Converting Mac X to trawler

[rick retiree]

Reality has set in: a few years away from 80 years old and while still have the will and love of sailing Lake Michigan realized the body cant keep up with the riggers of rigging and sailing the 2001 just installed a new Etec 60 last year which is very miserly on fuel 10-12 mpg at 4-5 mph. Aside from sailing there is perch and salmon fishing locally so she wont be a fixture in the harbor like most of the boat in our marina.(already have a downrigger installed. Wonder if i should keep the pair of tillers in play or make up shorter ones replicating in oak that dont cut 36" into the water. Unfortunately I have never been able to solve that situation where boat slides back from cradle 4 to 6 inches after hauling up the ramp. Every fall have to lift stern up with boat jacks and the bow with car jack to winch trailer back to normal position. Tried everything from Mac bump, lubing bunks, sudden braking downhill. Thank you all for your support in the past. Will miss those 20 degree days, but mutton is better than nuttin.

[Sumner]

Sounds like a good plan and although I hope to still do a lot of sailing I'm trying to move the Kera Jane in the same direction step by step. I'd try the shorter rudders and if they work fine then I'd cover them with glass or make up some other composite ones.

One thing I don't like is that 36 inches in the water also at times. We were going down a tight section of water between Naples and Marco Island where the water was very shallow on either side of the marked waterway and you passed boats coming from the other direction within 15 feet or so. Our rudder hit something and kicked up. When it did that the boat turned about 60-70 degrees instantly to port. If another boat would of been there we would of hit it. If the rudder is up on the 26S and you try to use it there is a tremendous strain on the area where it pivots and some of these Ida Sailor rudders have failed in that area.

In the future I might try hauling the rudder up as high as possible out of the water if I think this might happen and just use the outboard for the steering. If just using the outboard works well in all instances with your X I think I'd ditch the rudders. In tight quarters ....



... using the rudder/tiller in conjunction with the outboard does make the boat very maneuverable though with the 26S ....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UYc2ZH ... re=channel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COMAPYd ... re=channel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sWbLBG ... re=channel

Sumner

============================
Our MacGregor 26-S

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links

[Tomfoolery]

If just using the outboard works well in all instances with your X I think I'd ditch the rudders.

I've tried that a number of times, and the boat was all over the place, needing constant correction. That's with a little CB down, and at low speed (Erie Canal cruising). One rudder down makes a huge difference, and when I'm heading into shallow areas or docking, I uncleat it and just let it hang. I also only use the rudder that is or will be furthest from the wall I'm docking at, as many are sloped and often backed up with rip-rap that the rudder can hit.

Stub rudders would be an excellent idea, IMO. That's got me thinking 'winter project'. And they're certainly easy enough to change while on the trailer. I don't even know that they'd need a downhaul if they're short.

[dlandersson]

Rick,

You are welcome to "deadhead" with me and pick up a few 10-20 degree days next summer.

Reality has set in: a few years away from 80 years old and while still have the will and love of sailing Lake Michigan realized the body cant keep up with the riggers of rigging and sailing the 2001 just installed a new Etec 60 last year which is very miserly on fuel 10-12 mpg at 4-5 mph. Aside from sailing there is perch and salmon fishing locally so she wont be a fixture in the harbor like most of the boat in our marina.(already have a downrigger installed. Wonder if i should keep the pair of tillers in play or make up shorter ones replicating in oak that dont cut 36" into the water. Unfortunately I have never been able to solve that situation where boat slides back from cradle 4 to 6 inches after hauling up the ramp. Every fall have to lift stern up with boat jacks and the bow with car jack to winch trailer back to normal position. Tried everything from Mac bump, lubing bunks, sudden braking downhill. Thank you all for your support in the past. Will miss those 20 degree days, but mutton is better than nuttin.

[Bill at BOATS 4 SAIL]

Reality is a crutch, but I'm only 71-1/2, soaking wet.
I keep my 26X in a marina on the south end of Charlotte Harbor, Florida. There's a lot of skinny water there. The only three sailboats there last winter were all Macs. When I do tie my rudder lines (always in a continuous loop instead of a figure-eight) here I do it so that my rudders are parallel to the surface, or simply leave them untied so they can float up if they hit something. This is not a problem at slow sailing/powering speed. I also keep the OBM down while under sail, which acts as a third rudder, with a little bit of centerboard.
I don't think stub rudders are necessary, nor advantageous.

[Herschel]

When I do tie my rudder lines (always in a continuous loop instead of a figure-eight) here I do it so that my rudders are parallel to the surface, or simply leave them untied so they can float up if they hit something. This is not a problem at slow sailing/powering speed.

This thought did remind me of an incident that might be relevant. I would appreciate others' experience with this issue. I ran aground once a few years ago while sailing in Lake Monroe in Sanford, FL. I released the rudders and in the process of backing up with the engine got turned sharply to starboard.
When the engine prop turned sufficiently, it took about 3 inches out of the starboard rudder that was, at the time, at the surface of the water, essentially parallel to the surface. I took it that the design of the boat just did not allow for the rudders to be in that position when the engine was fully turned to the side. I have made it a point not to leave the rudders in the "floating" mode while the engine is running. I carry a 14 inch prop so that could be the prime factor here for me. Thought I would just put that incident out there in case it is a prop size issue or a design issue.

[mastreb]

There exists no greater courage than self-acceptance sir. You have my admiration. I have an unusual suggestion: if you won't be sailing, why not shorten just one rudder? Then you'll have a long rudder, a shoal rudder, and a skeg. The best control for any depth.

[Mac26Mpaul]

Rick,

Mac bump never worked with my bottom paint and vehicle and anyway, its kind of embarrassing doing that at the boat ramp

All we do is start pulling the boat/trailer out a bit and then wind up the winch, then a bit more and wind it again. Do that twice, and the boat will end up in the V block and "almost' hard up against it.

[dlandersson]

When I leave the rudders parallel with the water and turn, the outboard prop chews them up.

When I do tie my rudder lines (always in a continuous loop instead of a figure-eight) here I do it so that my rudders are parallel to the surface, or simply leave them untied so they can float up if they hit something. This is not a problem at slow sailing/powering speed.

This thought did remind me of an incident that might be relevant. I would appreciate others' experience with this issue. I ran aground once a few years ago while sailing in Lake Monroe in Sanford, FL. I released the rudders and in the process of backing up with the engine got turned sharply to starboard.
When the engine prop turned sufficiently, it took about 3 inches out of the starboard rudder that was, at the time, at the surface of the water, essentially parallel to the surface. I took it that the design of the boat just did not allow for the rudders to be in that position when the engine was fully turned to the side. I have made it a point not to leave the rudders in the "floating" mode while the engine is running. I carry a 14 inch prop so that could be the prime factor here for me. Thought I would just put that incident out there in case it is a prop size issue or a design issue.

[Bill at BOATS 4 SAIL]

My rudders turn with my OBM, so that does not happen to me.
Do you dis-connect your OBM while sailing?

[Tomfoolery]

Several folks who've converted to a trawler have added a stub mast to replace the original, using the original hinged mast step. Add a masthead (steaming) light, which could be taken from the real mast since you won't be using it anyway, and put a VHF antenna on it, too, assuming you have a marine radio down below. You can stick an LED all-round white anchor light on the top.

I'm working on the layout of such a mast that can also support the middle of the sailing mast when in travel configuration, with the crutch jacked up 12" for clearance, and with hooks for bicycle support so they're not on the deck. I hope to make a wooden version to try, then replace with Starboard or similar after it's tuned to perfection.

Poke around here for folks who've done this or similar.

[Highlander]

well u could make up a set of stubby rudders like the has they r pinned in the down position using a plastic or wooden dowl
http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j95/m ... 010010.jpg

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j95/m ... 010004.jpg

Tom ,
I have about a 10ft section of mast I believe & used the same mast I can cut u off a 4-5ft section if u,d like not sure what the shipping fee would be !

J
PS these rudders can be left in the down position @ wot just like on the

[Tomfoolery]

Tom ,
I have about a 10ft section of mast I believe & used the same mast I can cut u off a 4-5ft section if u,d like not sure what the shipping fee would be !

Thanks, John, but I think shipping would be prohibitive. But maybe I could take half of it at the next MMOR.

[Herschel]

My rudders turn with my OBM, so that does not happen to me.
Do you dis-connect your OBM while sailing?

Interesting. Are you saying that when your rudders are in "float" mode, half way up-half way down, and you are motoring and turning sharp, your prop does NOT chew up a rudder? I keep my Yamaha hooked up to steering at all times, so the rudders and the engine turn at the same time, and I DO have to watch and not go into float mode with engine going. If you do not have the problem that some of us have, do you have a smaller (<14 in) diameter prop? I couldn't tell from your signature which model Mac you have. Perhaps that is important here, too. The engine I was carrying at the time I had the grounding/rudder chewing was a Merc Big Foot. Maybe that was a factor.

[Bill at BOATS 4 SAIL]

In my post yesterday, I mentioned my 26X, which I keep in Florida, for winter use, w/50 HP Suzuki. It still has the original prop that came with the OBM. I think the prop is below the rudders, when they float up/are tied up.
If you are not having the problem with the Yamaha, maybe it was the Bigfoot prop.
I also have a Mac 19, and a 26M here in Wisconsin.