Docking my Mac X -- Yikes!

[enufsed]

I put my newly acquired 1998 Mac X in the water two weekends ago and have been busy preparing her for sailing. I've watched the Speedy Rigger videos, the mast is up and I've moved the boat around in the marina a couple of times.

Yikes! I am having a VERY BAD TIME moving this boat around! I've sailed and moored boats before, but this thing is like a rudderless barge and I feel I have very little control!

I have a 50 hp Mercruiser, BTW. My question is this: I've been moving it around and practicing docking -- in low wind or even no wind. (God help me when there's a wind blowing.) Space is tight in my marina and the there's a rocky sea wall all around it. I've had the centreboard and rudders up completely, and have been going slow. Would I be better off with the rudders down and the centreboard part way (e.g., half way) down? What do people normally do?

Some of this is related to my need for more practice, but I suspect having the centreboard and rudders up all the way is leaving me with virtually no steering at slow putt putt speed. Please advize.

[Rich Plumb]

No, you need to have the centerboard and rudders all the way down any time you are manuvering in a marina.

Try this: head in toward your dock with your bow about 20 degrees in, from parallel with the dock and going about 1 knot. When your bow is almost at the dock, reverse your motor and turn your wheel fully in the direction toward the dock. Give the motor a touch of throttle. It should stop your forward motion and pull your stearn in along side the dock. Try it.

~~~~~~~~~_/)~~~~~~~~~
Rich Plumb, "Plumb Crazy"
26X, Covington WA

[captronr]

When I first launched our X, the centerboard was stuck up, and some dummy forgot to unpin the rudders. Even with my 50HP Tohatsu, it was like a pig on ice! Fortunately, the winds were light.

Today, when I backed out of the slip, control was horrible. Duh, drop the centerboard.

It's much more manageable with both rudders and CB down.

Ron

[Oskar 26M]

When I first launched our X, the centerboard was stuck up, and some dummy forgot to unpin the rudders. Even with my 50HP Tohatsu, it was like a pig on ice!

I have previously described a Mac with no boards down as a ping-pong ball. The pig on ice analogy had never occurred to me (not much ice in my part of the world), but it sure does capture the essence of what happens.

When I first launched my 26M, I followed the power-off method shown in the promotional video. It looked so easy, but note that there is ZERO wind. Adding a 20 knot cross wind when no boards were down was like tying a kite to that poor pig.

Now I always get the daggerboard and rudders down before I try to manoeuvre the Mac in the dock area. I'd also recommend keeping the ballast full. It maximise the inertia and the boat behaves in a much more sedate manner.

[NiceAft]

I picked up a bit of advice on this website about docking. Since then, I've followed that advice every time I dock the boat into my slip. Every time

I back into the slip. I have the very first slip on my dock. When someone walks onto our dock, we are the first boat to be seen. That means we are the last slip when returning from a sail. I back down the entire length of the dock, and into the slip. It made my life sooooo much easier. I stand at the pedestal on the opposite side from the wheel, and drive the boat with no confusion, backwards, into the slip. Rudders and daggerboard down of course, but backwards. As I get to the place where I want the boat to be at the slip, I apply forward thrust to the engines to slow up the reverse. The boat comes to a stop where I want it. I step onto the dock with a line in hand, and we are home. In very windy conditions it can be bad no matter what you do, but the reverse method works really well for me.

I wish I could take credit, but I wasn't the genius who thought of it. It works.

Ray

[James V]

This might help -

http://www.videos.sailingcourse.com/

Look at the power boats docking. Alwaus dock with all boards down, at least 3 feet. Easy on the throtal. I find it easier to back into, err, to a dock or sea wall.

[Scott]

I've had the centreboard and rudders up completely,

Put em down

[Québec 1]

Drove my boat onto the trailer on friday.

Took 5 tries.

4 tries with the rudders and dagerboard up

and
1 try with the rudders down. Had a strong north wind pushing me towards the rocks.

When I finally got the bow between the trailer guides the bow immediately swung full sticking 7 feeet out the port side of the trailer. It looked really bad but I reversed the motor for 1 second at a pretty high idle and she straightened out and then jammed her back to forward and gave her big gas. And there she was sitting pretty.

I had the rudders down but not tied, so they just lifted when they hit the ground (if they hit anything I can't recall).

Next time I will keep the board down a foot or so until I get to the trailer and I will be putting lines on the trailer from the v to the guides at the back with dollar store noodles on em to steer the bow of the boat to the v of the trailer.
Q1

[USAF M26X sailor]

NiceAft, I would also back down the row of slips as it would certainly be easier (I back into slip also). However, at low tide the CB has grounded a couple of times when making the 2-pt turn into the slip. Going forward is no biggie as the CB justs pivots back (Advantage over the M?). Backing on a grounded CB will bring the boat to a stop and hopefully w/o any damage given the slow speed.

[Scott]

Drove my boat onto the trailer on friday.

I have yet to be at a ramp I couldnt get my trailer far enough into the water to walk it onto the trailer.

I just tie up and back in then walk it on until it is within 1 or 2 feet of the bow block the winch it the rest of the way.

Yesterday I went out with a buddy on his party barge. We were landing it at the end of the day and I watched 8 or 10 motor boaters retrieve their boats. At least 4 came away with fiberglass damage.

All of them powered onto their trailers. The guy with the 225 on the back of his bass boat wound up with a bent bow stop on his trailer.

[DaveB]

I trailer my boat and the water is not deep enough for centerboard to go all the way down. I put it down to about 4 inches slack from the jamb cleat. This puts the board down about 8-10 inches and acts as a keel and can manever very well.
I also leave the ballest drain open so by the time I park the trailer the boat is full and is much more controlable. I put down rudders when water is deep enough.
I always have my outboard connected to the rudders and find it easy sailing, this prevents propella from hitting rudders.
Dave

I put my newly acquired 1998 Mac X in the water two weekends ago and have been busy preparing her for sailing. I've watched the Speedy Rigger videos, the mast is up and I've moved the boat around in the marina a couple of times.

Yikes! I am having a VERY BAD TIME moving this boat around! I've sailed and moored boats before, but this thing is like a rudderless barge and I feel I have very little control!

I have a 50 hp Mercruiser, BTW. My question is this: I've been moving it around and practicing docking -- in low wind or even no wind. (God help me when there's a wind blowing.) Space is tight in my marina and the there's a rocky sea wall all around it. I've had the centreboard and rudders up completely, and have been going slow. Would I be better off with the rudders down and the centreboard part way (e.g., half way) down? What do people normally do?

Some of this is related to my need for more practice, but I suspect having the centreboard and rudders up all the way is leaving me with virtually no steering at slow putt putt speed. Please advize.

[enufsed]

Okay, today I had to move the boat to a new slip and followed the advice here (CB and rudders down). What a difference! It was a competely different experience.

I was confident enough to take the boat out on Georgian Bay and we toodled around for about an hour under power, then brought her in.

The docking in our new slip (better -- i.e., more forgiving -- location) went smoothly. I plan to practise mooring in different ways under different conditions, but now feel there is "hope."

As an aside, I forgot to (a) loosen the air cap on the gas tank when we were under way, (b) raise the centreboard and rudders when in full power, (c) disconnect the battery booster until we were out quite a while.

None of these were a big deal and I corrected each item before any harm was done, but I've decided to make a check list, get it laminated and string it to the wheel pedestal for future trips.

This week I'm attaching the main sail and will practice with that -- even more stuff to remember!

[hart]

That's okay. Today we A) forgot the mast (Okay, I did that on purpose as my wife just wanted to go for a boat ride and the wind sucked) B) also forgot to loosen the gas tank vent cap and C) almost ran out of gas. It's amazing how fast you can run through 6 gallons when playing around.

[NiceAft]

As to the twice aforementioned forgetting to unlock the gas cap. When sailing, I make certain to keep the vent on the tank closed. When heeling to extreme degrees, gasoline can, and will, leak from the tank if the vent is not closed.

If it is a hot day, and the tank if full; you may have to open the vent to prevent the gasket from being compromised. Otherwise, I keep the vent closed. Gasoline is too expensive to waste.

Ray

[enufsed]

It's amazing how fast you can run through 6 gallons when playing around.

Further to that, since it's hard for me to see the top of my gas containers while out on the water, is there any sort of "rule of thumb" about how long it takes, say, a 50 hp motor to go through X amount of fuel at such and such speed? Just curious.