Newly Purchased Mac 26X

[Anduff]

First time poster, hello everyone! I’ve rented power boats for many years, took sailing lessons and fell in love with it, and have had a dream to purchase a sailboat to call my own. Ive been a stalking my local FB marketplace in Virginia Beach, VA for a suitable sailboat but never pulled the trigger. I stumbled on a Mac X for sale and thought it was definitely a good looking boat and even better that it is trailerable! I researched and researched Macs for three weeks, then contacted the seller.

Dream fulfilled, I am now the owner of a 2001 !!

First thing I did was take the mast off, unload everything on the boat, and cleaned it top to bottom. She had been sitting for many years so she was covered in gross. Afterward, I took her out for the first sea trial. I took her to our local inlet launch and put her in the water to cruise around the marina and check for leaks and motor function. All good all around

Now I’m looking to get the sails up and run her with the power of the wind… not so fast and easy. Like I said, she had been sitting for many years so there seems to be bolts missing, old lines, etc and the manual gives good generalities but not enough for a novice to a new boat. My friend who owns two sailboats is even scratching his head and no luck from previous owner. If anyone is in the Virginia area, and could help with getting the rigging up to par or point me to a good rigging service they stand by, I’d definitely appreciate it! I’m trying to get her sailing by October. Thank you all!

[dlandersson]

Kudos to you - right now Macs are in short supply, lot's of people looking, not many on offer.

Did you attend the seller's ceremony? Looks like this:

[Jimmyt]

Congratulations on the boat purchase. Welcome to the forum!

[NiceAft]

Might any of these help?

[Russ]

Congrats on the boat and welcome to the forum.

You might find some info here that could help. Manuals etc.
https://www.macgregorsailors.com/resources.html

There are several Mac owners in VA. Maybe someone can chime in.

[Anduff]

Happy to report that we were able to complete our first sail on the this last weekend (and before our October goal). Took it out a few times motoring only while we worked out getting the mast up and all the sails/rigging squared away.

The motor was hit or miss if it was going to work, we followed guides and manuals and its operation has been significantly improved but still has some faults. We have a Honda BF50. When we put it into gear, it often dies if it’s given throttle with any sort of speed - it has to be slowly coaxed to forward idle and from there has about 2” of play before it’ll start throttling up… and then it will just jump up from forward idle to way too fast for no wake zone. It makes coming into the docks a cheek clenching ordeal - dying and coming awfully close to $$$ sport fishers or coming in way too hot because it died while trying to get into reverse. From WOT down to slower speeds, it seems to track with what you would expect - little lower, little slower - until that area of play where the slightest adjustment is fast or nothing and on a delay from when you move the lever.

Similarly, the fast idle lever really only seems to do anything all the way up. If I lower it a little, it’s like I’ve dropped it completely. Throttle on the motor just drops to idle position and won’t open back up unless I pull fast idle all the way to the top. That can’t be normal, right?

Does this sound like a throttle cable issue from the remote control to the motor? PO did have it out of the water for 10 years, so I’m thinking the cable may have just given way or stretched way out.

Happy to provide add’l details to narrow down what can be the cause.

Andrew

[Be Free]

Is that the BF50A or BF50D? The "D" model is fuel injected.

I'm going to guess that you have an "A" model and the idle jets in the carburetor are clogged. It's a common problem with an engine that has been sitting.

[socalmacer]

I have the same engine on my 1996X and am the original owner. I've had similar issues in the past and rebuilt all three carbs and the engine runs like new. Put a new fuel filter in and with the fuels out there today, recommend you run the engine out of gas before putting in storage. I would also suggest completely rebuilding the water pump (not just the impeller but all the shaft seals, gaskets, etc) as well. I just did that for the first time after 25 years and what a difference! The lower end has been getting water in it and that fixed this and other issues. Finally, buy only honda parts for these outboards. If you are having issues finding the parts (some are no longer available) go to a honda motorcycle dealer and they can order the parts you need. Suggest looking them up online ahead of time as they will likely have no clue what you need. Good luck

[Anduff]

Got a bunch of the former issues worked out by going through the service manual page by page to correct misalignments from the Honda dealer

New fuel line did wonders, along with running sea foam and higher octane gas, but also made adjustments to the throttle linkage at the motor and got the cam roller lined up properly. No more dying on us when shifting! First few starts the engine blew smoke like you wouldn’t believe but it fires up first try now and idles great.

Still having issues with the throttle increase dead zone on the controller, so I’m guessing it’s a loose or stretched cable in the control unit itself. Haven’t taken it off yet because it looks to be more of an ordeal than quick fix. I’m also terrified of popping something off and making it totally fubar. Taking the boat out for the last time this season this weekend probably, so I’ll give it a go afterward.

The issue is it switches into forward gear like it should and the to forward idle like it should. Then you can move the lever a solid 3” toward WOT and absolutely nothing happens. Suddenly it’ll just jump up in RPM like it finally caught and increase speed so I have to back it off and find the “just right” for speed. From WOT, which we definitely can reach as it should be, the lever works like it should - lower and slower - until that point where it’s anyone’s guess if it’s going to be fast or forward idle. I had my friend spin the prop while I shifted to fwd and moved the throttle up to see what the linkage is doing, and it looks like it increases as it should but has minimal movement just in the dead zone. WOT is reached with the cam roller all the to the back of the black plate, so the motor side looks good. The fast idle lever now also changes the cam roller as it should so it is no longer all or nothing.

Any tips on the Honda BF50a controller/how you resolved are appreciated!

[NiceAft]

I sent you a Private Message with a question. They are easy to miss.

[JaxMacX]

Hey there new MacX owner. We purchased our boat two weeks ago as well. We haven't had a chance to get her out on the water yet. Wanted to get the motor in top shape. We are replacing fuel pump, fuel filter, water pump (with the kit), spark plugs, oil and lubricants throughout the boat. We live in a boating community where all our neighbors have boats in their driveway. My neighbor suggested that we replace all of these parts just to be safe. No telling how many hours are on the motor and those are the parts that fail. We will be replacing the anode as well. Fortunately for us there are several gas stations that sell ethanol free gasoline near us, so that is what we are putting in. Based upon what you said, I'll get some of the Sea Foam and run that as well. Hoping we get her on the water under power soon. The sailing part is going to wait as we haven't sailed before and we are a little intimidated by it.

[NiceAft]

Welcome to MacGregorsailors.com .

The sailing part is going to wait as we haven't sailed before and we are a little intimidated by it.

Take a sailing course; not just to learn to sail, but also to learn the rules of the water. Your sailboat is very different than your friends & neighbors power boats. For instance, be certain to have your ballast tank full, not partially filled, but full.

Your is very forgiving. Go slow, and you will pick it up quickly.