First day out

[roger]

Ron & Cindy,
Glad you had a 1st good time. Newport does have public docks thoughtout the harbor that you can tie up for a limited time legally to rig and unrig your mast. Don't know where the nearest one is near the back bay, but there one directly across the harbor from the bridge. I guess you could check a chart or phone the harbor dept.
Roger & Julie Dahl
'Julie-Lee"

[Miss_Dallie]

Ron & Cindy,
Glad you had a 1st good time. Newport does have public docks thoughtout the harbor that you can tie up for a limited time legally to rig and unrig your mast. Don't know where the nearest one is near the back bay, but there one directly across the harbor from the bridge. I guess you could check a chart or phone the harbor dept.
Roger & Julie Dahl
'Julie-Lee"

Thanks for the information. We may try to go out on this weekend. We've received a tremendous number of helpful tips and tricks and things to watch out for. Now that we have our maiden voyage under our belts, I don't feel anxious or nervous about putting Miss Dallia in the water again. As a matter of fact I am looking forward to it!

Aloha,

Ron and Cindy

[Miss_Dallie]

The first time the boat heeled over to 15 degrees the admiral call out from the cabin (where she had been hiding - apparently I make her nervous when I do stuff I've never done before) "What are you doing?!" My reply - "Sailing!"

I absolutely love your reply to your Admiral...I'm inspired.

Ron

[dlandersson]

apparently I make her nervous when I do stuff I've never done before

Reminds me of my wedding night.

[TFlight]

Thanks so much for your post. LOL I had my first outing yesterday, and I too am new to sailing the Mac26M. I could have written that for you except I was doing this solo and it got too late for me to even host the sail. I was to worried about how I was going to maneuver and get the boat boat back on the trailer before sunset.

[captsharon]

I just had to post a reply. I have my new blue Mac 26M for one month. My first trip was almost identical to yours. One of the caps on the guidepost came off when the boat lifted and made a 2 foot scratch on the blue area on the bow. Luckily I had asked the dealer for some blue gelcoat to fix a small ding they had caused. I have had the gelcoat in the glass bottle for a month now, did a poor job of covering the scratch but at least it is blue again. (not sure how long it will keep???) After the struggle and time wasted raising the mast on the first two times out, I decided on renting a wet slip. I am on Lake Martin in ALabama, the boat is at a state park and dock rent is 120 a month without a contract. It makes for much more of a pleasant day. I live 20 miles away and get to go about once a week now. I am a school teacher and hopefully will be comfortable enough this summer to take it to the gulf coast.
I wish that someone had warned me about the guidepost cap. I have already started modifications: small handle on the sliding hatchway cover (did anyone else smash their fingers??) added a spring keeper on the front hatch that will hold it halfway open when at the dock, anchor, or when not using the genoa, it makes the cabin a lot cooler. Cupholders in the cockpit!! Although I will not be raising and lowering the mast on each trip, I have started replacing the bolts and locknuts with easier quick release pins. I am running all lines to the cockpit and installing rope clutches. It took some tweaking, but I think I finally have the roller furling gear working correctly. I am adding a windvane tomorrow.
At least I have owned a few older sailboats and taken some classes, it would have been a slow learning curve if I were learning on my own. I would love to hear how things progress for you. I too love this forum and have collected about 100 pictures from the MacMods forum for future reference and ideas.
Sharon

[Theo]

Ron & Cindy,

If you plan on going out of Alamitos Bay, Davies launch ramp, give me a quick PM with your email. I consider myself a "local" at Alamitos and can give you guys some advice that will ake your lives much more pleasant. Alamitos is actually a very nice litle harbor with many plusses if you know the ins and outs.

I would offer to go with you but my next two weekend are tied up, Soccer tryouts and Mothers Day. Besides, we just got back from Spring Break with the boat in Lake Mead, so I am out of "boat time" and need to take the kids surfing for a change. Bummer.

Theo

[gianpaolo]

Yesterday was my first day out, I've been cautious since I've never handled a 26 foot and a 40 hp engine before, but it came so natural and easy, I thought I was dreaming, I slightly pushed up to 12 knots for a while, (full ballast), I didn't dare more.
I only did downwind with Genoa with light wind and GPS marked 2,5 knots, hmmm so relaxing!!
I look forward for next time
Now I feel to experiment to post a pic, to show you my friends a in a Sardinian enviroment (there must be a first time for this also)

fair winds to all

[DaveB]

WoW, thats a lot of Boats, Baby Buggie Bunkers bumping in that Marina.
Good to see you had a great relaxing time.
How do you squize in your spot at the Marina?
Dave

Yesterday was my first day out, I've been cautious since I've never handled a 26 foot and a 40 hp engine before, but it came so natural and easy, I thought I was dreaming, I slightly pushed up to 12 knots for a while, (full ballast), I didn't dare more.
I only did downwind with Genoa with light wind and GPS marked 2,5 knots, hmmm so relaxing!!
I look forward for next time
Now I feel to experiment to post a pic, to show you my friends a in a Sardinian enviroment (there must be a first time for this also)

fair winds to all

[gianpaolo]

I just hope Popeye (on the left) an Bluto (on the right) will have some respect for my poor 's broadsides, when mooring along them

[bscott]

Things can get exciting on any sail boat at any time, so there are a few suggestions to consider:
1- practice rigging the boat in your driveway. Once you feel comfortable, create a written rigging sheet with step by step instructions. Use it each time you rig.
2-have a tackle box handy with tools and spare fasteners
3-have two VHF handheld radios to communicate while launching
4-all lines neatly coiled on deck. Anchor ready to deploy
5-horn handy
6-engine running before you unhook from trailer--boat hook and fenders ready.
Make sure you pick the windward side of the dock to tie up.
Once on the water, practice driving with the motor---especially--the crew. After a few hours, deploy the jib and d-board with the engine running. Tack the boat with the help of the engine to get the feel of the wind filling the sail and the new coarse heel. If you have a 150 genoa, roll it out 1/2 way. Practice furling the jib and hardening up the sheets--wear sailing gloves!

Make sure you rotate the crew so each one learns the rigging and helm. This is a slow process. After you have learned the jib, then go to the main only. Raise the main with a crew on the helm---tie off the main at the first reef. Keep the engine running. Practice driving hard into the wind while rigging the main--main sheet centered on the traveler. Raise and lower the main until totally familar with the procedure. This takes patience. Sail main only for a few outings.

The traveler is your best friend. Practice dumping the main in puffs to keep the boat on her feet. Get a good sailing book like "Sailing Fundamentals" by Gary Jobson or "Looking at Sails" by Dick Kenny. Learn knots, sailing terminology,
tell tails, right of way-------sailing is work, a hobby, a sense of accomplishment.

Learn how to read the wind and how a sail functions--this is the real fun part of sailing. Up goes the reefed main and partially furled jib, then full jib, then the full main. This may take most of the summer depending upon how terrified your crew was at the beginning. For some people it takes many really good sailing days to overcome a newbie bad day.

I've been on the water for more than 35 years and, depending on my crew, leave the dock reefed with a full tank of gas. and some days I keep the sails under the covers and eat alot of bow spray. Blue bird days=full sails at 20*. That is why I gave up racing keel boats and sail a Mac.

Happy sails in you new Mac

Bob

[bwharkin]

Had my first day.....Holly crap.

Ended up having to swim under the boat to retrieve my dagger board. 3 miles offshore 4' seas 10-15 knots. By my self, Not fun

The board safety rope broke and the knot in the other line was in the wrong location. Dagger board came out of the bottom of the boat and was hanging there.

Second hand boat so I never check it.

[Hamin' X]

!	Moderator Note:
	Photos must be archived on a public site such as Photo Bucket. Photos from Facebook pages are not visible on the forum, unless the viewer is logged into Facebook and many do not have, or do not want Facebook accounts. ~Rich---Hamin' X~

[scubano]

Sounds like you launched at Los Alamitos, we launch at the ramp over by the Queen Mary. Our 26X clears the bridge there with plenty of room, so you can raise the mast on the trailer, attach the boom and go. Attaching the forestay while the boat is on the trailer is much easier than trying to do it on the water.

[RobertB]

Concerning the gash from the guidepost - I too have a deep scar from rubbing along (guiding off) the guidepost (did not even have a cap)

Cause - guidepost top edge is not dressed to remove the bur from where it was cut - this leaves a ragged edge. Seems the standard practice of "break all edges" common in most manufacturing shops does not apply to MacGregor. So, as delivered, if you use the guidepost to guide your boat on the trailer, you will gash the side of the boat

I mixed the blue gelcoat I received from Mike Inmon with some repair past from a kit at West Marine - made a passable repair. Better solution is to buy the paste repair kit from Blue Water Yachts.
As far as the guide posts, a real simple solution is to cut a length of PVC pipe to fit over the guide tubes (forget if 1.5 or 2 inch). Pipe will cover straight section, stop at curve, and should extend a few inches above the tubes. Simple, cheap, stays in place, and works well.