Downsizing

[bubba]

We have the refrigerator that Blue Water Yachts installed and it is 12 volt. We have ran it for 8 days keeping meat frozen and it didn't hardly run down the 2 - 6 volt battries at all and it only took 2 hours of running our 70 Suz to recharge the battries completely. We have changed our light bulbs with the super LED lights to draw only .02 watts instead of 10 to 15 watts each this helps the most. If we need to keep food cold for longer we freeze ice and use it in an additional folding cooler, this works really well. We only have a 30 amp breaker panel with built in battery charger.

[curtiss]

That is great. Sounds like you have a good unit. I am used to having a solar panel on my boat and I like the idea of back up systems. This way if I do something silly like draining my batteries in the middle of nowhere, I can still charge them. It is a hold over from my cruising days. I plan on taking my Mac to Mexico and other warm places and I like my beer really cold!

[DaveB]

Curtis,
Welcome to the other lifestyle of cruiseing.
I to spent 2 years outfitting a Alberg 35 and another 3 Years sailing from Cape Cod, Ma. thru the Intercoastal and jumped off Bueafort ,NC to St Thomas thru the Carribean and S. America and back.
That was 1982 thru 1985. Since than have had many Trailer Sailers and Power Boats and 2 yrs ago settled on the Mac.X and been restoring her ever since. I bought a new Aluminum Tandum Trailer and only put Stainless disk surge bracks on front axel. This works very well and I tow it with a 1999 F150 4.2 liter 6 cylinder.
The two remaining items I have not installed is a auto pilot and a 12 volt refigirator. I like a top loading Ref. box and always had good luck with the Adler Barber water cooled system as here in FL. any Compressor will thro out to much heat down below. I am working on the right location and design. The Auto Pilot is a diffrent mater and already ordered the Raymarine S1 but returned it as I don't like the hookup and looked into the Raymarine Smart Pilot with gyro compass but it's not my high on the list Item. Than again I heard rumors of business going out.
Safe Sailing in your Trailer Sailer.
Dave

I just wanted to say hello to everyone and tell you that I think the MacGregor Sailors site is fantastic. A little of my background as a way of introduction. I come from a larger boat perception. I left from California in 1986 on a 37 ft full keel double ended cruising sailboat and returned to California in 1999 after seven years of sailing around the world and living/working on an island in the South Pacific for six years. I lost my first boat in a hurricane while living ashore in American Samoa and finished the last five years in a 43 foot sailboat purchased in New Zealand. We returned to California to get the kids through high school and college. We had a ten year plan that had us buying another boat in 2009 and going cruising again. The recession thumped us badly and we started to look for alternatives to the larger more expensive boats. I stumbled across the MacGregor and became fascinated with the idea of the shallow draft, trailer-ability and I admit it-- the speed of getting around.

We bought our 2009 Mac in May and I have been converting her into a pocket cruiser that we can live aboard for weeks to months at a time. The mods section of this site has been invaluable to me. I plan to publish my mods with pictures as soon as I figure out how and take pictures to show. I want to give back to the group because believe me I have learned so much from a lot of you talented folks. Some of the things I have already done is; house bank of batteries(200 amp hrs), propane tank mounted on stern, propane stove with solenoid valve, water bladder under the rear bunk, multiple storage cabinets, counter extension/cockpit table, 12 volt refrigeration, solar panels and pump out system for head.

We have taken her on a shake down cruise to the San Juan Islands for two weeks. I towed her behind a Ford Explorer from Sacaramento, CA to Anacortes, WA and and returned for a total of about 1750 miles. The trip went very well except for a steering problem. I had to motor back to our anchorage while steering the outboard motor with a combination of my feet and a line lashed to motor. I have some lessons learned from the experience that I will post in the future.

So far I have limited sailing experience with the Mac; lack of wind in the San Juan's but I love the way she motors. My impressions so far; I am adding another axle to the trailer, love the shallow water capability, launching has been no problem, for the size of the boat she is very comfortable for my wife and me, lots of people think she is a nice looking boat, she is fun, going out for one day is way too much work, and I added the back stay offered from Arena Yachts and am glad.

I am getting the boat ready for a month cruise in the Sea of Cortes this Spring. The long term plan is to Cruise the Florida Keys, back to the Pacific Northwest, Nova Scotia and the Chesapeake Bay. That should keep us busy for a couple of year and then who knows. I am not good a writing but I will try to keep giving feedback on what works and what doesn't. Also some of you might be interested in the contrast between traveling on a cruising sailboat and a cruising trailer-able sailboat/RV. We plan to use the Mac like a travel trailer as we explore the good ole USA.

Again I thank all of you for your ideas, pictures and advise.

Curtiss

[Indulgence]

These guys are all too polite to ask,

What color is your hull?

[Indulgence]

Never mind.
I see a white hull in your mod pics.

[curtiss]

Sorry but you must be looking at the topsides. LaVida is a fast blue.



Curtiss

[Québec 1]

We have the refrigerator that Blue Water Yachts installed and it is 12 volt. We have ran it for 8 days keeping meat frozen and it didn't hardly run down the 2 - 6 volt battries at all and it only took 2 hours of running our 70 Suz to recharge the battries completely. We have changed our light bulbs with the super LED lights to draw only .02 watts instead of 10 to 15 watts each this helps the most. If we need to keep food cold for longer we freeze ice and use it in an additional folding cooler, this works really well. We only have a 30 amp breaker panel with built in battery charger.

My wallymart 12 volt refrigerator kills the battery within hours. I'm interested in yours for sure.
Q1

[David Clarke]

LaVida is a fast blue.

Blue....Yessss!!!

[KayakDan]

We have the refrigerator that Blue Water Yachts installed and it is 12 volt. We have ran it for 8 days keeping meat frozen and it didn't hardly run down the 2 - 6 volt battries at all and it only took 2 hours of running our 70 Suz to recharge the battries completely. We have changed our light bulbs with the super LED lights to draw only .02 watts instead of 10 to 15 watts each this helps the most. If we need to keep food cold for longer we freeze ice and use it in an additional folding cooler, this works really well. We only have a 30 amp breaker panel with built in battery charger.

My wallymart 12 volt refrigerator kills the battery within hours. I'm interested in yours for sure.
Q1

Check out the Engel fridges. 2.7a draw when it's running. Almost any fridge using a Danfoss compressor is a low energy draw.
The Edgestar looks good too. A bit higher draw,but it's also about over $100 less than a comparable Engel.

[Russ]

Curtiss,

I love that fridge and how you mounted it. It's a great location as we take that cushion out as well. I was thinking with a latching device it could be made to be easily removable.
Does the 43qt hold enough? We generally carry 2 coolers and with the ice it's probably the same as a single (iceless) 43qt.

The solar panel setup is nice as well. Where did you purchase the panels and how costly were they?


--Russ

[curtiss]

Russ

I used a 64 qt ice chest on my last trip before installing the Edgestar. My gut feeling is that I have as much or more usable storage with the Edgestar. Of course this depends on how much ice you use and how much is left at any given time. The way I installed it you can remove it by taking four nuts off. You could probably re-orient the bolts and use wing nuts to make it easier to remove if you wanted. I really don't plan on taking it out very much as I like the extra counter space and the easy access for my beer. Our boating will mostly be with just my wife and me so we don't need that room for seating.

I paid $435 for the panel for the Alternative Energy Store. I copied the link for you and I hope it works. http://www.altestore.com/store/Solar-Pa ... nel/p7655/ The people at the store were very helpful and I received the panel faster than I thought possible so I can recommend them. One of the reasons that I picked this panel is that it has water tight connectors on pigtails built into the design.

Good luck
Curtiss

[Russ]

I used a 64 qt ice chest on my last trip before installing the Edgestar. My gut feeling is that I have as much or more usable storage with the Edgestar. Of course this depends on how much ice you use and how much is left at any given time.

That's what I thought. We end up putting so much ice into our 5 day cooler that there is little room left for food (and beer). After a couple of days it gets messy with all the melt. I'm definitely putting this mod on the Christmas wish list.

I was thinking it would be nice to have it removable so we could load it at home and get it pre-cooled. How heavy is it to lift? Our cooler and ice is pretty hefty to lug onboard.
It makes a lot of sense to mount it where you did. We normally leave the galley in that location anyway and it's only natural to have the fridge next to it. Your extra counter space is also brilliant. It looks like stuff wouldn't slide off.


--Russ

[curtiss]

Russ

In my opinion it is too heavy to load and unload the entire refrigerator. You can do it but not by yourself unless you are real strong. I think it is far easier to take the food to the fridge. When I slide the galley aft two people can sit in the space between the galley and the fridge so we can still accommodate company down below. The wood counter on top of the fridge is only secured by velcro so you can take it off and use it elsewhere if you like.
By the way the fridge runs on AC also so you could plug it in and pre-cool it that way if you have access to AC where you keep your boat.
Merry Christmas and I hope Santa is nice

Curtiss

[Love MACs]

Curtiss...a question. Does the fridge/freezer add much heat to the cabin when in use? Seems like it would have to vent excess heat to keep things that cold



Allan

[curtiss]

I am sure is does add heat to the cabin. So far is hasn't been a problem due to the fact that it is still cool here and and any heat feels good. The box of the fridge appears to be insulated fairly well and the amount of heat transferred will be determined by by the ambient temperature, how much warm food you put into the fridge and the insulation of the box. You could add insulation to the outside of the box with a little ingenuity if needed and you could pre-chill or buy cold or frozen food. You could crank the temperature down at night if you were in an area that cooled off and turn it up somewhat during the day. If there is any breeze at all it shouldn't be a problem as the air flow through the boat should vent the small amount of heat transferred from the food. I will be going to Mexico in the spring so I will have more first hand experience then.

I think Mike on Chinook used his Engel in Mexico so he will have first hand experience with whether the heat was a problem or not.

Curtiss