Hi All, Having lurked in the background for a couple of weeks, This morning I picked up my new boat. well not exactly new it's a 1998 chuffed to bits, as it is in excellent condition, and fairly well kitted out.
I am new to a sailing boat, but have been a power boater for years (RYA L2 & SB). Power was fine while someone else paid the fuel bill!!
I am sure I will probably have some questions along the way, thanks for letting me in..
Well what can I do except graciously accept such an honour. Can I say it will be a pleasure to meet any MacGregor sailor passing through and share a Tot or six (any excuse will do)..
capt grumpypants wrote:Welcome JohnCFI,
...to heck with president; we dub thee Pirate King of the Macgregor fleet of the southern seas!
(Perhaps a title will entice the Good First Lady).
Welcome to the "fleet". I am a genuine "Shellback" so I can say I have at least gotten into your half of the world on one occasion! As to learning the MacGregor, I would expect a little bit more of a "learning curve" than the sales videos and literature might suggest. They are great boats and worth the effort, it is just good to have realistic expectations about getting used to it's idiosyncrasies. For starters the thread on "Marina maneuvers" is pretty good and has some excellant advice for learning the handling of the boat around docks and launch ramps. Also, one idea that has worked well for us has been the use of checklists. We have ones for launching and getting underway and another for coming in and retrieving the boat, trailer and ramp versions and going into a slip version. I set them up on Excel files so I can easily revise them as lessons are learned or new ideas develop. The admiral usually sits in the shade of an umbrella and reads off the checklist, and I do the work. She likes it, and I like it. Most other boaters seem envious of such a smooth functioning team, and I don't have to worry about my wife getting hurt (we are in our 60's). Enjoy!
Thanks for that, sounds like good advice that I intend to follow.
Well we are having fun, when I got her home I found that non of the electrics work, so I am delving into the mysteries of boat wiring. Have moved the switch panel to a more accesible place, have installed power for my cabin GPS (over the Table) its a Garmin GPS 60, at the moment the GPS on the helm is going to be a GPSMAP62S (I am buying Garmin Bluecharts on an SD Card for it), Later on I want to move up to a proper Chartplotter (hence the SD card version). Next job is to sort out the Nav Lights, which dont work either!! And to finish off installing a VHF.... I'm happy, summer will be along soon (October) so no rush to get in the water.
I need to plan a renaming ceremony.... I couldnt live with the name SKYLARK!!
Welcome to the legion of the damned. How's the winter down there? Apparently Herschel doesn't get into the rum locker prior to launch. Too organized Seriously check lists will save a lot of grief. I am going to assume there may be a yacht/sailing club there. Contact these folks. They can offer a lot of help, encouragement and knowledge. Forget President. Make it Commodore. Wait, I vote for Emporer and Ambassador Plenipoteniary with all rights and priveleges thereto casting a radiance on our mutual escutcheons. Naming a boat is a very personal thing and requires a lot of thought and of course approval of the Admiral. We got Freedom in '76 and since it was our bicentinial year of seperation from the Empire my wife suggested the name. In hindsight, I keep thinking with the state of U.S. politics a revisitation might be in order. If you would like to aggrandize you neighbors on the mainland you could always go with EVITA, but NO!! Your own navy might sink you. Fair Winds and Full Sails from the Colonies...God Save the Queen...Old Salt
We have been discussing boat names a lot in our house. in the end we have come down to "STIRLING". This in honour of a great man I met as an impressionable youngster (about 13 or 14). It was he who encourage me to 'go out and do stuff', advice I have always followed. That man was the Greatest ever Racing Driver (IMHO) Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss, OBE FIE.
Yes, I, too, like names that remind us of the things, or people, that we value. There is a thread "Naming your boat" that has a lot of interesting stories that you might find worth looking through. But, I first must uphold my honor, it having been suggested that I don't visit the rum locker sufficiently! For the record, we do "splice the main brace" aboard American Spirit; we just don't do it on the launch ramp! Far better to enjoy a cool one at a good anchorage or tied up for the night in a slip.
Thanks for that, I had an interesting browse of that thread.
I am looking forward to having a medicinal rum or three at the end of a day on board, perhaps at anchor............ Boat swinging in the gentle breeze nice sunset, warm evening..... wake up John this is the Falklands!!
Or...you can rent the space to Bank of America or Pepsi.
Herschel wrote:Yes, I, too, like names that remind us of the things, or people, that we value. There is a thread "Naming your boat" that has a lot of interesting stories that you might find worth looking through. But, I first must uphold my honor, it having been suggested that I don't visit the rum locker sufficiently! For the record, we do "splice the main brace" aboard American Spirit; we just don't do it on the launch ramp! Far better to enjoy a cool one at a good anchorage or tied up for the night in a slip.
chuffed to bits, as it is in excellent condition, and fairly well kitted out. 
Seriously check lists will save a lot of grief. I am going to assume there may be a yacht/sailing club there. Contact these folks. They can offer a lot of help, encouragement and knowledge. Forget President. Make it Commodore. Wait, I vote for Emporer and Ambassador Plenipoteniary with all rights and priveleges thereto casting a radiance on our mutual escutcheons. Naming a boat is a very personal thing and requires a lot of thought and of course approval of the Admiral. We got Freedom in '76 and since it was our bicentinial year of seperation from the Empire my wife suggested the name. In hindsight, I keep thinking with the state of U.S. politics a revisitation might be in order. 
If you would like to aggrandize you neighbors on the mainland you could always go with EVITA, but NO!! Your own navy might sink you. Fair Winds and Full Sails from the Colonies...God Save the Queen...Old Salt
For the record, we do "splice the main brace" aboard American Spirit; we just don't do it on the launch ramp! Far better to enjoy a cool one at a good anchorage or tied up for the night in a slip. 