DDBob - That 's the same thing I did...get the kids hooked on boating first by taking them out on the tube, gunkholing around the islands and finding secluded beaches to anchor off of for the night. Once they realized the boat could be fun, then I worked on converting them to sailors! Blake Beam Bea...

If you haven't already done so, a good place to start is to take a look at the Mac manual available on the side bar of each page on this board. It will give you the basics of how to rig the boat and some basic sailing lessons and of course is specific to the Mac. Print the manual and spend some time...

I don't think you're ever going to hit 20 MPH. Sloop John B has had some interesting things to say about how Roger got the boat to 20 so he could put it in the brochure. Something about an unballasted Mac with no gear, cooler, cushions or carpet, driven by Pedro, a 70 lb. Mexican boy with nothing on...

I like the "monitor the VHF" idea as well. I used to like to have the Admiral at the chainplates with the boat hook in case I got into trouble. But now that I'm more comfortable with docking, I prefer that she just sit (I'd say stay out of the way, but she might read this ;) ). I'd rather ...

I use the car wash mitt too Andy, but I think I'll try the bungee with it.


Blake Beam
Beam's Reach

If the extra stuff that the PO added isn't in your way, try to leave them alone. I took a few things off because I couldn't figure them out and they didn't appear in the manual that I downloaded. Over the last couple of years, I've figured some of them out (often from this board) like the double lin...

I've noticed by batteries aren't holding a charge as well as they used to either. I'm connected to shore power to my built in charger is always on, but I've also got a regular charger at home. Would it work any better?

Blake Beam
Beam's Reach

I had a tough time starting my motor when I put my boat in for the first time this year. Because I wasn't sure if it was the battery, wiring, or conncections in the switch, I crawled to the back and connected my power pack to the terminals mounted to the inside of the transom wall. Blake Beam Beam's...

Be sure of the distance from the inlet on your boat to the power source on the dock before you buy the cord. Mine was always just fine, but this year I moved to another dock and it's about 8 feet further away....had to buy another 50 foot cord and join them as that was cheaper than a shorter extensi...

Could also be for an anchor light if you don't have one permanently attached to the mast.

I have a small light that I clip on to the topping lift and pull up with the halyard when I anchor at night.

Blake Beam
Beam's Reach

We're paying just over $1000 for the season including shore power and deposits on 2 keys here in Northeastern Ontario. The marina is literally downtown and just a 3 minute drive from my home.

Blake Beam
Beam's Reach

I printed out a name changing ceremony off the web and made sure it was aboard for our first outing....but forgot to bring champagne, so we used the only thing we had .... a plastic water bottle.

I guess the gods were OK with that as we haven't had any major problems.

When we bought our boat, I took the bill of sale to our Revenue Canada office prepared to pay the tax. They did all the paperwork to transfer title of the boat and advised that I would get a bill for the tax in several months. They're only concerned with the registration number, not the name, so you...

Two clips in my topping lift. One at the bottom end that leaves enough slack for when the sail is fully raised, and one about 18" up that holds the boom up over my dodger (and my head) when motoring with without sails. I just have to clip one or the other to the end of the boom.

"dock by the Braille method "

I'll have to remember that one!