26M sailing impressions

[baldbaby2000]

My wife and I just got back from sailing our 26M on Pueblo Reservoir. We really haven't been able to sail as much as we would like but did have some good sailing the first day and thought I'd share some thoughts. I know the 26X has the reputation of being somewhat of a "dog" but it seems like the verdict is still out on the 26M.

There were rather light winds, maybe 8-10 mph, and we sailed with the 150% genoa. The boat seemed to sail fine but had did have some lee helm. We did have a few gusts during which the boat had weather helm.

Running the genoa sheets between the shrounds allowed us to point about 10 deg higher than running outside the shrouds. Of course when reaching one has to reroute them to the outside.

At times the mast doesn't self rotate; especially in light winds. I need to look at this more closely. The boom vang didn't seem to be what was inhibiting the rotation. There seemed to be a loss in speed of about 10% if the mast was counter rotated.

How fast is a 26M compared to other boats? I'm still not sure. There was a Catalina 250 we sailed against on a beam reach and seemed to be equally matched in speed; not a completely fair contest because he was running a jib against our genoa. The Catalina 250 has a Portsmouth rating of 95.7; about the same as a Mac 25. I can probably live with that.

[ESPERANZA]

How would you compare the sailing speeds to your old Mac? Steve's Tanzer is pretty slippery.

[baldbaby2000]

Hi Dik,
It's hard to say how it compares to my old Mac 25. I don't think it's much faster if at all. I still have the Mac 25 but I don't really feel like launching both boats. If I did my wife could sail against me and we could get an idea. I still haven't tried any tuning on the rigging other than to try to make it tight.
Steve's Tanzer is probably faster. If it's a 26 it has a PHRF of about 228 I think. We raced our old Mac 25 against a Tanzer 22 (I think it was) at LOWISA. We were both given a PHRF of 239 and we seemed about equally matched. It was close but he took first in the 5 race series and we took second. I think we may have taken first if we had a genoa. Whether we used the genny or not we were given the same handicap and he used his.
How does your X compare to Brian and Anita's 25?

Dan

[ESPERANZA]

I only got to race once last year and lost wind at the south end of the lake so I had to scratch. I guess I never was out on the water when they were. I've got a lot to learn yet before I try racing. I do pull away from Dial's Ericson pretty easily but I think everyone else does too...
Dik...

[Richard O'Brien]

I had some trouble with my mast so I squeezed some molylube around the bolt, since I was too lazy to lower it and dismantle the bolt. What happened when I went out was the plastic washer just squeezed out one side. Since then I just got by with the bronze washer that shared the pressure with the plastic one. It worked much better in light air then, but i don't know what the best permanent arrangement for low resistance is? I can't imagine what Macgregor thought using that polyethylene (I think) washer. I certainly appreciate M sailing observations from an experienced sailor, since as you observed "The verdicts still out on the M".
I remember seeing a PHRF of 216 assigned to an M by some east-coast Yacht club in Nov.

[richandlori]

Richard,
I have also had the "plastic" washer in the rotating mast squirt out the side! I have been ignoring it, but I guess I should try to figure out a replacement or get a new one, but will the new one just pop out too?

Rich

[baldbaby2000]

I've had the base off my mast to work on wiring and installed a mast rotation sensor for my intended wind indicator system. I only have 3 metal washers. They may be bronze. There isn't a plastic washer there. Maybe the dealer assembled it this way intentionally. Our's is a 2005 model.

I've had 2 other types of boats with rotating masts: A C-scow and a Hobie 18. There was no guarantee they would rotate either and human intervention would be required at times. Both of those systems used a cup and socket setup which may be a little better than the Macgregor system.

I wonder if a Teflon washer or maybe a Teflon impregnated washer would help. Teflon is a fairly dense material and very slippery. I checked on Teflon sheets for spacers between the rudders and their brackets; I'm a wimp and would like them to move easier. At http://www.surplussales.com/cgi-bin/cart.pl a 12" X 12" 0.030" thick sheet is $10. I may try some.

[Moe]

You might want to consider teflon coating metal washers. Here are some other alternatives.

--
Moe

[baldbaby2000]

Moe,

The spray looks interesting; I may give it a try.

BB

[Richard O'Brien]

BB 2000, Are you saying the M exhibited Lee helm in light winds with the genny, and changed to weather helm during stronger gusts? was your genny still out full then?

Moe I like those coatings too. I wonder what's the best metal for this application? If I bake teflon onto Stainless washers will it embed or slide off. why are all bushings bronze usually? Is it because of the softer copper, or is the Zinc slicker than steel? Who knows about this stuff?

[Moe]

Perhaps Chip H or Darren has some insight into this. Bronze is often used because it can be oil-impregnated.

--
Moe

[baldbaby2000]

Richard,
Yes, the genny was fully deployed in both cases. If I set the genny and main to get the tell-tails to flow what I considered proper in the light wind, there was a little lee helm. When a gust came up the boat developed weather helm. Usually the gusts didn't last long enough for me to do much more than spill air by easing the main sheet. It may have been that I was just overpowered. I definitely need to get used to the boat more; these were just my initial observations.

BB

[Tom Spohn]

I also had some lee helm on our new M in light winds. Culprit seemed to be the stays had all stretched on the new boat and were too loose. Tightening them helped reduce the lee helm.

[Andy26M]

I also have lee helm at times when using my Genny on the 26M. I think it is easy to get the boat overpowered with the Main and Genny trimmed properly, especially in my case where I am solo most of the time, hence 300-600 pounds lighter than most boats.

I am not convinced that I have yet perfectly tweaked the shrouds and forestay either - it's crazy to try and adjust them anywhere but pierside or on the trailer, and that means it takes a long time to experiment.

I believe that the correct thing to fix the lee helm is to loosen the forestay and tighten the upper shrouds correspondingly, then adjust the lower shrouds to match - ultimately raking the mast back a little and moving your sails center of effort aft.

- AndyS

[Frank C]

... I believe that the correct thing to fix the lee helm is to loosen the forestay and tighten the upper shrouds correspondingly, then adjust the lower shrouds to match - ultimately raking the mast back a little and moving your sails center of effort aft....

Andy,
You're saying that you can reduce lee helm (induce slight weather helm) by raking the mast aft. That agrees with what I've read and experienced, that the 26X's strong tendency to weather helm is due to the factory's bias toward aft rake ... usually 4 degrees, I think.

But many X owners (me included) have raked the mast forward to reduce weather helm, since lee helm is rarely a problem. Even after shortening the forestay by 4 inches, I've never seen lee helm. Maybe it's different on the 26Ms.