MacGregorSailors.com

I've done a lot of singlehand sailing on my :macx: and what makes it easy for me is where I sit at the helm. I prefer to position myself on either side of the helm pedestal, depending on tack. The working area of the cockpit is between the pedestal and the companion way. My positioning is so that I...

Once it's on your (very) short list, but before you put down any money...

Pony up the money for a surveyor. Esp. if it's your first.

The few hundred clams or so you invest in a survey will seem like nothing if, instead, you get a lemon and have to pour money into it.

I even have one laying around here somewhere, but they're certainly easy to make, especially for a one-time chore like spider web clearing. Doesn't have to be pretty, does it? :wink: (Unless you're BOAT or Highlander, of course - then you wouldn't be able to make an ugly one if you tried. :D ) I've...

Don't need a 30 ft Swiffer - use a pig stick on the main halyard or topping lift, with anything on the end that will clear some webs. But don't forget the downhaul, or you'll be dropping the mast to retrieve the halyard. :wink: :D Ah! Brilliant idea! Thanks! I've already got a downhaul, so we're go...

Short of dropping the mast, or using a bosun's chair, can anyone think of a way to get spider webs out of my wind vane at the top of my mast?

Not sure I can create a 30ft geyser of water from a hose.

I guess I could rig up a 30 foot swiffer...

It's 150 miles from Toronto ON to Kingston ON.
In a race, which will get there first? A factory Mac or your custom-designed dream sloop?

The Mac - because it can leave 2 years sooner!

(Just kidding. I know this is an exercise in design.)

Jimmyt wrote: ↑

Sun Jun 28, 2020 6:46 am

DaveC426913 wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 27, 2020 4:26 pm

I ran out of line. Slipped right through my fingers, and the mast whammed down on my bimini frame.

Yikes! Glad no one was hurt!

Ehh. Now that I think of it, prob'ly closer to 5 degrees.

In my 2000 X with its Honda 50, and several hundred pounds of gear stowed, I have been able to reach just shy of 14 knots. Prop choice might be an issue. Are you sure you are able to open it all the way up? Mine comes pretty close to banging into the pedestal rail when full out. Throttle cable tuned...

I used to go for the 4:1 boom vang, but have started using the 4:1 mainsheet because it has a very convenient built-in cleat to hold the mast where I want it while I run back to disentangle shrouds n such. Then one day, in the middle of the season, I decided the main sheet was far longer than it nee...

The red tape on the up and down positions caught my eye, but I had to see it a few of times to realize that their positions meant the board was down. I was convinced that it was up, and my brain read the tape positions as up just so that I would agree with myself, it seems. Odd. My board line is on...

Am I the first one to point out that calling any line on a boat a "rope" will get you keelhauled?


(Definition of a "line": a rope with a job. )

Only loosely related, but if you're having trouble getting your mainsail down, might I suggest a downhaul?

I lashed a 1/8" line from the head clew down the mast to a block at the base, then back to a clam cleat next to the vang cleat.

Bringing the sail down is a cinch.

2000 X here. All my sliders are the same.

Hm. I just had my engine tuned and lubed at the local mechanic. If I hadn't had an incident-free milk run from public ramp to yacht club, I'd immediately suspect they'd forgotten something. As, it is, I think I'll call them first thing next week and ask if maybe they missed something. But before I d...

1) Motor cable entry. You can place a second, larger boot over the original tiny one, and that worked for me. 2) Rubrail. I caulked the entire rubrail with black outdoor caulk and it stopped a bunch of leaks. 3) Chainplates. Need to remove the rivets and the cap plate, reseal, and reinstall the cap...