winches on 26 M

[rfrye94760]

Mine make a pretty good place to hang coiled lines. I had a guy on board once who asked "mind if I can see what she'll do?"
I replied, "sure go ahead."
He asked me where my winch handle was and after thinking about it for a minute I responded, "down below in the box it came in."
Bob

[raycarlson]

no sarcasm intended, just trying to interject a little humor, i've noticed your quite the jester urself.

[jschrade]

It's hard to have a sailing discussion on a boat where the main topic tends to be hanging a bigger engine off the back. In fact, technique to sail faster is not a common topic.

Most folks that own these have no clue what the traveler and boom vang are for and have no idea of how to balance the main and jib - never mind sail shape. So when you attempt to have a discussion about sail trim with a person that has no idea what this means - you're not going to get very far.

In light winds 5-8 knots there is no need for the winch as there is little force on the Genoa and sheeting in tight will de-power the sail. The traveler can help a lot here.

As the wind picks up 10-15 knots the load on the sheets will also and you will need to start using the winch. To properly shape your sail, you will need the winches as you approach 15 knots. Somewhere around 15 knots you will need to reef the main to control the heel of the boat (unless you want a lot of heel).

Many complain about the sailing characteristics of this boat and for the most part they don't know how to sail and would have problems on any boat. I have run circles around bigger and faster boats than mine because they didn't know how to sail. If you don't know how to trim your sails, the boat will heel a lot and you will struggle to control it and that takes all the fun out of it. This is where the motor comes on.

My autopilot is a bungie cord that I wedged into the space between the wheel and collar. With the sails are trimmed out and the main and jib balanced it holds a nice straight course and we can relax, talk, cook and enjoy the day. If you don't know how to trim, you will either need to buy an autopilot $$$ or constantly steer the boat - that's sort of like work!

The winches from the factory are complete rubbish and anyone that uses them knows that they seize. I have taken mine apart several times and sanded them to get them working just to have them seize again. The only real solution is to replace them.

There's my 2 cents!

Jim

[aya16]

ahh jim dont you think your being a little hard on us folks, I bought the mac to sail as did most, and like most here have put the fix on sails to get optimum performance while underway. Its not rocket science, let the sail out, let it in, pull the bottom down or let it up, get a half a knot here or there, we all do that.

What motor we use doesn't matter, as in bigger motor, less we know about sailing, it doesn't work that way. Winds change all the time, where I sail, I'm constantly adjusting sail or moving the boat out or in. When we sail, we don't really have a place to go, just go that away. So winches really don't need to used at all for us, we just fall off some pull in, let out, get back on course, whatever. That keeps me from having to rebuild the winches right? as well as very little stress on the rigging.

here if you want to see some nice sailing on my million dollar dream boat,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0PP2LEsRKM
Mike

[Catigale]

I meant that as a compliment ray,especially since I share your view on trim...I have been known to pick a pocket or two...