Great Loop on a 26X?

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topcat0399
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Sailboat: Venture 2-24
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Re: Great Loop on a 26X?

Post by topcat0399 »

I plan to do the Great Loop in my Venture 224 in a few years, and I'm taking my mast with me.
Its a sail boat and I like to pretend I'm a sailor.

I have a very good very stable gin pole system that I can use alone, even in rough water if I have to (and I have).
Its always on the boat. Often on weekend sail outings I just leave rigged tied down laying on the fore deck.

It allows me to park the mast any where I like in its up and down arc and the mast doesn't flop around at all anywhere in that arc.
I put a lot of thought into it and tested many configurations until I got it right (its my 4th iteration).

I no longer have the stock light weight Mac noodle mast (I dropped it and bent the crap out of it)
so now I have a battle ship mast from some unknown 30 footer or the like and I can still handle it just fine.

I voraciously study every thing I can find on the Loop so thanks guys.
-Lake Petenwell, WI
-1973 Macgregor Venture V224 (iron keel - Yea!)
-1978 Evinrude 15 Long Shaft Electric Start
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NiceAft
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Re: Great Loop on a 26X?

Post by NiceAft »

When you do
do the Great Loop
, be sure to keep in touch; post photos. Several of us can live vicariously through your postings. :)
Ray ~~_/)~~
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topcat0399
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Re: Great Loop on a 26X?

Post by topcat0399 »

I will indeed. I Pinky swear.
-Lake Petenwell, WI
-1973 Macgregor Venture V224 (iron keel - Yea!)
-1978 Evinrude 15 Long Shaft Electric Start
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Chinook
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Re: Great Loop on a 26X?

Post by Chinook »

We had our mast with us for our entire loop cruise. When I had to lower the mast (going down the Illinois River and while on the lock/canal waters up north), I pinned it to the bow railing, in the highway travel position. I didn't use the standard pedestal crutch, though, because that would have put the mast too low for us to use our dodger. Also, the mast would have been a head bumper in the cockpit. I ended up putting an extension to the crutch, using some tubing, to raise the angle of the mast and give more headroom. This worked out fine. We did go under one railroad bridge on the Illinois River with just 8 inches of clearance below the top end of the lowered mast (could have asked for an opening, but a big delay on that bridge). One thing I had to do was make up a coaxial cable extension cord, so that I could connect my VHF radio antenna to the plug fitting on the cabin roof when the mast was lowered. With the base of the mast up front the antenna couldn't connect otherwise. The VHF was really important in providing AIS service and enabling me to talk with tow boat captains while on the Mississippi.
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pitchpolehobie
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Re: Great Loop on a 26X?

Post by pitchpolehobie »

Chinook wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 5:41 pm We had our mast with us for our entire loop cruise. When I had to lower the mast (going down the Illinois River and while on the lock/canal waters up north), I pinned it to the bow railing, in the highway travel position. I didn't use the standard pedestal crutch, though, because that would have put the mast too low for us to use our dodger. Also, the mast would have been a head bumper in the cockpit. I ended up putting an extension to the crutch, using some tubing, to raise the angle of the mast and give more headroom. This worked out fine. We did go under one railroad bridge on the Illinois River with just 8 inches of clearance below the top end of the lowered mast (could have asked for an opening, but a big delay on that bridge). One thing I had to do was make up a coaxial cable extension cord, so that I could connect my VHF radio antenna to the plug fitting on the cabin roof when the mast was lowered. With the base of the mast up front the antenna couldn't connect otherwise. The VHF was really important in providing AIS service and enabling me to talk with tow boat captains while on the Mississippi.
I think @Overeasy had a thread last year about raising the mast - maybe makes more sense/ is easy to just raise the aft portion? would be a smaller project. :macx:

@Topcat - post pics of your boat. We dont get enough of those on here
2002 MacGregor 26X: Remedium
Tohatsu 25HP
Cruising Area: Inland Ohio, Lake Erie
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topcat0399
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Re: Great Loop on a 26X?

Post by topcat0399 »

Like So?


Image

Don't let this be you. Very stupid mistake.

Image

Travel Config, land or sea.
Front crutch is easily removed.
Rear crutch can be raised, lowered, swung down into water, or pull pins and removed.
Ugly, but comes in handy for lots of things while on water. Also allows me to have
the poptop up full up when the mast is in travel mode.

Image

Getting ready to put in

Image

Raising mast on water with gin pole, now half up. Baby stays are boom vang and main sheet tackle.
If mast gets off center, slack one, tighten other.

Image

No wind, so at the beach.
-Lake Petenwell, WI
-1973 Macgregor Venture V224 (iron keel - Yea!)
-1978 Evinrude 15 Long Shaft Electric Start
billder99
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Re: Great Loop on a 26X?

Post by billder99 »

This is good stuff guys, please keep it coming. I am picking up my boat next weekend, I ended up purchasing an 86' Mac26D (rather than an X). It's a very basic boat, all original, few upgrades, but in excellent condition... always stored on a trailer, no soft spots, no keel/rudder damage, standing & running rigging is like new, solid trailer.

I've decided this will not be my Great Loop boat. We will get something bigger and more solid but with shallow draft, like a Pearson 35CB or Tartan 34CB. I will use the 26D for now, updating my sailing chops (I have a ton of sailing experience, but it's been a lot of years since my sailing days). I live on the Sea of Cortez, so lot's of island exploring and spearfishing in the months ahead... and some challenging days for an M26.

I do have one small adventure planned for the 26D. I'm going to join the Texas 200 in June, really looking forward to that. Great Loop will be in 2023, unless I land a BIG project I'm working on, then it will move to 2024. It's all good... motivates me to stay fit, and I'll be out sailing here until then.
Last edited by billder99 on Fri Jan 28, 2022 4:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
billder99
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Re: Great Loop on a 26X?

Post by billder99 »

topcat0399 wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 9:07 pm Raising mast on water with gin pole, now half up. Baby stays are boom vang and main sheet tackle.
If mast gets off center, slack one, tighten other.
Hi Topcat, good highway setup... thanks for explaining it's multi-use functions on the water... bimini is important! A few questions:

Gin Pole - I haven't used a gin pole, on my Catalina 22 I had an extension for the rear crutch to raise it to a higher angle, connected mast to tabernacle, connected shrouds, walked the mast up, connected forestay. Very fast and easy, no extra gear on board. Have you tried this with a Mac 26?
Baby Stays - I can't visualize your "baby stays are vang & main sheet" comment... can you explain this in more detail? or post photos?

Thanks!
BD
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Jimmyt
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Re: Great Loop on a 26X?

Post by Jimmyt »

His fourth photo shows the "baby stays" (actually shrouds) on either side of the mast. The block arrangements on either side of the mast are his vang and main sheet, used brilliantly to keep the mast in line during raising and lowering. They are connected at the mast about 6 ft off the deck.
Jimmyt
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Be Free
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Re: Great Loop on a 26X?

Post by Be Free »

Chinook wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 5:41 pm We had our mast with us for our entire loop cruise. When I had to lower the mast (going down the Illinois River and while on the lock/canal waters up north), I pinned it to the bow railing, in the highway travel position. I didn't use the standard pedestal crutch, though, because that would have put the mast too low for us to use our dodger. Also, the mast would have been a head bumper in the cockpit. I ended up putting an extension to the crutch, using some tubing, to raise the angle of the mast and give more headroom. This worked out fine. We did go under one railroad bridge on the Illinois River with just 8 inches of clearance below the top end of the lowered mast (could have asked for an opening, but a big delay on that bridge). One thing I had to do was make up a coaxial cable extension cord, so that I could connect my VHF radio antenna to the plug fitting on the cabin roof when the mast was lowered. With the base of the mast up front the antenna couldn't connect otherwise. The VHF was really important in providing AIS service and enabling me to talk with tow boat captains while on the Mississippi.
Did you have a way to rotate the VHF antenna back to a vertical orientation while the mast was down? If not, how was your range forward and aft?
Bill
2001 26X Simple Interest
Honda BF40D
"If I were in a hurry I would not have bought a sailboat." Me
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Chinook
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Re: Great Loop on a 26X?

Post by Chinook »

Yes, I did adapt a bracket so I could rotate the antenna to its normal vertical orientation. It worked well, and I was able to "see" tow boats around several bends on the Mississippi and well beyond visual range, and also speak with the boat captains. It's nice to know in advance which side of the river the tow boat wants you on, when the tow boat and barges are 1/4 mile long and 3 barges wide.
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topcat0399
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Re: Great Loop on a 26X?

Post by topcat0399 »

Jimmyt wrote: Fri Jan 28, 2022 5:58 am His fourth photo shows the "baby stays" (actually shrouds) on either side of the mast. The block arrangements on either side of the mast are his vang and main sheet, used brilliantly to keep the mast in line during raising and lowering. They are connected at the mast about 6 ft off the deck.
ah! You are far to kind. Brilliant in the way Edison tried everything else before this worked.
Now it seems so obvious.

For the baby shrouds I tried all kinds of things, ratchet straps, poly rope, wire rope similar to Macs factory stuff...
I've looked at a lot of systems.....

Finally hit on sheet/vang. This and its nearly perfect. I don't know why more gin pole users don't do it.
DOH!
-Lake Petenwell, WI
-1973 Macgregor Venture V224 (iron keel - Yea!)
-1978 Evinrude 15 Long Shaft Electric Start
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