New to Sailing - Taking Advice

[Ranger58]

Congrats! So happy for you. Owning a boat is part sailing fun, part exploration of new places and part model building; only this time the model is on a 1:1 scale. Try enjoy all aspects of ownership including repairs. It's a way of life with boats and you won't enjoy it if you just think the repairs are something that are always a pain.

For sailing knowledge, I'd take a small boat sailing course or find someone to race with. If you go racing, you'll be introduced to many fellow enthusiasts, have a good social group and you'll learn a lot very quickly. No one will ever love your boat like you will; get to know her and her eccentricities. She'll treat you right if you treat her right.

[dickfred]

Practical Sailor recently had a review of this sailing vessel. There is also an owners group, I believe.

[dadster3]

I'm guessing you didn't get a survey. If so then you will want to establish a baseline for the condition of the boat. Besides the other recommended references I would add "Surveying Fiberglass Sailboats" by Henry C. Mustin, and available on Amazon. This is a good book to familiarize yourself before a survey, and it will offer an organized way to methodically survey it yourself. Good luck!


https://www.amazon.com/Surveying-Fib...s%2C591&sr=1-1

[Secondshift]

Congratulations,

Proceed with caution, sailing is addictive.

We have a 91' Mac 26 centerboard water ballast (not the motorboat).
The motorboats weren't made til later.

It is not a "piece of crap" and is a very fun trailer boat. Many people have a strong negative opinion of this boat. I have never had one say they've been on one. Herd opinion?

Many parts are available from Blue Water Yachts ( bwyachts.com).

I would check:
the ballast tank valve by removing and inspecting,
the ballast seal by filling on the trailer and looking for leaks (I use petroleum jelly on mine as a seal dressing and lube for the upper hardware)
the standing rigging especially at the fittings for broken strands,

We did a complete rebed on all our deck hardware. We removed some core material at the holes and and used epoxy/ colloidal silica.
We also modified the access hatches for storage compartments under the seats as they were way too small.

The comparative numbers for this boat are listed on Sailboatdata.com .
https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/macgregor-26s

These boats are light and have a lot of sail ( D/L 100, Sa/D 18.75). I would suggest starting out using a reef or two until you get the feel for it and reef early if you feel overpowered.

Specific questions would be better asked on
Macgregorowners.com

Welcome and good luck

[canyonbat]

Stress Free Sailing by Duncan Wells. The kindle version even has video! Other books will teach you sailing. This book will teach you how to look like a pro around the docks. Our all time favorite.

https://www.amazon.com/Stress-free-S...7434/ref=nodl_

[Cool Hand Luke]

Congratulations on the new boat!!! I learned on a O'Day 24 (or something similar)... had the best time ever!! Learned a lot by going out as much as I could...

Then, I eventually bought a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 409... 40-feet of pure bliss

It's your FIRST boat... NOT your last. Learn about the vessel as much as you can. Work on it... take pleasure in fixing the little things.

And, we're always here for you!

Again... CONGRATULATIONS!!

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Paul J. Nolan

The reason you got it at a "bargain price" is that a MacGregor 26 is--how shall I phrase this delicately?--a piece of crap. There are those here who advocate jumping in blindly with both feet. Fifty years ago I could have blindly hurled myself out the open door of an airplane, but I went to jump school first. Glad I did.

Seem to remember a few folks including some Six Pack Instructors in Oriental and Beaufort telling me my Hunter was a piece of crap and sailing from NC to the UK was suicidal..
What a bunch off plonkers..
Especially the 'Captains'
The boat and I survived, including a six day gale of 60kts and more that had over 50 boats hove to approaching the Azores from the annual Eastbound migration.
He's bought it as a starter boat to play and learn on..
Personally my feeling is one learns quicker on an unforgiving boat than one that can be pushed a long way before it bites.
They are twitchy and don't go upwind very well but.. as a dinghy with a lid they are great for learning sail handling on its various modes and give you reasonable quarters to enable weekend and longer adventures.
Enjoy, have fun and remember.. To little sail is safer than to much.

[joelhemington]

Originally Posted by Paul J. Nolan

I think it is a terrible "starter boat." Virtually any boat in a local one-design fleet would be far better.

Yep, a McGregor 26' is not on anyone's dream boat wish list. But hey, it was only designed to be a cheap starter boat - which is what the OP wanted. My advice, just keep it inside of the Golden Gate

[snort]

If sailing in SF Bay, choose earlier in the day and check the forecast for light winds. You really don't want your first lesson to be at 35 knots of wind. (....or maybe you do??!!)

[Paul J. Nolan]

I'll admit that it came out more ornery than I intended. A beautiful sailboat and a planing power boat in the same package. What's not to like?

Paul

[Paul J. Nolan]

You asked for recommendations on reading. Reading is very important; it can speed learning by several orders of magnitude. The first book you should read is The Sports Illustrated Book of Small Boat Sailing a short, clear book--almost booklet--that explains the basics: how a boat sails upwind, across the wind, how the sails are trimmed on different points of sail, the difference between tacking and jibing (very important and I'm not kidding about this, if you do nothing else KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN until you are very clear on this). You should read this book first before you take your boat out. If you really know everything in this short, clearly illustrated book you're ready to cautiously get your feet wet. Remember, the First Rule of Sailing is to always, always! stay aboard the boat. To fall overboard is likely a fatal mistake. Don't take anyone sailing until you really know something about sailing. The second rule: always know the direction of the wind--which way the wind is blowing. It will soon enough be second nature, but in the beginning you'll have to consciously think about it. Stay on the high side of the boat; avoid the low side. You slip on the high side, you fall into the boat, you slip on the low side, you fall into the water...and you are in very serious trouble. You sit to weather as far forward as the tiller (and you better have a tiller or I'll be really disappointed) will permit. You should have a hiking stick so you can sit to windward, hiking stick in your after hand, mainsheet in your forward hand, shoulders parallel to the centerline, head turned, looking forward. Look around constantly. When you're on watch, be on watch! And duck your head to see what is to leeward (which is pronounced "loo'ard." Seriously. If you pronounce it the way it is spelled, people will laugh at you. And mainsail is pronounced "mains'l" or "mainsul.) Try always to approach and depart from the leewaed side of the dock. I don't always wear a life jacket, but the times I do wear one are so numerous you should probably wear one whenever you're underway, at least the first season. If lifejackets are the first thing to buy, the second thing is a good anchor at least 33 lbs. with seven fathoms of heavy chain, and 100' of nylon rode. (I have read good things about Rocna.) This is not enough for serious cruising, but is adequate for your first season. The anchor must be ready to set any and all times you're underway. Make sure the bitter end is made fast to something secure. If your boat has an anchor locker and a roller on the bow, carry it forward. If your boat is not set up for ground tackle, carry it in the cockpit, perhaps in a cockpit sail locker with the end made fast to a stern mooring cleat. If you get into trouble--you're drifting dowh onto a dock, moored boats, a lee shore, you want to be able to deploy that anchor fast and smoothly (remember: under the lifelines). You don't want to come up with a big ball of snarled rope. Join a yacht club, but not just any club; find out which is the club sailors belong to and join that one. A Coast Guard course on small boat handling and one on piloting wouldn't hurt. Remember, sailing along the shore is dangerous business. Pretty much anyone can sail across an ocean, especially at the right time and in the right direction. There is nothing out there but deep water and plenty of searoom. You just sail downwind day after day. Anyone can do that. It is the shore which is filled with danger: reefs, shoals, tidal currents, lee shores, marine traffic, fog. Do not sail at night or in the fog. Do not regard your radio as something that will bail you out if you **** up. You're in command. Don't **** up.

We started out recommending books and then I went off on a tangent. Sorry about that. For the second book I suggest Eric Hiscock's Cruising Under Sail. This is much more detailed, more complex. The gear may look old and somewhat cuude, but the sea and her challenges remain the same. Hiscock and his wonderful wife Susan were the international king and queen of cruising from the mid fifties until their deaths decades later. I regard Hiscock as the Shakespeare of the Seven Seas. Why is it that the Brits all seem to write so well? I don't know but I enjoy so many of them. For classic sailing adventure, before radio, AIS, and Epirb destroyed so many peoples' sense of responsibility and self reliance try Trekka Round the World by John Guzzwell, fortunately still with us, and Sea Gypsy by Peter Tangvald. There are many more, but that's enough for now.

Paul

[HankOnthewater]

Paul JN, good advice above!

[johnn33]

Sailing is one of the few sports that you can start at any age, take a break or breaks, and return again and again with much pleasure.
But, sailing is a sport but NOT a game. The sea is relentless.

Learn from an instructor or a skilled friend rather as you did in a car,
John

[Secondshift]

Originally Posted by Paul J. Nolan

I'll admit that it came out more ornery than I intended. A beautiful sailboat and a planing power boat in the same package. What's not to like?

Paul

You've got your boats crossed. The OP stated 1991. The planing motorboat version wasn't offered until years later. Totally different boat with some similar lines.

We bought ours fully equipped for very little . Estate sale. Thought I'd give it a try and flip it for a profit if I didn't like it. 8 yrs ago.

It'll sail circles around the motorboat versions.

Regards

[disciplefk]

Welcome to the club! Don't fret bout the Mac haters. I have the 26m and I bought a 33ft traditional boat. I love both, sailing is just f'n fun and frustrating no matter what you are on. I will second the 'just get out there' mentality. Don't get caught up with modifications and upgrades, that is what winter is for.


Invest in a couple of books if you find yourself struggling in a marina;
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1



https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/19...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Bother offered valuable tips for me.