MacGregorSailors.com

Hello,

I am the new owner of a 1991 Mac26 "S" and am planning on doing an overnight trip to Hope Island in the South Puget Sound next week.
I will have my kids and the water will be cold, so I am hoping to beach the boat so we can get ashore without taking a cold swim. We have pretty massive tides in Washington (-2ft to 15ft in 6 hrs) so I want to make sure I do this right.

I am thinking that if I pull in to 2-3 ft of water at a waning tide I will be able to jump ashore, play on the beach while the tide goes out, and after a couple hours return to the boat with the water not being much higher than it was when I left it. Provided the ballast valve on the hull is functioning properly, will the boat stay upright even if the water recedes entirely? I know they are meant to be beached, but am unsure on whether that means you can be in 2 ft of water without toppling, or if it will remain erect on totally dry land.

Will my boat fall over making me look a fool? How have people successfully beached in the past? Might I be more successful by anchoring in deeper water, motoring ashore, tying a long mooring line to shore, pushing the boat back to deeper water, and pulling my boat in from said deeper water as needed?

Thanks for any advice!

I think your plan will work fine. Keeping ballast water in will provide extra weight to keep it stable. The boat has a fairly flat bottom that should sit nicely on the bottom.

The only consideration is the beach. You want someplace with few waves so the boat isn't banking on the bottom while the boat is still partially boyant. Also someplace that is sand bottom not soft mud.

We beach our all the time. I don't have any experience with the 26s and we've only made one trip to the San Juan Islands. Most of the places we visited had rocky shores. Therefore, we couldn't beach the boat like we're used to. Luckily we bought a cheap inflatable raft that we rowed to shore. I looked at satellite views of Hope Island and some of it is definitely rocky, but there may be some sandy spots. If you're not sure, I'd recommend getting a cheap raft for insurance.

Jeff

Being able to beach it is the main reason I bought my 26-S. I haven't tried it yet. But I think I would want a way to pump out the ballast tank if necessary when it's time to leave.

Stevenhigbee wrote: ↑Sat May 01, 2021 9:23 am Being able to beach it is the main reason I bought my 26-S. I haven't tried it yet. But I think I would want a way to pump out the ballast tank if necessary when it's time to leave.

It's super easy and only takes a few minutes to pump out your ballast using a 12v air mattress pump. I only tried it a couple times but to do it, I just removed the rubber bung and sealed off the hole with gorilla tape to make a tight seal for when I pushed the air pump nozzle in. When air starts bubbling up from the bottom of your boat, just close down the valve and go.

svscott wrote: ↑Mon May 03, 2021 3:19 pm

Stevenhigbee wrote: ↑Sat May 01, 2021 9:23 am Being able to beach it is the main reason I bought my 26-S. I haven't tried it yet. But I think I would want a way to pump out the ballast tank if necessary when it's time to leave.

It's super easy and only takes a few minutes to pump out your ballast using a 12v air mattress pump. I only tried it a couple times but to do it, I just removed the rubber bung and sealed off the hole with gorilla tape to make a tight seal for when I pushed the air pump nozzle in. When air starts bubbling up from the bottom of your boat, just close down the valve and go.

Would the boat not capsize with no ballast and the mast raised ??

SV_Delphinia wrote: ↑Tue May 04, 2021 2:51 am

svscott wrote: ↑Mon May 03, 2021 3:19 pm

Stevenhigbee wrote: ↑Sat May 01, 2021 9:23 am Being able to beach it is the main reason I bought my 26-S. I haven't tried it yet. But I think I would want a way to pump out the ballast tank if necessary when it's time to leave.

It's super easy and only takes a few minutes to pump out your ballast using a 12v air mattress pump. I only tried it a couple times but to do it, I just removed the rubber bung and sealed off the hole with gorilla tape to make a tight seal for when I pushed the air pump nozzle in. When air starts bubbling up from the bottom of your boat, just close down the valve and go.

Would the boat not capsize with no ballast and the mast raised ??

The short answer is no, it shouldn't capsize and you can motor off the beach with no ballast... Unless you're hit broadside by a large wave or have too much weight on the deck or you decide to hoist the sails without refilling the ballast tank (or an unfortunate combo of those). Chances are, you won't need to dump your ballast to get off the beach except for if the tide left you high and dry. If you do need to empty your ballast, you can just as quickly refill it once you're free.
I have only pumped out my ballast a few times. Once just to see that it can be done and several times to make getting the bow up tight to the trailer's V block easier when hauling out.

svscott wrote: ↑Mon May 03, 2021 3:19 pm

Stevenhigbee wrote: ↑Sat May 01, 2021 9:23 am Being able to beach it is the main reason I bought my 26-S. I haven't tried it yet. But I think I would want a way to pump out the ballast tank if necessary when it's time to leave.

It's super easy and only takes a few minutes to pump out your ballast using a 12v air mattress pump. I only tried it a couple times but to do it, I just removed the rubber bung and sealed off the hole with gorilla tape to make a tight seal for when I pushed the air pump nozzle in. When air starts bubbling up from the bottom of your boat, just close down the valve and go.

What do you think of installing a Shrader valve next to the vent hole, to make it easy to connect an air pump?

Stevenhigbee wrote: ↑Tue May 04, 2021 9:15 am
What do you think of installing a Shrader valve next to the vent hole, to make it easy to connect an air pump?

I have not pumped my ballast out but I have pumped my bike tires and also air mattresses, so consider this an authoritative answer to your question:

Schraeder valves are for high pressure, low volume, so it's going to take a loooooong time to pump the ballast out with one, if it can even be done. I'm guessing that the water would return to the ballast tank as quickly as you are pumping air out of it. You want a high volume pump that can push a lot of air quickly, like an air mattress pump.

Democritus wrote: ↑Tue May 04, 2021 2:39 pm

Stevenhigbee wrote: ↑Tue May 04, 2021 9:15 am
What do you think of installing a Shrader valve next to the vent hole, to make it easy to connect an air pump?

Schraeder valves are for high pressure, low volume, so it's going to take a loooooong time to pump the ballast out with one, if it can even be done.

You could remove the valve for unobstructed air flow, and just cap the stem when not in use. I'm looking at something like this:
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BRVCQ7K

At the risk of re-hashing, a schrader valve would enable someone to connect a compressor to the ballast tank. The tank is only tested to 2-3 psi. As Democritus states, mattress inflators are the way to go. They typically have adapters that are a bit larger diameter. Personally, I wouldn't install a schrader. It will be much slower at low pressure. If you use high pressure (the only way to blow the ballast in a reasonable time through a schrader valve), and forget to open the ballast valve, you could do severe damage to your boat.

Reverse it into the shallows and let the tide go out from under it.....then you can just jump over the transom or cockpit sides straight onto the sand.

YEP, what OZPHOTOG says, Remove the rudder. Raise outboard. Stay afloat and away from rocks. Find something to tie stern line to or bring a ground stake. Set a deep bow anchor. As the tide goes out, pay out the stern line and take in the bowline. When you're ready to cast off, retrieve stern line and then pull up anchor. Been doing it for years. Also easier to climb of the stern. Good ladder helps.

Added note we only do it on known sandy beaches! Hate for the tide to go out and we end up with a rock thru the hull.

Beaching or anchoring near shore I prefer to have the stern toward shore. The boat takes the waves on the bow and is less inclined to move closer to shore. The boat is also easier to enter from the stern using the boarding ladder regardless of the water depth.