MacGregorSailors.com

Hey all -
Bought a 26d in May. Have had it out now more than a few times, and have a good sense of how it performs. Been out working the buoys off Dana Point. Want to do more advanced stuff and maybe save some $$ also. Any advice on the following is appreciated..

1. The boat came with a genoa. Looks stock, previous owner says he used it once or twice. I assume it hooks in to the second eyelet back near the cockpit. Boat has no tracks or roller furling I've seen on other boats. Best guess is this is not a sail for close haul reaches. Advice on performance? Can I leave it up and have it at least do what the working jib does? Changing sails at sea would be a pain. Can a genoa be worked without tracks thru the full course of the boat from close haul to a run in gentle wind?
2. Mooring and anchoring are free at Dana Point. Anyone done this with experience?
3. Need to handle the trailer lights next. I got brakes on it now, and soon want to sand blast and repaint. Any help on lights would be good. Also how the guide posts attach would be good.
4. Anyone rig their boat for single handling ? I am interested in installing downhauls for the jib and mainsail, and some kind of cleats for the jib and main halyards which are reachable from the cockpit. Where did you mount this stuff? I'd rather not have someone go forward while underway if I can avoid it.
5. Rudder tie down rope doesn't seem to do a good job. It is set up as a loop. Any better solutions?


Thanks!

Chuck

Ok I'll see if I can help you with some of your questions.

As far as the genoa, it wont sail as close to the wind as the jib. As far as its use, I dont have roller furling either so I make a decision before leaving the dock as to which sail I will be using. If the wind is blowing to hard, I use the jib and reef the main if necessary. The last 4 times I was out, I never needed the genoa, but thats where I live. The genoa will be better for a broad reach and down wind performance. I sometime use the genoa alone while going down wind. You can do everything with it that you can do with the jib but cant get quite as close to the wind.

I think you will be fine without a track for the genoa, but it would be a good upgrade. On my first sailboat, I would run the genoa sheet (line) all the way to the stern of my boat when going down wind to get better sail shape.

As far as a down hawl and running your lines aft. Do you have sail slugs for the main so when you drop the sail it stays attached to the mast. If not you will need this modification too along with lazy jacks to catch the sail and keep it on the boom when its lowered. The point of all of this is to keep you in the cockpit and without any one thing you will still need to go on deck to attend to something. Otherwise just run everything so it will be out of the way while walking forward. You dont need anything else to trip on. You can search the mods section and check out pictures of others mods for this even if it a or .

I prefer to dock somewhere as aposed to mooring up, but thats because my likes to swing side to side when I anchor up. Just take your time with the mods. Ive had my since 2002 and Im just now starting to really make mods to it. My boat was plane jane with the exception of a bimini shade and cockpit cushions.

As far as the guides for the trailer, on my trailer, they were prefabed and attached to the trailer as bolt ons. That should be pretty simple. I did add PVC pipes on each side to make them taller.

As far as trailer lights, I would get LED if you can, remember to disconnect the lights power (regardless of the type) before you submerge them. Good practice to keep them working longer.

Hope this helps.

1. In my view, it's better to have a smaller sail to start with. If winds are light, changing it for a larger one won't be as hard as the reverse if winds and seas are heavy.

2. Anchoring out is our favorite thing to do. We enjoy the solitude of being "off the grid". Search for anchoring. Doing it right is the key and it's not difficult at all. If there are mooring buoys that would eliminate the anchoring skills issue.

3. As mentioned, go with LEDs. They aren't that much more expensive and will eliminate headaches forever. There are kits that make it easy.

4. Roller furling jibs are great for keeping people off the deck. Lazy jacks work well for the main. Halyards can be run aft with the right hardware. We have cam cleats like these and they work great.

Cam cleats for the sheets work great as well.

Ok now for the important advanced pointers:

1. Reefing is for sissies or when no one is watching.
2. Never bath when anchoring out.
3. Peach is the best interior color.
4. Never show fear when admiral is in the boat no matter how bad things are. Remimber you knew the hole time that what ever just happen was going to happen.
5. You never have the best mod on this site Highlander always has you beat. He has the unfair advantage of 6 months of snow dock to work on his.

At least that the wisdom I have learned in 2 1/2 years on the site. Good luck kid and if you have thin skin go cry to mommy now and never come back.