Stay Question

[DaveR-NZ]

The first of likely many questions from me.

I was looking at the mast tonight and I noticed something I wasn’t expecting with the stays.

The picture shows where the uppers attach to the mast, in red. Note they are at the front of the mast where the furler is attached. Generally (on normal sailboats) the uppers are almost always attached at the side by way of an angle bracket or some other type of extrusion, in green.

IMG_7648.jpeg

I decided to check the lowers and they are the same.

IMG_7649.jpeg

Oddly, there doesn’t look to have been any signs of removal of the bolt or modification. Is this normal on these boats? The mast seemed to go up fine when I first viewed it. It’s a 2004 26M.

[WinSome]

Yes Dave R. That’s standard. Here’s pic of my ‘boater buddy Bob’s ‘ 2004 M

Zoom in a bit. It’s similar to your pic.
For comparison our 1999 X has thru the mast bolts to attach the stays

My experience says it works for the M. Likely due to the rotating mast, providing a safe pivot point.

[Russ]

Yes, that is normal.

The Mac 26M is a fractional rigged sloop.

It may seem odd to not have a back stay. The side shrouds are raked back just behind the mast and act as the side stays and effectly a backstay.

The advantage is less clutter in the cockpit as there is no backstay. It also facilitates the rotating mast which BTW, you might want to check to ensure it rotates freely. The base of the mast has ONE bolt the pivots the entire mast on several washers. These often require lubrication or adjustment so they are not bound tight.

Blue Water Yachts sells a ball bearing upgrade. Normally, I would suggest you buy it from them to support the only MAC parts dealer. However, being in NZ shipping is probably expensive and it's just a simple Thrust Bearing that you can source at a local hardware store.

https://shop.bwyachts.com/product-p/3435-1m0.htm

Visit this page
https://www.macgregorsailors.com/resources.html

And download the manual for your boat. There are also other resources like videos that will show how to rig your boat.

[Russ]

Your next challenge might be the topping lift for the boom.

The factory did not include a topping lift. The previous owner may have installed a topping lift or sometimes a "boom kicker" that supports the boom.

If not, a simple solution my dealer installed was a single line from the top of the mast to the end of the boom with 2 clips. One for sailing (lower) and one higher to lift it away from heads.

[DaveR-NZ]

Yes Dave R. That’s standard. Here’s pic of my ‘boater buddy Bob’s ‘ 2004 M

Zoom in a bit. It’s similar to your pic.
For comparison our 1999 X has thru the mast bolts to attach the stays

My experience says it works for the M. Likely due to the rotating mast, providing a safe pivot point.

Awesome, thanks for clarifying.

[DaveR-NZ]

Yes, that is normal.

The Mac 26M is a fractional rigged sloop.

It may seem odd to not have a back stay. The side shrouds are raked back just behind the mast and act as the side stays and effectly a backstay.

The advantage is less clutter in the cockpit as there is no backstay. It also facilitates the rotating mast which BTW, you might want to check to ensure it rotates freely. The base of the mast has ONE bolt the pivots the entire mast on several washers. These often require lubrication or adjustment so they are not bound tight.

Blue Water Yachts sells a ball bearing upgrade. Normally, I would suggest you buy it from them to support the only MAC parts dealer. However, being in NZ shipping is probably expensive and it's just a simple Thrust Bearing that you can source at a local hardware store.

https://shop.bwyachts.com/product-p/3435-1m0.htm

Visit this page
https://www.macgregorsailors.com/resources.html

And download the manual for your boat. There are also other resources like videos that will show how to rig your boat.

Thanks Russ, yep aware of fractional rigging, my current boat is the same without a backstay (better IMO). Mast rotates freely as it should.

[Tsatzsue]

That is so the
mast can rotate freely.