First Season - some lessons Ive learnt!

[Charlie]

Hello all,
Ive just packed the boat up for the Winter - early I know, but Im moving house this Autumn and that will take all my time. Its been my first season with a second hand 3 year old 26x and Ive learnt a few lessons. Ive sailed other yachts from 28ft to 72ft - but I wanted a 26x for my young family to have some fun with.
Weve just come back from cruising the Devon coast in England & im taking stock on what I need to do for next season. The lessons Ive learnt are:

i) Dont believe what you hear or read about poor handling in a marina. Ive learnt that with one third CB down, both rudders in place, a 26x handles better than anything Ive ever moved around in a confined space. This year, in one particularly tricky marina, where the tidal flows are 3-4kn through the pontoon, I saw the Marina owner literally run from his office as he saw me come in. He had heard about the 26x "poor handling" ..... after watching me berth, he later confided that nobody had entered the particular berth I had been allocated with such accuracy. The exit in the morning was just as good ..... he didnt even leave the office. Ive had similar experiences elsewhere - the 26x sure handles well.

ii) Watch the rudders in shallow water.
The ability to creep up an estuary or pass over a sand bar at low water gets you places where others cant go. Certainly gets you over the bar first and onto that sort after mooring buoy - but you need to watch the rudders. With mine roped down I got stuck hard and in my efforts to free myself, discovered that the rudders flex quite a lot. So much so, that the prop took an 8" bite out of the starboard rudder trailing edge.
I proudly displayed this when motoring, offering to those that asked, that the sharks bite hard in English waters.

iii) Watch the rudder securing guides.
The securing rope for the rudder passes up through a small black guide on the transom. As the rudder hits the sandbar, this guide doesnt give for a while, then when it does, it exits the transom leaving a small hole. Easily repaired - but a small saw cut through the guide means that the next time you hit the sand bar, the securing rope pops out from the guide, rather than damaging the transom.

iv) Shes good in 8ft waves bow first.
I took the 26x through some overfalls, wind against tide, full ballast tank, no sail under power at 8knts. She handled the waves perfectly - great stuff. No need to be afraid in future!

v) Shes good in 8ft waves side on,
Bit hairy this but I had to see what happened sidewards on. The 26x certainly rolled a lot and the crew didnt like it, but no problem. I learnt that Jackstays are essential and will be fitting them for next season.

vii) Find out how to get on the boat after MOB.
As a family we did some MOB drills and learnt that its very very difficult to get back on a 26x. You dont want to get on via the swim ladder when the props running (and in a heavy sea when the MOB is more likely, the prop will be running!)& I have to confess I havent sorted out this one yet. Lesson for next year is to devise some means of getting back on the vessel.

viii) Check the fuel valves on new fuel containers. The spare 25 litre fule container I had bought for the cruise didnt work. Lesson - keep a funnel on board, moving fuel between two containers in a choppy sea is no joke and environmentally unsound!

ix) Sailing into the wind takes some practice. Once you have learnt how to do it, shes as good as any other small vessel. But you do need to invest some time and effort to get the most out of it. Lesson Ive learnt is that you need to experiment.

Did I choose the right boat? Yes, I certainly did, its been a great summer

Regards to all,
Charlie

[RandyMoon]

Charlie, those are some good thoughts. Thanks for sharing.

I never understood the "poor handling in a marina" story. I come into my slip in all kinds of wind conditions and come in perfect every time. My M steers real well and can turn on a dime, or a shilling in your case.

We will look forward to hearing your sailing tales next year.

[Night Sailor]

Good post Charlie. Thanks for the details of your lessons. It is indeed a lot of fun AFTER one learns how to use the Mac systems to ,ameuver into a slip or berth. Never fails to impress bystanders who think they know it all.

For a MOB solution I think the first thing is get the LIfeSling to the MOB with proper manuvering. If you dn'thave one, get one. Once the MOB is attached to the boat via the slilng, then an amidships or side of cockpit retrieve is possible with a snapshackle on the end of either the main, jib or asymm halyard, the bitter end run to a winch. In choppy water, a bow or stern ingress is the worst way.

If the main is down, and the water is not too rough, you might run the boom over the side and use the shapshackle on the main sheet tackle to lift and bring aboard a person after the lifelines are lowered on a side. IF the water is rough, use the vang tackle instead of the main tackle from the main bale on the boom end to lift the MOB aboard. That way you sitll have some control over the boom and two tackles to work for you. One to lift, the other to get aboard.

I'd kill the engine (because some boats turn the prop even at idle in neutral gear), unless the boat is in imminent danger. Let the boat drift down on the MOB left in the lee of the boat. The water will be smoother because the boat blocks it, and there is less likely hood that the MOB could be injured by the motor, or the motor jammed with loose lines, life vests, life slings, etc.

MOB drills are good. Drilling the hardway is good but is rough on the dummy MOB, even in good weather conditoins. Best of all, make sure the crew is trained in handling the boat if YOU go over. And life vests at all times on the water. Full lenght jack lines with harnesses for all working crew is best in any kind or sea or heavy air.

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

Charlie, one easy mod that many have done is to replace part of the rudder lines with equal size marine rated bungee cord. Replace the side which holds the rudder down. I just tied bowlines in mine and it has been working fine for 3+ years. Probably the first mod I did in the shallow waters that I sail in.

If you are practicing MOB drills, why not also try under sail alone. That way you don't have to risk running the motor with people in the water

[Charlie]

Thanks for the advice - the marine bungee on the rudders sound good. I will do that mod after Ive repaired my "shark bite". My investigations so far by the way, reveal that a repair isnt easy. Keeping the air space (for the water ballast) in the rudder looks to be tricky - Im told a new rudder is probably a better bet.

On the MOB issue - the problem that bothers me most, is that my young family are unlikely to manage a sail only recovery if its me in the water. Ive taught them to watch the MOB, engine on, drop sails, go round through a figure of 8 whilst dropping the sling etc, then approach under power into the wind and recover. We can do this well - so Ive probably over drilled them into getting control by using the prop. I will investigate recovery from the side - using some of the ideas. Best of all, of course, is jackstays and harnesses. I fitted an anchor point in the cockpit before the start of the season - but kids being kids, its difficult to ensure they stay clipped in.

I learnt one other thing this year - that the boat cruises best under power in a slight sea at about 8kn, ballast tank full. Best fuel consumption, for what it is worth, was 5 miles to the gallon with 1 knot of tide assisting. Under sail, 5kn average with a fair wind was good - about what you might expect from this sail area.

She is good out at sea - suprisingly good. I always like to press the boundaries a bit in a new boat - that way you dont get suprised when the unexpected happens.

A few mods to do inside this winter - but nothing that hasnt been mentioned on the site already. Worst issue I think that needs dealing with is the wiring - I get my boats well sprayed with sea water and the mast / cockpit "waterproof" nav light connector is hopelessly inadequate.
Im also looking at the cleats - having rafted up a few times this summer, its clear they cant deal with this - I rafted most other yachts to my stanchion posts and mast. Not ideal and a good trip hazard.

Kind regards all,
Charlie

[baldbaby2000]

I think the Macs handle great with a rudder down and partial board and the motor linkage connected. The only problem I have is putting it on the trailer with a cross wind and all the foils up. Then things get squirrely!

[Night Sailor]

I haven't seen the damage of course, but I think it would be quite alright to fill in solid with MarineTex or similar epoxy compound any part of the rudder at or above the propellor bites. Where you need the ballast is in the lower end anyway, and that could be left open. It would not hurt anything if the whole board were solid, just make it harder to lift out of the water with the standard setup. You could put a two part block on the retrieval line and solve that issue.

Replacement rudders are expensive, expoxy much less.

Hope this helps.

[Frank C]

I think the Macs handle great with a rudder down and partial board and the motor linkage connected. The only problem I have is putting it on the trailer with a cross wind and all the foils up. Then things get squirrely!

Actually, you can retrieve the 26X onto the trailer with all boards down. The rudders hang aft of the trailer, so with any sort of ramp angle there's nothing for the rudders to hit. However, I feel a bit of CB is even more important than a rudder.

When nearing docks I always leave the centerboard down by about 4 to 6 inches of line, providing just enough skeg to help with directional control. When the bow is tight against to the trailer's winching block, the trailer is still at a descending angle beneath the boat and the CB is hanging over the middle bunk (or possibly resting thereon). After winching the bow tight, I pull up the remaining CB line.

[Zoran]

Actually, you can retrieve the 26X onto the trailer with all boards down. The rudders hang aft of the trailer, so with any sort of ramp angle there's nothing for the rudders to hit.

Frank, I've seen more than one 26X (mine included) with shaved rudders because they are forgotten on down position at the ramp, they will drag on concrete on the ramp if they are not secured up. I was thinking about bungee mode but than when the rudders pop up they can easily be damaged by propeler unless they pop put of the water completely. So I decided to watch charts and depth sounder.

Zoran

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

Charlie...thats some interesting stuff...Thanks !

Im a fair weather sailor, but have been in some 4' waves with winds at about 25 mph plus running about 1/3 furler. Not too much fun. I cant imagine trying out 8' waves...I'd definately have the hatch closed, and crew below for more ballast...Its great to know the Mac can handle it.

Happy Sailing

[Miquel]

Thanks a lot for sharing your experiences. I don't know the age of your children; in my case it's 2 girls of 15 and 2 boys of 11. Before crossing to Corsica this summer (40 NM, and at some point of time you are at 16 NM of the nearest land), we practiced man over board exercises under motor and sail. Knowing that I am the one with a biggest probability of falling, I "volunteered" to be rescued in the exercises. It was with good sea, but most of the times, they "rescued" me without damage. In rough sea, motor can be a real issue, but I don't see another solution than through the transom. And as we only have 1 possibility of reducing the main (it's the original, and every year I tell myself that I have to add a second point), in rough conditions, there are a lot of chances of having the motor running. Another thing we have instaured is that everyone is secured with a life line when navigating by night, or when conditions begin to deteriorate, even when being in the cocpit; this reduces quite a lot the MOB chances.

I agree completely with you in the cruising speed and ballast full: in my case, with a Yamaha 50 HP big thrust, it's about 5.5 to 6 liters per hour with everyone and everything on board.

And under sail (main + jib; I don't use the genoa because the performance when reaching is not so good), we get 4.5 to 5 knots average with winds about 15 knots.

[Skip Matthies]

Charlie,
Thanks for the lessons learned. They brought back memories and provided a good lesson for an upcoming adventure. I use to back my into a slip. With the rudders down and a little CB, she drove like she was on rails. The wife and I are headed for a week at Lake Powell in Utah. It is part of the Colorado River. Lots of low spots and big rocks just under the surface. Your story made me think about leaving the rudders down but not tied. Thanks for sharing.
Skip

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

Miquel, 2 sets of twins?

I try real hard not to fall off. I am pretty skeptical that my family could come pick me back up if the sails were up. If we were just motoring, they could probably handle it, so I just need to keep trying to teach them how to drop the sails, tilt the motor down, and start it up.

[Tahoe Jack]

Hey Skip Matthies....am planning a week on the water on Powell beginning late Sept. When are you going? Planning to put in near Page, and spend five days or so upriver....150miles...and then skoot back down in a day and a half or so...motoring likely. Hope to do some kayaking and hiking....but adding the road trip...it is already ten days... Jack

[Skip Matthies]

TJ,
I'll take the Powell trip over to Events and Venues.
Skip