Out for the first time
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- Chief Steward
- Posts: 76
- Joined: Sun Aug 28, 2011 7:18 am
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
- Location: Lexington, SC 2002 Mac 26X, Honda BF 50
Out for the first time
Finally, the stars aligned and we were able launch the for the first time.
What an experience
Almost everything went according to plan with the launch......EXCEPT, I tore down the marina security camera cable with the mast...DOH!!!
I check the air draft, and noted the position of the electrical wires near by, and we would easily clear that. I did not see the thin black wire 20 feet lower, until it was tangled across the boat and tow beast. I nearly had a coronary, as I thought it was electrical.
Live and learn on that one. I reported it to the owner, and will make it right with him.
The boat handled mostly well, and figuring out the quirks and adjusting my thinking took some time. She topped out at 15-16 kts/17-18 mph, with no ballast, myself and two kids, with 2 days of provisions. The prop is old and knicked up pretty good, and a new one will be ordered soon. I did not raise the sails, as their were too many boats, and I wanted to keep the family happy and not scare the heck out of them on the first time.
The heat flat out sapped us. It was 106 during the day, and 82 that night. We drank 3 gallons of water, and 12 quarts of gator-aid on Saturday alone. The Admiral joined us and we spent the rest of the day swimming.
We anchored out for the fireworks show that evening, and were treated to two shows on different islands. Motoring back at night with that amout of traffic was nerve racking at first, but everybody behaved and it went very smooth.
We spent the night at the marina dock (youngest son and I), and I slept on deck.
The SC DNR waived us down, and asked us why/how a sailboat was on plane. I dont think they had seen a Mac before They were curious and very polite.
Sunday morn the admiral brought us breakfast, and we motored/swam until mid morn, then packed her up and headed home.
Learned lots of do's and dont's, and what works and not.
Rich
What an experience
Almost everything went according to plan with the launch......EXCEPT, I tore down the marina security camera cable with the mast...DOH!!!
I check the air draft, and noted the position of the electrical wires near by, and we would easily clear that. I did not see the thin black wire 20 feet lower, until it was tangled across the boat and tow beast. I nearly had a coronary, as I thought it was electrical.
Live and learn on that one. I reported it to the owner, and will make it right with him.
The boat handled mostly well, and figuring out the quirks and adjusting my thinking took some time. She topped out at 15-16 kts/17-18 mph, with no ballast, myself and two kids, with 2 days of provisions. The prop is old and knicked up pretty good, and a new one will be ordered soon. I did not raise the sails, as their were too many boats, and I wanted to keep the family happy and not scare the heck out of them on the first time.
The heat flat out sapped us. It was 106 during the day, and 82 that night. We drank 3 gallons of water, and 12 quarts of gator-aid on Saturday alone. The Admiral joined us and we spent the rest of the day swimming.
We anchored out for the fireworks show that evening, and were treated to two shows on different islands. Motoring back at night with that amout of traffic was nerve racking at first, but everybody behaved and it went very smooth.
We spent the night at the marina dock (youngest son and I), and I slept on deck.
The SC DNR waived us down, and asked us why/how a sailboat was on plane. I dont think they had seen a Mac before They were curious and very polite.
Sunday morn the admiral brought us breakfast, and we motored/swam until mid morn, then packed her up and headed home.
Learned lots of do's and dont's, and what works and not.
Rich
- dlandersson
- Admiral
- Posts: 4531
- Joined: Fri Aug 27, 2010 10:00 am
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
- Location: Michigan City
Re: Out for the first time
That's pretty good. My X tops out at 16 mph with just moi.
06HARLEYULTRA wrote:The boat handled mostly well, and figuring out the quirks and adjusting my thinking took some time. She topped out at 15-16 kts/17-18 mph, with no ballast, myself and two kids, with 2 days of provisions.
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- Captain
- Posts: 534
- Joined: Wed Sep 21, 2011 7:45 am
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
- Location: charleston sc
Re: Out for the first time
glad you bought it ? how much fuel did you use ?we still have our big power boat and our x ,but we dont use the power boat that much any more ,i like being able to fill up on 5 or 6 gallons for a day out vs 50 or 60 gallons !!!!
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- Chief Steward
- Posts: 76
- Joined: Sun Aug 28, 2011 7:18 am
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
- Location: Lexington, SC 2002 Mac 26X, Honda BF 50
Re: Out for the first time
bahama bound wrote:glad you bought it ? how much fuel did you use ?we still have our big power boat and our x ,but we dont use the power boat that much any more ,i like being able to fill up on 5 or 6 gallons for a day out vs 50 or 60 gallons !!!!
We motored from South shore marina to the dam and back, about 35-40 miles? I ran it at WOT for most of the time, than down to around 3000 rpm for the remaining time. It used 5.1 gallons. I wanted to use that tank (6 gal) completly, as I had a double dose of seafoam in it. She purred after that, and started nice each time.
Rich
- Russ
- Admiral
- Posts: 7543
- Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2007 12:01 pm
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
- Location: Bozeman, Montana "Luna Azul" 2008 M 70hp Suzi
Re: Out for the first time
Awesome!
Sounds like a great weekend all around.
My philosophy about boat ramps and marinas. If you hand wires up high, you are asking for trouble. Not all boats are ski boats, and sailors have big sticks up there. I would complain to the marina for stringing a wire in boat traffic. Really? Who does that? A power boater. My main ramp has a tree over it and I'm hacked off they don't trim it. Any boat ramp that has wires hanging over is a poorly designed ramp.
Glad you had a good time. I can't imagine those temps. I would have had to douse myself with water all day long. Maybe next time you get to raise the sails.
Sounds like a great weekend all around.
My philosophy about boat ramps and marinas. If you hand wires up high, you are asking for trouble. Not all boats are ski boats, and sailors have big sticks up there. I would complain to the marina for stringing a wire in boat traffic. Really? Who does that? A power boater. My main ramp has a tree over it and I'm hacked off they don't trim it. Any boat ramp that has wires hanging over is a poorly designed ramp.
Glad you had a good time. I can't imagine those temps. I would have had to douse myself with water all day long. Maybe next time you get to raise the sails.
- vulcan98
- Deckhand
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Wed Jul 08, 2009 8:38 pm
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
- Location: South Carolina
Re: Out for the first time
Rich, glad you & the family had a fun and safe weekend. Your hard work has paid off.
Derwin
Derwin
- Tomfoolery
- Admiral
- Posts: 6135
- Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2011 7:42 am
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
- Location: Rochester, NY '99X BF50 'Tomfoolery'
Re: Out for the first time
I'm curious to know what prop you're using on that BF50 to get that kind of speed, and what the engine revs were.
Perhaps you have a clean bottom? No bottom paint? Mine's got bottom paint and sits in a slip. I got 16 mph (gps) at WOT at ~5800 rpm with the common 11-3/4 x 10 x 3-blade prop. I'm using a 11.8 x 9 x 4-blade Solas prop now, but haven't done any speed runs with the gps running, so I don't know what it's doing for top end. Engine tops out at around 5700 rpm. It seems a bit better for pulling my son on a wakeboard, though - he gets up quicker, and the boat gets up to speed quicker with it, which is the main reason I got it. Sings an annoying song between 2000 and 2500 rpm (or maybe it's 2500-3000 rpm - not sure now), though.
Perhaps you have a clean bottom? No bottom paint? Mine's got bottom paint and sits in a slip. I got 16 mph (gps) at WOT at ~5800 rpm with the common 11-3/4 x 10 x 3-blade prop. I'm using a 11.8 x 9 x 4-blade Solas prop now, but haven't done any speed runs with the gps running, so I don't know what it's doing for top end. Engine tops out at around 5700 rpm. It seems a bit better for pulling my son on a wakeboard, though - he gets up quicker, and the boat gets up to speed quicker with it, which is the main reason I got it. Sings an annoying song between 2000 and 2500 rpm (or maybe it's 2500-3000 rpm - not sure now), though.
- dlandersson
- Admiral
- Posts: 4531
- Joined: Fri Aug 27, 2010 10:00 am
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
- Location: Michigan City
Re: Out for the first time
Mine too - thank you for sharing - misery loves company.
tkanzler wrote:Sings an annoying song between 2000 and 2500 rpm (or maybe it's 2500-3000 rpm - not sure now), though.
- Tomfoolery
- Admiral
- Posts: 6135
- Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2011 7:42 am
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
- Location: Rochester, NY '99X BF50 'Tomfoolery'
Re: Out for the first time
Sounded to me like the lower unit oil was gone. Dry bearings or something. I would have pulled it out and checked it if it weren't for the fact that a) I had just changed the gear oil, and am sure it's full; b) it went away at higher and lower speeds; c) others have said the same thing, so I was predisposed to believing them, being that they're members in good standing on MacGregorSailors.com.