasible single-handed.

Couple of small challenges for the road part, but it will be lots of fun on the water.

Fair winds!

[Hoosierdoc]

Thanks for the replies guys. I designed a decal and I'm having a it professionally done as a vinyl decal. Going to look awesome. I'll post it here when finalized.

I went over today and got the rear lights working on the trailer. The motor should be done tomorrow and then I'll bring it home. Thursday my uncle will help me come over and learn the rigging and mast raising. Hoping to put it in the water on Friday, my birthday.

I checked the weight, the previous owner said 250# tongue weight. I was able to dead lift it easily so I suspect it's less than that. The van sat a little low with the weight of the trailer on the hitch but not too bad. I think for safety's sake I'll tow with the suburban though in a pinch the van could do it. I have a slip rented through October and then again May 1-October 31 so I won't be doing much trailering.

I agree on the single axle trailer, but I don't think I'll move it more than 2-3 times a year and will probably sell in a few years so I'll likely make do with the one it came with. Need to redo the lights and wiring though.

[GrowleyMonster]

Originally Posted by Hoosierdoc

Thanks for the replies guys. I designed a decal and I'm having a it professionally done as a vinyl decal. Going to look awesome. I'll post it here when finalized.

I went over today and got the rear lights working on the trailer. The motor should be done tomorrow and then I'll bring it home. Thursday my uncle will help me come over and learn the rigging and mast raising. Hoping to put it in the water on Friday, my birthday.

I checked the weight, the previous owner said 250# tongue weight. I was able to dead lift it easily so I suspect it's less than that. The van sat a little low with the weight of the trailer on the hitch but not too bad. I think for safety's sake I'll tow with the suburban though in a pinch the van could do it. I have a slip rented through October and then again May 1-October 31 so I won't be doing much trailering.

I agree on the single axle trailer, but I don't think I'll move it more than 2-3 times a year and will probably sell in a few years so I'll likely make do with the one it came with. Need to redo the lights and wiring though.

Now the learning process begins. Even though no "drivers license" is needed, (well, some states are requiring boating safety courses for those born after a certain year) you are still very very much responsible for knowing and living up to your legal obligations as owner and as operator of the vessel.


First and foremost is learning and following the Rules Of The Road. Google that. Download a PDF and have a look. Pretty dry reading, huh? Anyway just have a look so you see what I am talking about. Buy an official printed copy. It's not expensive. Keep it always with you. Study it. It is your new Bible. The Rules dictate among other things how a vessel is REQUIRED to maneuver in proximity to other vessels. Also what lights or dayshapes you are REQUIRED to display. And what they mean when displayed by another vessel. If there is a single bouy or marker on the lake, and a single other boat floating upon it, The Rules apply. ALL collisions happen because someone or everyone involved was not following The Rules.


One other area of study is obvious: Safety. Much boating safety is codified in the CFR, or Code of Federal Regulations, particularly parts 46 and 33. You will be old and gray before you finish reading all that and re-reading it enough to commit it to memory. Don't go there. DO know it well enough to be able to find the information you need, when you need it. It is the ultimate authority on government mandated safety equipment and practices. But there are other texts that are less unwieldy for learning the safety regulations contained in the CFR.



The actual operation of the boat, apart from docking, can be learned in a couple of hours. Yes, a couple of hours. It is a sloop. Two sails. One mast. A rudder. Centerboard. Rocket science NOT. Only maneuvering into and out of a slip requires any great deal of finesse and skill, which will come in time.



On small inland lakes, piloting skills are not really relevant. When you can see from shore to shore, it is pretty unlikely that you will ever be lost. In your boat, shoals and bars are probably not a big deal unless they be a bit on the rocky side. A comprehensive study of pilotage is still a VERY good idea. If you put her into Lake Michigan for instance, well, that is more like an inland sea than what most people think of as a lake. There are markers and lights and landmarks, and places to be and places to not be. There are nautical charts, and you should initially have one of your operating area on the Great Lakes, and should practice determining your position from bearings taken of navaids and landmarks, figuring true course to steer, and converting that to magnetic. You should know what a "range" is, so you know if you are center, to the right, or to the left of the center of a channel. This is pilotage, not navigation. Navigation takes over when you are no longer in sight of navaids or landmarks or shoreline. That is a whole nother topic and one that you can perhaps put off learning for now while you are enjoying your local lakes.


So you got a lot of homework to do and a short time to do it, if you are going to start sailing right away. Welcome to the rabbit hole! It is fascinating and fun, though.

[Hoosierdoc]

Well I got it home OK using the suburban. Top speed of 60mph. The motor got a new carb and impeller for the cooling system and runs great now. I have my decal on order for the name, ordered my US and Gadsden flags, read up on some basic rules of the road. Need to replace the battery and get electrical working and test the water ballast. Thursday We'll do the rigging and hopefully Friday I'll float her, just so happens that's my birthday

I appreciate all the advice you guys have given. Currently reading the book for ASA 101 and scouring this forum for knowledge. Spring can't come fast enough.

[Hoosierdoc]

So, a few updates. My uncle is an avid sailor as is a friend and they have both been helping me out. We got the rigging squared away, got the mast raised today. It has a mast-raising system (some sort of boom and pulley for the front) that was WAY easier than manually raising it. I was able to just muscle it up but lowering it down was neither fun nor pretty. Definitely going to use that system.

I think it's officially a "MacGregor 26C".

Also going to buy a mast crutch today along with a wine glass holder for the wife.

I got a new water ballast valve installed. Checked the main and jib that seem to be in good shape. Our rudder post has a piece that's stuck in place and I need to get that out to feed the wire through to keep the rudder in the down position. That's scheduled for tomorrow morning before we launch.

I bought a US and a Gadsden flag, need to mount a pulley and halyard system for that off a spreader I think.

Getting excited. Tomorrow we launch and it's my 41st birthday. Yay.

[Secondshift]

Wait , not this welded pin in the bottom of the rudder post. You certainly mean some other thing stuck in there.
Anyway , good luck and Happy B- Day.
Don't forget your safety equipment.

Best Regards,
Ed

[Hoosierdoc]

No, not that. The crush nut or whatever it’s called at the top that the tiller bolt goes through. We can’t get that out so can’t run the cable down through the post. Plus someone put thimbles on the wire and it won’t fit down in there. The factory kit doesn’t show thimbles on the wire.

http://shop.bwyachts.com/product-p/5210-1c3.htm

This is the part, but what we have is nothing like that pic. There’s a hole in the vertical axis too. Probably some after market part

[dfelsent]

I used to be snotty about various boats. Then I grew up a bit.
Now I’m all about getting people on the water. Any boat you use is awesome. Really.
Enjoy the water and the whole boating experience.
It’s a great thing at any scale with any boat.

[Secondshift]

Ahhh. Mine obviously was lost/ discarded by PO. Try fishing a line around it. Make a loop and hitting the loop with large weight (hammer) in the away from direction. A sort of improvised knock hammer.
In the mean time a line downhaul could suffice temporarily and probably last the remainder of your season. Line could be attached directly to the rudder. Tied through the bolt hole.

Best Regards,
Ed W

[Hoosierdoc]

Put it in the water today and it floated! The water ballast seemed to work well. It was very tippy without that ballast in there. Trying to turn the boat without the centerboard down was challenging. Once we cleared those two hurdles we got to setting the rigging tension appropriately and running the lines the correct way.

It was a lot of wind for a first day so we had the main reefed a bit and used a small jib. But the concepts held and I was able to control things with some help.

The rudder post as a crush washer inside it that looked after market. They are known to drop down inside the post. We were able to pound that one up from the bottom and get it out, and then found the OEM one at the bottom of the post shaft. Heh.

Coming home the trailer did not like not having weight on it. It bounced a board off somewhere on the road and the tires need balanced. I Really need to redo the bearings also.

There was a little water in the back storage locker when we were done, hopefully it does not continue to take on water. That would suck. We left it in a slip and a friend will check on the water level on Sunday and see how it is.

I got sunburned on a lake in October in Indiana on an 83F day. Could not have asked for better weather.

As we were leaving someone showed up in another MacGregor 26. They were towing it behind a small crossover SUV. Should have gotten the model on that. Makes me think I'd be good to go in the minivan. They pull it out with full ballast.

[dfelsent]

Congrats! Sounds like you had a fantastic day.

[GrowleyMonster]

Nice. Now you have a new addiction!

[Sand crab]

On Saturday I helped my friend get his 26M ready for winter storage. He is 73 and just getting over chemo and really had trouble getting his breath. So at 62 now I'm the young and agile one. Not!


Anyway we motored from Gig Harbor, Washington to Quartermaster Harbor on Vashon Island where his son-in-law met us with the trailer. We motored the boat onto the trailer just about perfect and had it in the parking area very quickly so we could take down the rig. No one remembered to bring a ladder so it was a bit of a chore getting on the boat from the pavement. My friend was just directing us but luckily the much younger son-in-law had done this before. It actually came down surprisingly fast and I could see that a couple of experienced people could really have the whole boat derigged in short order. I didn't get why he removed the lifelines so perhaps someone can enlighten me on that.



The boat is now safely tucked away on their lot on the island and my friend has recovered. I'll need to find a new buddy with a boat for sailing this winter. I still have my kayak though!