She really does float in a foot(.304Meters) of water

A forum for discussing topics relating to MacGregor Powersailor Sailboats
User avatar
NiceAft
Admiral
Posts: 6699
Joined: Tue Feb 01, 2005 7:28 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
Location: Upper Dublin,PA, USA: 2005M 50hp.Honda4strk.,1979 Phantom Sport Sailboat, 9'Achilles 6HP Merc 4strk

She really does float in a foot(.304Meters) of water

Post by NiceAft »

Went to a jazz concert via our :macm: rather than driving. All of the finger slips were taken, but there was a space at a dock. Image The water was very shallow, but I gave it a try. Mac’s really do float in a foot of water :)

Ray Image

P.S. a beautiful natural mountain lake with water that is the local drinking water. The lake is 32 mile long (51.5K), 3 miles wide
(4.82K) wide, 200’ deep in spots (60.96M).
Image
User avatar
sailboatmike
Admiral
Posts: 1597
Joined: Thu Mar 12, 2015 10:17 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Australia

Re: She really does float in a foot(.304Meters) of water

Post by sailboatmike »

I think the official spec is 9 inches or 225mm, but I'm not sure if that's tanks full or empty, empty I would presume
User avatar
Tomfoolery
Admiral
Posts: 6135
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2011 7:42 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Rochester, NY '99X BF50 'Tomfoolery'

Re: She really does float in a foot(.304Meters) of water

Post by Tomfoolery »

sailboatmike wrote:I think the official spec is 9 inches or 225mm, but I'm not sure if that's tanks full or empty, empty I would presume
With no OB I would further assume. My :macx: sits more proudly at the bow than the stern once ballast is out, but that is likely due in part at least to the presence of a couple hundred pounds of OB.

I tested that a couple of weeks ago when I motored into shallow water at high speed in Pleasant Bay in Cape Cod ("high" for my Mac, that is), and took the paint off the prop with the sand bottom. :P
User avatar
Russ
Admiral
Posts: 8299
Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2007 12:01 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
Location: Bozeman, Montana "Luna Azul" 2008 M 70hp Suzi

Re: She really does float in a foot(.304Meters) of water

Post by Russ »

Yea, I assume with motor up. The boat will float, but that prop sits much lower.
WHRoeder
Deckhand
Posts: 32
Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2009 6:10 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X

Re: She really does float in a foot(.304Meters) of water

Post by WHRoeder »

9 inches no ballast. 1 foot ballast. Motor and center board up.
User avatar
sailboatmike
Admiral
Posts: 1597
Joined: Thu Mar 12, 2015 10:17 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Australia

Re: She really does float in a foot(.304Meters) of water

Post by sailboatmike »

WHRoeder wrote:9 inches no ballast. 1 foot ballast. Motor and center board up.
I can vouch for this, we were stern in beached when our front anchor dragged in the middle of the night, it was a real pain getting her out far enough to reset the anchor, involved 3 people and some LOOOOOOOG lines because we couldn't put the motor down.

We had a line from the bow back to the beach with one person on it to hold the boat straight, a stern line I had hold of so we could pull her back in, we pushed her out as far we could then my partner reset the anchor while sitting on the bow.

Maybe next time we will go bow in, not as easy to get on and off but at least we can fire the motor if we need to get off quickly
User avatar
Highlander
Admiral
Posts: 5995
Joined: Wed Sep 21, 2005 8:25 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
Location: Maccutter26M 2008 75HP Merc. 4/S Victoria BC. Can. ' An Hileanto'ir III '
Contact:

Re: She really does float in a foot(.304Meters) of water

Post by Highlander »

Now Ray
So how many power & sail boats did u watch run aground as they all tried to raft up to u without askin permission ! while u sat quietly back on the dock sipping on a Malt Scotch :)
as they assumed if a sail boat can go in there so can we ! :D :D :D no matter what depth sounder & GPS is telling them :o
Just Sayin That,s All
J 8)
User avatar
NiceAft
Admiral
Posts: 6699
Joined: Tue Feb 01, 2005 7:28 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
Location: Upper Dublin,PA, USA: 2005M 50hp.Honda4strk.,1979 Phantom Sport Sailboat, 9'Achilles 6HP Merc 4strk

Re: She really does float in a foot(.304Meters) of water

Post by NiceAft »

John,

We just back from overnighting with the boat up in Hague, NY. As I was trying to find a dock to pull up to, people in a pontoon boat we’re flailing their arms yelling that the water was too shallow for me to be there. I then noticed that there were people walking waist deep, maybe a hundred feet from shore. The depth was about three feet. I told them I float in a foot of water. They just watched. :D

I ended up anchoring. It was unusual. I anchored in forty feet. I started let out line, but before I let out the required rode, I was in two feet of water. Never had that happen before. Because of the deep sloped bottom, a hundred twenty foot rode held quite well. I usually do 7 feet per foot.

Ray
User avatar
BOAT
Admiral
Posts: 4969
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2012 5:12 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
Location: Oceanside, CA MACMJ213 2013 ETEC60

Re: She really does float in a foot(.304Meters) of water

Post by BOAT »

You guys will need to teach me the fine art of anchoring someday - in the Baja gulf we would toss a hook at 10AM a half mile from shore and by 3PM I could walk to shore in 14 inches of water. (The tides are 30 feet there). That's when I would set the anchor proper like - when i could actually SEE where I was putting it. :D Otherwise I just toss it and drag till I stop.

Same thing in Lower Ballast Point at Cat Harbor on Catalina Island. I walk the boat into the lagoon (it's about 15 inches all that way around the edge) and walk the anchor over the the place I want it to go.

Anchoring is always a big joke for me - You guys would probably make fun of me and I would be so embarrassed to anchor in your presence. I run upwind a little ways, and then I just drop everything I have over the side - chain, rope,, anchor - the whole banana - I just empty the chain locker - then I sit back and wait to see what happens. If the boat stops at some point I figure I'm good and open a beer.

I guess I'm not a very good 'anchoring' person - but it's so rare that I need to do it I have not had any real trouble yet. I do like to anchor in really shallow water and that's probably why my method works - for one - there are never any other boats around in the real shallow water and the shallow water also protects me from the big boats that like to break anchor in the middle of the night - and two - because I hook shallow I always have TOO MUCH chain out - so it's harder to drag when you have a lot of chain on the bottom. Sometimes I tie a milk carton to the anchor with a string so I can see where it is.

But someday, I am going to get lessons from those guys in Florida and New York on the proper way to anchor.
User avatar
Tomfoolery
Admiral
Posts: 6135
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2011 7:42 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Rochester, NY '99X BF50 'Tomfoolery'

Re: She really does float in a foot(.304Meters) of water

Post by Tomfoolery »

What anchor do you use, BOAT?
User avatar
BOAT
Admiral
Posts: 4969
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2012 5:12 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
Location: Oceanside, CA MACMJ213 2013 ETEC60

Re: She really does float in a foot(.304Meters) of water

Post by BOAT »

The one with the chain attached to it.
User avatar
Tomfoolery
Admiral
Posts: 6135
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2011 7:42 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
Location: Rochester, NY '99X BF50 'Tomfoolery'

Re: She really does float in a foot(.304Meters) of water

Post by Tomfoolery »

:|
User avatar
NiceAft
Admiral
Posts: 6699
Joined: Tue Feb 01, 2005 7:28 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
Location: Upper Dublin,PA, USA: 2005M 50hp.Honda4strk.,1979 Phantom Sport Sailboat, 9'Achilles 6HP Merc 4strk

Re: She really does float in a foot(.304Meters) of water

Post by NiceAft »

BOAT wrote:The one with the chain attached to it.
Good one :D

Ray
User avatar
Jimmyt
Admiral
Posts: 3402
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2015 9:52 am
Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
Location: Mobile AL 2013 26M, 60 Etec

Re: She really does float in a foot(.304Meters) of water

Post by Jimmyt »

Ouch :D
User avatar
BOAT
Admiral
Posts: 4969
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2012 5:12 pm
Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
Location: Oceanside, CA MACMJ213 2013 ETEC60

Re: She really does float in a foot(.304Meters) of water

Post by BOAT »

Well I don't know!?! It's an anchor! It's real heavy and it has a thing on it that flaps back and forth and a long metal steel thing with a hole in the end that has the chain attached to it!

I'm going to buy a stern anchor someday - and when I do I am going to get the one with no moving parts - (I guess that would be a 'solid state' anchor). Solid State is better - I learned that back in the 60's when they started making transistor radios.
Post Reply