What mods are a must have and what factory mods can be left

[AKCoastie]

...off? I am currently window shopping for a new . I was wondering which factory accessories were better left off and done by myself when I get home. For example, I want the shower and water pressure system for the boat. I have read about people installing their own systems with hot water heater. These are the kind of examples I am looking for. Also, any accessories/mods you wish you had gotten or wish you had left off?

[c130king]

You definitely want to check out the Mod pages...not the Mod forum. Lots of great ideas there.

Personally I highly recommend roller furling and lines led aft...never have to leave the cockpit...single-handing is a breeze. I love my bimini top. Reefing is a must IMHO...single vs. double line is always debated...I have single-line "jiffy reef" system. I also recommend lazy jacks...once again for ease of single-handing. All of these could be done by your dealer...or you could do them yourself depending on your druthers.

Good Luck,
Jim

[tangentair]

I may have missed in your posts or you did not say where you currently are. I recommend you try and find a good dealer close to where you are and spend some time with them discussing your budget and the best use of it, then spend some time with an owner or even take a sail or two if you can. If you are used to small boats in the CG and expect similar handling features from a MAC you will not find them. You may like the way the boat responds or may find it too sensitive to external forces especially at slow speeds. If you are in the midwest, definately contact Bill at Boats for Sail, if your on the west coast, there seem to be some excellent dealers out that way, in New England try and hook up with the New England trailer sailers organization up that way and talk with KHE - Stephen Catigale. The one feature that most owners on this board seem to like best is the ease of modifying the MAC to personal preferences. Like Jim - c130king, I believe that lines run aft are very important, I do not use the swim ladder, when sailing I wish I had a furler, when trailering and setting up, I am glad I do not have a furler (my dealer Bill @ Boats4Sail, talked me out of it because I would be trailering, sailing for a half day or so, pulling it out and taking it home - about 15 minutes from the launch pad, and doing it all over again the next day on the weekends. That is the real benefit of a good dealer like Bill who will ask you the right questions so you will know what you want.) I also agree with Jim about reading the mods pages, I read each M mod and printed out the ones I was really interested in - including the pictures, and made a notebook of the pages and while rereading them from time to time, I jot down my ideas there also. I them skimmed the X mods and printed out those that I felt had merit for the M - about 40 to 60% of them with slight changes. Definately also read the adventures to the Bahamas and to Alaska and consider what you would need to add to your boat if you were doing them.
A cautionary note - the boat is a power sailer, it is not a power boat or a sail boat - removal of the mast and reassembly takes a couple of hours, just raising the mast takes from 30 to 60 minutes depending upon your experience and help, it is not something you just pull up to the launch ramp, back in and off you go. Your kids and wife will be tapping their feet while you prep the boat and that can be a major reason you do not go out for an hour or so after work as you were planning to do when you bought it.

[AKCoastie]

I am in AK for the next few months at a minimum so finding a MAC up here would be difficult.

A cautionary note - the boat is a power sailer, it is not a power boat or a sail boat - removal of the mast and reassembly takes a couple of hours, just raising the mast takes from 30 to 60 minutes depending upon your experience and help, it is not something you just pull up to the launch ramp, back in and off you go. Your kids and wife will be tapping their feet while you prep the boat and that can be a major reason you do not go out for an hour or so after work as you were planning to do when you bought it.

I was under the assumtion that the mast can be dropped or raised quickly according to the dealer website. Is this not correct then? Why do you reccomend against a furler if your going to be raising and lowering the mast? Are there some weird extra steps that make it a pain in the butt?

[Gunkholer]

I'm wondering the same about the furler, why a hassle?
I just unsnap mine and lay it down on the deck.
Interested in learning what you know.

[c130king]

I was under the assumtion that the mast can be dropped or raised quickly according to the dealer website. Is this not correct then? Why do you reccomend against a furler if your going to be raising and lowering the mast? Are there some weird extra steps that make it a pain in the butt?

It would definitely be easier to raise the mast with no furler...it can be a bit of a handful. But after 4 or 5 times I never really had any big issues raising mine with the furler. It takes around 45-60 minutes after I pull into the marina to rig the boat and launch from a trailer in my mind.

But after about 15 or so mast-down/mast-up/mast-back-down sailing days I was able to get mast-up storage for two months and then a slip for my last two months. Mast up storage is the way I would prefer.

I think most on this site have roller furling. You can even change headsails with the furler up...I have never done that but others have.

You definitely need to try and see a Mac and take a test run if possible. And if you can, download or buy the Mac video...good propaganda...mast raising looks easy but I don't think they have a furler on that boat.

Jim

[AKCoastie]

Wish I could. I would be at the dealer tomorrow bugging them for a ride. Best I can do is hit up someone when I go to Charleston for a school around Nov.

[Frank C]

Of course, a Dealer website wants us to believe that mast raising is quick 'n easy, but good dealers won't mislead you.
The downside to trailering with a furler ... the furler and wrapped headsail are heavy and unweildy.
They prolly double the weight (or more) for the mast raising process, and they slow down that process.
Some dealers will admit that for "full trailering mode," you're gonna be better off without the furler.

The counterpoint ... a furling headsail makes reducing sail area much easier, quicker and safer in heavy winds. However, I'm guessing most owners who choose a furler ... eventually also choose to find a mast-up storage area. This means the boat is retrieved onto the trailer, but then it can be towed to nearby parking without any overhead interference.

My mast-up storage pricing just went up to $125/month. But it's still worthwhile, since it means I can go from storage to afloat in 30 minutes. Retrieval onto the trailer is just as easy, taking about 45 mins. because I like to wash-down the boat after trailering it, before storing it. If I was also raising and dropping the mast, that adds about 30 mins to each end of the process.

REGARDING YOUR FIRST QUESTIONS: my advice is to purchase as few options as possible with a new boat. Many of my dealer-installed options didn't really meet my ulitimate convenience or quality objectives, so they had to be removed or reworked. I suggest learning about the boat first, then doing the mods later. Even if you don't want to work on the boat yourself, you can have your own designs implemented, rather than something slapped on by a dealer.

[AKCoastie]

Thanks for the info guys.

[bscott]

Furlers: Remove the head sail, 3-4 minutes, stuff into a bag or thru the front hatch. 3-4 minutes: This you have to do anyway. Coil the furler line and tie to furler drum, 2 mins. Pull the forestay pin, 2-3 minutes. Untsep the mast and unfasten the head of the forestay and bungie it to the mast, 5 mins. Pull the furler aft and bungie the foil to the mast with the drum just forward of the mast base, place a padded motorcylce helmet bag over the furler drum and coiled line, about 10 minutes (if you have a mast raising system). Disconnect the forward life lines to help you get the spreaders over the stantions, 5 minutes. Unfasten the mast from the base and lift/pull the mast to the pulpit--I use hinge pins rather than nut/bolt, 5 mins. Total time, 40 minutes. Some of the above you have to do anyway so the actual time to rig the furler could take less. Add 10 minutes to raise the mast as the forestay pin can really be a PIA. Do not buy any Mac without a mast raising system.

I left out riggin the main and boom, the vang, etc, add 20 mins---so figure one hour for the total rig the first few times.

Speedy Rigger can do a naked boat with floppy sails in 15 mins. HMMMM

I don't think I'd sail Alasken waters without a furler---been there, done that

Bob

[John Christian]

Lots of reasons to not use roller furling, Cost, Sailing performance etc.... I don't agree ease of trailering is one them. Search the archive and you'll find many excellent methods for supporting / rigging the furler for trailer. IMHO, not even close to being a problem.

I can't imagine buying a MAC without the furler system, but I also don't understand all the attempts to turn the Mac into a J2 But what the hull, people race swamp buggys and snow machines so why not Mac's.

For the vast majority of us, Roller Furling is our first and best option.

To your original point, look at marine heads and make a decision before you buy. Again lots of info in the archives. You probably would want your dealer to do that install. Not a DIY job.

JC

[J.Teixeira]

Mi first time on packing the boat for trailering...

It did take me an entire morning... 4-5h

I was looking and thinking what to do most of the time and checking and rechecking everything before hiting the road took me the last 1h.

Now I know the boat well and i take 1h in and 45 min out of the water...

(Now mi Boat must be one of the Mac in the world with the biggest distance record on traveling on trailer and containers it almost is a circumnavigating Mac...)

One think that helps a beginner is a list that can be found in Knot Shore web site...

[Hamin' X]

(Now mi Boat must be one of the Mac in the world with the biggest distance record on traveling on trailer and containers it almost is a circumnavigating Mac...)

You are indeed among the top. A few that are farther from the Costa Mesa factory are in Greece, Turkey, Dubai and Malaysia. Sorry if I left any out.

~Rich

On Edit: And don't forget the down under crew in Oz and NZ.

[James V]

Real tough question. It really depends on you.

what I did to mine is nice for me and others who want to do the same sailing as me.

Must have's

Bunk bord - 3/4 inch
More foam under
Light above table
Curtians
5 gal tank on head.
Mark center of wheel.

All other choices are yours. Look at the mods and see what you want. Really hard to do without some days in the boat.

I did not like the cockpit custions and use out door funiture type.

[AKCoastie]

Bunk bord - 3/4 inch

What's bunk bord?