I thought that I would prefer a 26D to a 26S. The D has a bit more lateral resistance area and is a little bit faster. A great deal came along for a 26S, so I grabbed it. I'm glad I did. My kids like to explore islands, and in doing so, I'm bumping the sandy bottom all the time. This might be a big ...

Many of you likely know about this, but I just stumbled upon it. NOAA offers navigation charts for free. Since it's from a government entity, I'm sure it's legal, free from copyright infringement. This is particularly useful, if like me, you want to trailer the boat to many different locations and y...

My coworker just stumbled upon a site to download full sized PDFs of charts for free. It's from NOAA, so I'm sure it's legal, free from copyright infringement. I just downloaded our local waters. We have a large format printer here at work, and I'll ask, but I'd bet my boss will let me print them ou...

I think it may also be time to invest in some charts and or a charting phone app. My parents use some charting app that they are pretty happy with. Get some paper charts and learn how to use them, if you don't already. Electronics are great 'till they stop working. Knowing where you are, or how to ...

Hopefully this will get to "JohnWood". I use a basic Hummingbird fish finder/depth sounder with the transponder hanging on the stern and the "thru-hull" ABOVE the water line. I've always felt better about not having any thru-hull openings below the waterline...but a lot of peopl...

I suspect that the Tattoo 26 will be phased out shortly after the release of the 22. The 26 design is now pretty long in the tooth. Perhaps after a few years, they'll release something to replace it. I would really like to see them come out with a dedicated sailboat similar to the 26C. Two boats, on...

Is the bump even needed? I'm a new owner of a 91 Mac 26S. When I bought it, the boat sat on the trailer a few inches off the bow bumper. I drove it that way from New Orleans back home to Largo, Fl. I did add one extra rope from the bow eye down to the tongue. Each time I've pulled it out of the wate...

If I had a lot mor time and resources, I'd like to build something like the vang on a 49er. See it here: http://www.mauriprosailing.com/us/category/4-OD-49er-Gnav.html Instead of pulling down from below, the boom, it pushes down from above. This would not interfere with raising the companion way hat...

I used my mast raising pulley system as a vang. Actually, I rigged it that way thinking it was the vang and it took me a bit to figure out why it had so much extra line. I did need to install two new bales, one on the boom and one on the mast. These are the bails that I installed: http://www.duckwor...

The first boat my wife & I bought was a little 15'-7" trailer sailor with a big, heavy steel centerboard, and believe it or not, a cabin with V birth and even a little head. We were in college and I bought it for $300 including trailer. Shortly after I bought it, we were slow to get in, and...

So the original question was, "Who thinks I'm brilliant? Who thinks I'm paranoid and overthinking? Who thinks I'm an idiot?" It seems like the consensus is paranoid, but possibly idiot. :) It looks like I'll do what nearly every other trailer sailor owner does for lightning protection: not...

OK either the mast for the 26S boats is SIGNIFIGANTLY lighter than my M25 or you guys are really, really fit! 8) I can't raise my mast by myself. I'm 6' 240 and in decent shape. The mast is just too heavy to lift while walking from the cockpit up to the top of the deck. Not to mention there's reall...

The mast is surprisingly light to lift up and I found it so easy, I'm not going to bother with the mast raising system on a regular basis. The raising system just doesn't seem worth the hassle. I think I will probably try the system out however, and make sure everything works properly because it mi...

With regard to the mast raising system, have you first tried raising the mast without it. You simply leave the backstay and shrouds attached, but not the forestay. You walk the mast back and rest it on the post. Bolt it onto the maststep. Stand on the cabin hatch and lift up the mast. The mast is su...

At 35 years old, I've been on the water now for 30 years, and I know that there is no hope of avoiding lightning storms every time. Some of the time yes, but not every time, especially here in Florida. You have a better chance getting out of the way with a 26X or 26M, but I have a 26S with a 9.9 hp....