New member intro

A forum for discussing topics relating to older MacGregor/Venture sailboats.
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Hamin' X
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Re: Ballast picture Thank You!

Post by Hamin' X »

Sheppie62 wrote: Wed Dec 08, 2021 10:16 amDoes anyone have a picture of the ballast tank being installed?
These are the parts that make up the boat. At the left is the hull, still in its mold. Notice that the water tank and centerboard trunk are molded in as part of the hull. Next is the hull liner, then the deck, and then the deck liner. Rudders, bulkheads and other smaller parts are around the perimeter.


Image
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BOAT
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Re: New member intro

Post by BOAT »

I watched the guys make a boat hull when I was there. They put a huge blanket on this big table and pour buckets of gooey stuff all over the big white blanket and then these guys take squeegees and they squeeze out almost all the goo they poured on the blanket!! It all ends up on cardboard that is spread all over the floor! Then the guys take the big gooey blanket and they put it into the big black boat. After they get it all tucked into the black boat they spray more goo all over and then squeegee all the goo right back out onto the floor again!!

Really weird.

They just kept doing this over and over again.

I saw more stuff too, but I don't want to get in trouble for talking too much.
adventuren1
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Re: New member intro

Post by adventuren1 »

Sorry I got everyone confused on this. I am referring to a 1984 MacGregor 21 about the oil canning and crack. The keel weight is on the trailer and the hull is back to normal. I am certain there is no damage to the hull. The cracks are in the inner liner and Boat posted a good explanation of why that happens. My main question was to determine if this is common in Venture21/Mac21 boats? I plan to sell this as soon as I am done restoring it and I want to know as much as I can about the issue so I can be truthful with a buyer. The explanation by Boat makes sense. I most likely will not repair the cracks as they are not significant. So they will be visible to a buyer and I can sound like an old pro explaining it :)
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Jimmyt
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Re: New member intro

Post by Jimmyt »

adventuren1 wrote: Thu Dec 09, 2021 9:05 am The keel weight is on the trailer and the hull is back to normal. I am certain there is no damage to the hull.
Great news!
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Wyb2
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Re: New member intro

Post by Wyb2 »

I recently did some work on the same issue on a Mac 25. I don't have a photo of the finished product, but I can take one if there's interest. I didn't like how the trailer bunk was deflecting downward both forward and aft of the upright. You can kind of see it in this picture:
20210618_122352-small.jpg
There's a stringer glassed to the hull approximately where the bunk is, when was investigating I noticed it had separated from the inner surface of the hull for maybe 8-12", right behind where the trailer upright would rest. You can see that in this picture, where the hull surface switches from dark brown to a lighter tan color. It looks like the Mac 21 liner might be symmetrical in this area, the 25 isn't and on the starboard side there is a larger unsupported area of the hull. I ended up opening up the access hole and glassing in a piece of plywood that I cut to match the hull profile. Again, this picture is halfway through, but gives an idea. I also reattached the end of the stringer by glassing it to the liner wall that was already right there.
20210705_175655-75.jpg
I did this with stern supported so there was no weight on the area I was working on:
20210702_163738-small.jpg
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Jimmyt
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Re: New member intro

Post by Jimmyt »

Nice work! You know we want to see the finished pics, but more importantly, did it fix your problem with the hull deforming?
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Wyb2
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Re: New member intro

Post by Wyb2 »

Jimmyt wrote: Fri Dec 10, 2021 5:29 am Nice work! You know we want to see the finished pics, but more importantly, did it fix your problem with the hull deforming?
Thanks! I think the answer is, mostly. The hull didn't really spring back when I took the weight off the area, it's not a huge depression, but you can see it if you sight down the length of boat, the way you would check if a 2x4 is straight. However, I did notice when I set the boat back on the trailer, it didn't settle back all the way into the contour of the bunk, so the new structure is clearly taking some weight.

You can see the new gap between the hull and the bunk:
IMG_1631.jpg
Here are a couple pics of what the finished thing looks like. It's a trial-and-error layup, but probably 1 layer of cloth + 1 layer of roving in most areas, with a little more in some areas and a bunch of mat to build up the corners where it meets the hull. I've done some glass work before, but not a lot and nothing with awkward access like this, so I was definitely figuring it out as I went. Could be prettier, but that goes for most things I do.
IMG_1632.jpg
IMG_1633.jpg
Now I just need to make a new hatch to cover the enlarged access hole. It's going to be a little trickier than I originally thought, because liner in this area wasn't totally flat. So now I have 4 corners that aren't all in plane, so I need to make a bowed hatch if I want it to sit flush.
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Jimmyt
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Re: New member intro

Post by Jimmyt »

Looks like you did a fine job. Thanks for the pics.
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adventuren1
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Re: New member intro

Post by adventuren1 »

Nice repair work! Do you keep your keel weight on the winch or drop it on the trailer for storage?
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Wyb2
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Re: New member intro

Post by Wyb2 »

adventuren1 wrote: Fri Dec 10, 2021 10:48 pm Nice repair work! Do you keep your keel weight on the winch or drop it on the trailer for storage?
I keep the keel lowered onto the trailer. I noticed in the manual that’s what MacGregor says to do.

https://www.macgregorsailors.com/resources.html

I thought it would be nice to move the resting point on the trailer further forward so that not so much of the weight is still on the pivot bolt, but it’s probably unnecessary, and I’ve got plenty of other projects to do first.
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Re: New member intro

Post by Starscream »

adventuren1 wrote: Thu Dec 09, 2021 9:05 am Sorry I got everyone confused on this. I am referring to a 1984 MacGregor 21 about the oil canning and crack. The keel weight is on the trailer and the hull is back to normal. I am certain there is no damage to the hull. The cracks are in the inner liner and Boat posted a good explanation of why that happens. My main question was to determine if this is common in Venture21/Mac21 boats? I plan to sell this as soon as I am done restoring it and I want to know as much as I can about the issue so I can be truthful with a buyer. The explanation by Boat makes sense. I most likely will not repair the cracks as they are not significant. So they will be visible to a buyer and I can sound like an old pro explaining it :)
Is there a good economic case for restoring a Mac? The problem as I see it is that even a perfect Mac-21 doesn't command a terribly high price. I could understand a quick-flip...buy for 1k, wash, sell for 2k, but putting any significant time and effort into a Mac seems more like a labor of love than a profit generator.

There's an old joke applicable to Macs: I bought a $10,000 dollar boat, invested $20,000 improving it, and now it's worth $12,000.
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pitchpolehobie
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Re: New member intro

Post by pitchpolehobie »

Starscream wrote: Sat Dec 11, 2021 8:11 am
adventuren1 wrote: Thu Dec 09, 2021 9:05 am Sorry I got everyone confused on this. I am referring to a 1984 MacGregor 21 about the oil canning and crack. The keel weight is on the trailer and the hull is back to normal. I am certain there is no damage to the hull. The cracks are in the inner liner and Boat posted a good explanation of why that happens. My main question was to determine if this is common in Venture21/Mac21 boats? I plan to sell this as soon as I am done restoring it and I want to know as much as I can about the issue so I can be truthful with a buyer. The explanation by Boat makes sense. I most likely will not repair the cracks as they are not significant. So they will be visible to a buyer and I can sound like an old pro explaining it :)
Is there a good economic case for restoring a Mac? The problem as I see it is that even a perfect Mac-21 doesn't command a terribly high price. I could understand a quick-flip...buy for 1k, wash, sell for 2k, but putting any significant time and effort into a Mac seems more like a labor of love than a profit generator.

There's an old joke applicable to Macs: I bought a $10,000 dollar boat, invested $20,000 improving it, and now it's worth $12,000.
Agree - but its kind of hard to know when to draw the line. Ive incorp a "headache" factor into my boat purchases as well - as in is this worth the extra hassle it may cause / need upkeep for. (Fridge, AC, shorepower, Radar, Autohelm, Hot H2o, Pump out) :macx:
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Be Free
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Re: New member intro

Post by Be Free »

Many, many years ago I spent a lot of time and money getting a house ready to sell. With a large family and one income we had "deferred" a lot of maintenance items but with an eye toward a better selling price I put all (and maybe a little more) that I could afford into getting it back into shape and even a little better than it needed to be. Imagine my disappointment when I found out that the new owner had gutted the house, including all of my upgrades. Since then whether house, car, or boat I only make changes that I'm going to enjoy myself.

If restoring the boat brings joy to you then restore to your heart's content! Boats are supposed to be fun. If you are not having fun or if what you are doing is not going to result in fun down the road cut your losses and find something that you can enjoy. That's not advise for everything in life, but it works for a lot of things, particularly boats.
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adventuren1
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Re: New member intro

Post by adventuren1 »

Is there a good economic case for restoring a Mac? The problem as I see it is that even a perfect Mac-21 doesn't command a terribly high price. I could understand a quick-flip...buy for 1k, wash, sell for 2k, but putting any significant time and effort into a Mac seems more like a labor of love than a profit generator.

There's an old joke applicable to Macs: I bought a $10,000 dollar boat, invested $20,000 improving it, and now it's worth $12,000.
[/quote]

Yep, I do it just for fun. It's not always about making a profit. I'm retired. No wife, no kids, no dogs, no drama. I like working on boats. I will be about $2k into completely rebuilding this boat. It will have new everything. I will sell it for $3k if I'm lucky. Maybe more. I'll keep it for awhile and enjoy it before I sell it. I won't come close to making money if labor is figured in. But I don't care about that.

Remember, "There is nothing quite so satisfying as simply messing about with boats!"
adventuren1
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Re: New member intro

Post by adventuren1 »

Be Free wrote: Sat Dec 11, 2021 1:11 pm Many, many years ago I spent a lot of time and money getting a house ready to sell. With a large family and one income we had "deferred" a lot of maintenance items but with an eye toward a better selling price I put all (and maybe a little more) that I could afford into getting it back into shape and even a little better than it needed to be. Imagine my disappointment when I found out that the new owner had gutted the house, including all of my upgrades. Since then whether house, car, or boat I only make changes that I'm going to enjoy myself.

If restoring the boat brings joy to you then restore to your heart's content! Boats are supposed to be fun. If you are not having fun or if what you are doing is not going to result in fun down the road cut your losses and find something that you can enjoy. That's not advise for everything in life, but it works for a lot of things, particularly boats.
I agree! One thing I noticed living in a marina is that even though someone may be down in the bilge, dirty and sweaty fixing something, they are usually smiling at the end of the day during docktails! Because after all, we are on a boat with our flippy floppys on!
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