MacGregorSailors.com

Parts List to Turn Your MacGregor 26C into a 26R (Rotating Mast)
Why do this?
1) The boat goes faster
2) You hold a course closer to the wind. TampaMac has reported about 5 degrees closer, maybe a bit more.
3) The boat will lean less. TampaMac reports: "I was out in winds up to about 20 mph, yet I did not ever heal more than 15 degrees."
4) The rotating mast makes a difference. Again, according to TampaMac, "It got stuck at the wrong angle, I manually rotated it to the correct angle and the boat shot off at a knot or so faster."
5) It makes your Mac special, different form all the rest.
6) Higher resell value
7) The guy who built the fastest MacGregor, Mike Inman, did exactly this to his 26C.
8 ) The Brains behind MacGregor, Roger MacGregor, deemed it important enough to make it standard on the newest version, the 26M
9) Because you know you want to beat your friends at next year's Trailer Sailor Race at Lake Havasu!

Please Note: The mast base plate will not attach directly to your 26C mast without some minor modifications unless you use a mast from the Tornado Catamaran. The Tornado's mast is identical to the 26M mast and it would accept the Mast base plate perfectly with no modifications.

Two places to buy parts:
1) The MacGregor factory in California will stock all parts for their newest boat, the 26M Since the parts you need is from the newest boat, you can get them from either place. MacGregor Factory: (949) 642-6830. The Sales Manager, Mike Innman (nice guy), has himself put these 26M parts on the same boat, a Mac 26C to make it fast. Therefore Mike is the best expert you can talk to if you have any questions so I recommend you buy your parts from him as you're going to eventually need his advice. For example, Mike said once completed, rig your backstay to only have a tension of about 2 (loose) instead of the normal tension. This is so the mast can rotate freely.

2) Blue Water Yachts in the state of Washington: 206-282-4261
They stock parts for almost any age MacGregor including the 26C. However, Gale and the rest at B.W.Y.'s do not realize how many have successfully completed this modification so they will discourage you from this modification saying things like, "You've been mislead, don't listen to Mike." The fact is, Mike Inman and at least 4 others have successfully completed this Mod and all of them love the results.

Item.............................Quantity............Price
Side Angle Brackets.............2.....................29.90 (Buys you both).
Mast Base Hinge Plate.........1......................66.00
Mast Base Bottom Cap.........1.....................41.50
Mast Ball Bearing................1......................20.0 0
Shipping.................................................20-50
Total: $177.40
*If you're mast does not have spreaders, you'll need to add those as well at an additional cost of $144

Threads From Completed Rotating Mast Modifications:
1) John, (username: "Right On!") has a (MacGregor 26C) and has, like me, also used a Hobie 18 mast and boom. He bought each of the 26M parts from the MacGregor factory that I have pictured above:
http://forums.macgregor.sailboatowners. ... p?t=142896

2) Bob (username: "r.oril") also has a 26C and has also made his boat have a rotating mast. He did not use new equipment from the MacGregor factory. He modified his current equipment to make it work.
http://forums.macgregor.sailboatowners. ... post936943
and Bob's 2nd thread with more info is: http://www.macgregorsailors.com/forum/v ... st#p238292
and his 3rd thread is here: http://forums.macgregor.sailboatowners. ... p?t=139211

The 26X is a newer version boat that allows for a larger outboard, but the rigging is the same as the 26C. The following threads detail owners of the 26X that have converted to the rotating mast like the 26M, so their lessons will apply to the 26C as well.

3) This guy converted from a 26X to a rotating 26M mast: http://macgregorsailors.com/modt/index.php?view=564
4) TampaMac converted form the 26X mast to a rotating 26M mast: http://macgregorsailors.com/phpBB/viewt ... highlight=
5) Switching from 26X to 26M is also discussed here by sdsailman: http://www.macgregorsailors.com/forum/v ... st#p238374

What about the spreaders?

tkanzler wrote:What about the spreaders?

You are absolutely correct. The Sales Manager at the MacGregor factory recommended adding spreaders as well. I'm told they cost $144 from Blue Water Yachts. If anyone can research how to add spreaders, i'd be grateful.

Like John above who has completed this rotating mast mod, I'm using the Hobie 18 Mast which already has spreaders (I chose the Hobie 18 Mast because it's only 1 inche taller than the stock 26C mast, because John had successfully used it on his Rotating mast, and it was cheap . Mike also told me that the rotating mast would add more wear and tear to your spreaders so to be sure to keep an eye on them.

Mike said the very best mast to use for this mod is one from a Tornado Catamaran as he said it is identical to the 26M mast and it would accept the Mast base plate perfectly with no modifications.

He said once completed, rig your backstay to only have a tension of about 2 (loose) instead of the normal tension. This is so the mast can rotate freely.