Do you normaly use short or long shaft for the kickers? I've used both. I think long shaft works better, particularly if you can find a 'long-throw' mount. Most standard trolling motor mounts don't have enough travel to keep the motor clear of the water when sailing and still put it far enough down...

I've got a 5hp Tohatsu 2-stroke kicker. At full throttle it will push the boat fully loaded with the boards down at 4.9 knots turning 4700 rpm. It's turning a 7" pitch prop, which is as flat as I could find for this motor but it still won't quite make 5000 rpm pushing this heavy a boat. A more ...

One thing I forgot to mention, I believe the Mac is an excellent boat for the inside passage. One of the big navigational challenges / hazards is the current through the narrow passages. There are places, like Skookumchuck Narrows where it runs 16 knots. Most boats have to time their passage through...

I've taken my X on the Blackball ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria BC twice. It's no problem if you've got a reservation and a few hundred $$. The first trip I launched from Comox and left the truck and trailer at a friends house. The second trip I launched from Port McNeil and left the rig in an ...

IF the two batteries in parallel are the same capacity and ideally the same brand, it should work OK. If one battery is weaker than the other, putting it in parallel with the more powerful battery will hasten it's demise. Here's an article that explains a lot - https://www.impactbattery.com/blog/pos...

I weighed my rig last summer before heading out for a month on the BC coast. The boat was loaded with food for a 3 week cruise, 4 anchors, 150 feet of 1/4" chain, about 400 feet of anchor rode, stern line, pots, pans, lots of spares, everything needed for a month of self sufficient cruising. I ...

Interesting situation. From what I could glean, Rule 18, which governs rounding marks and obstructions, does not apply when two boats are approaching a windward mark on different tacks. The starboard boat has the ROW all the way to the mark. There's an example analogous to your situation near the th...

No need to drill holes for a transducer. The Mac hull is solid fiberglass with no core. If you get the transducer tightly coupled to the hull, it can read depth right through the relatively thin fiberglass. It has to be located in an area outside of the ballast tank. Mine is off to the starboard sid...

I've used this battery combiner for 4 years without any hiccups. One thing I really like about it is that there is no current draw from the batteries when there is no charging current. That's not true for all ACR relay's. With one of these, you don't need the two circuit solar controller. The combin...

It all comes down to how much you use the crock pot. That will pull a lot of amps. Otherwise I think you''ll be fine with a 100w panel. I cruise with just one deep cycle battery providing the house loads for lighting, water pump, charging electronics, and running radios. I do tend to get most of the...

I mounted mine underneath the dinette table. As others have mentioned, it should be in an area outside of the ballast tank, although I've read that it can work shooting through the ballast tank if the tank is full. I put mine alongside the ballast tank in a blob of toilet ring wax. You can buy a wax...

Spray the bunks with Liquid Rollers or silicone lubricant. It makes a big difference, particularly if your carpet is in good shape. After I've applied Liquid Rollers, the bunks are so slippery that my boat (26x) starts to slide well before the fenders go under. Silicone lubricant doesn't work as wel...

I don't have any photos of my boat, but I use the Sailrite sail, rigged as shown in this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gFPltYrCrs Because the backstay is on the starboard side on the 26x, the sail really only works if the front of it is tied off to the port side. For boats with the backsta...

I think it would work better if it was tied diagonally across the cockpit. I tie mine to the stanchion at the forward end of the cockpit where the portside lifeline attaches. In a big blow there would be a lot of strain on the anchor with the sail tied straight across the transom. Tied diagonally, t...

If you've got rack and pinion steering, there was an add-on friction adjuster available - http://www.seastarsolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Back-Mount-Rack-Torque-Brake-SA39531P-Rev.1-IS-SA39531.pdf I bought and installed one about a year ago but it seems to have been discontinued. Maybe if...