Blue Water Mods?

[mastreb]

Yes, almost exactly like that

[DaveB]

It's obvious you never seen or been in sea conditions that would crush a Mac. boat.
I been there and done it and no way is a Mac. ever going to survive a blue water storm.
I again stress the point that these boats are a coastal cruiser!
They are not built for Blue Water cruiseing!
Dave

While this isn't something I'd ever do in a Mac, I thought I'd add my two cents.

The most important criteria in my opinion are:

0) Upgrade the boat to withstand ocean forces on critical components.
1) Ability to relieve wind forces immediately in a blow
2) Ability to right the boat if it turtles
3) Ability to helm the boat from the inside under power

All of my recommendations are for the M.

--Add an 8 or 9.9 hp kicker. I wouldn't remove my existing ETEC because it's pretty good ballast when its low and it forms a good third rudder. But kicker powerful enough to keep you at hull speed efficiently is an important source of redundancy.

--Build a custom dagger, and carry an extra set of rudders.

--Upgrade the steering to hydraulic, and add an extra wheel actuator inside the boat at daggerboard trunk so you can helm from inside the boat. You can set it up on a valve to line-out the cockpit helm.

--Replace the sliding hatch and companionway with a custom-made fiberglass and lexan pilothouse that will allow you to see 360 around the boat from the inside. You can go up about 10" from the deck. I'd build it as a single-piece of fiberglass that requires the sliding hatch rails to be removed to install it and then are used to bolt it back down. Bed it with Butyl tape, which is waterproof but easy to remove so you can go back to stock later. This would then have a smaller gasketed hatch installed where the companionway hatch is. It could be removed when you're back in coastal areas and need to be trailerable.

--Install an inboard hydraulic autohelm to keep exhaustion at bay.

Pack the cable through-way at the stern with sealing putty.

--Put a chart-plotter on the helm and inside the cabin on an NMEA 2000 bus.

--Get a wind instrument, an I-band radar, and a mast-mounted VHF with AIS.

--Get two EPIRBs.

--I would upgrade all the portholes to 3/8 Lexan and make certain they're correctly bedded.

--Seal the ballast port vent hole with a compression fitting once the ballast tank is full. You don't want the ballast tank draining if you turtle.

--Get a roller reefing main. Ability to reef easily, drop the main and jib immediately, and reef to exacting wind conditions is far more important than performance.

--Put flexible freshwater tanks in long tubes in the bilge. Make sure they're longer than the openings in the bilge so they'll stay inside the liner if the boat is upside down.

--Tow an inflatable dinghy with it's own 3.5hp, and make certain it's fastened to the boat securely.

--Have both a large Fortress and a Rocna-style anchor on 20' of chain each. Keep the Rocna and it's chain under the v-berth however to keep weight low in the boat.

--Strap an extra 10 gallons of fuel off the port and starboard stern in twin 5 gallon tanks.

--Setup to bed down on the sole of the cabin floor. This will keep you from falling off of anything at night and will keep your body weight as low in the boat as possible.

--Use the "aft head" whenever possible, and keep your pot empty and dry whenever possible. In the open ocean, by far the best thing to do with human waste is dump it overboard immediately, so the stock port-a-potty will do just fine.

--Get a good asymmetrical spinnaker. You'll be going directly downwind a lot and you'll want to take full advantage of the trade winds.

And yeah, after you've done all this, you'll find you could have gotten a used 45 footer setup to go for less money. None of the power-sailor or trailerable characteristics of a Mac do you any good in the open ocean.

[mastreb]

Dave, my first sentence says "While this isn't something I would ever do in a Mac..."

I've lived at sea--not "on a boat"--actually at sea, underway, for over three years.

I've been in a hurricane at sea for three weeks because we were transiting the pacific in it to avoid radar satellites. I've been thrown so hard against a bulkhead that it knocked me unconscious in a storm. I've had shipmates washed overboard (and thankfully recovered) in storms in the Indian Ocean.

Granted, I'm only guessing at what it would take to transit a reasonably tranquil ocean in a Mac, because I wouldn't do it. Hence my qualifying statement.

There are people who've crossed the pacific in smaller boats. I think they're crazy.

YT4RMV

Matt

[DaveB]

I never had Satalites, dead reconing and Celatial Navigation only for a world cruise back in 1982. I have been in 40 ft. seas for 3 days crossing from Beaufort,NC to ST Thomas. Cruised for 3 years all Carribean and S. America.
Any type Mac 26 is not for any type blue waters sailing. Even those who adventure to Bamas are at high risk to get in a major storm. Sure many have made it, just a matter of time when they get caught in a Nor Easter and get caught in a blow.
Dave

Dave, my first sentence says "While this isn't something I would ever do in a Mac..."

I've lived at sea--not "on a boat"--actually at sea, underway, for over three years.

I've been in a hurricane at sea for three weeks because we were transiting the pacific in it to avoid radar satellites. I've been thrown so hard against a bulkhead that it knocked me unconscious in a storm. I've had shipmates washed overboard (and thankfully recovered) in storms in the Indian Ocean.

Granted, I'm only guessing at what it would take to transit a reasonably tranquil ocean in a Mac, because I wouldn't do it. Hence my qualifying statement.

There are people who've crossed the pacific in smaller boats. I think they're crazy.

YT4RMV

Matt

[Sumner]

I think I've seen mention a couple places where maybe a father/son took a Venture from Calif. to Hawaii, but have never seen that really confirmed. I'd be interested if anyone has more.

Also there is Bucko that took his S ....

http://lbucko.tripod.com/index.html

...from Calif. to Panama. According to his diaries he survived some major blows by heading out to sea further.

Me, I would do neither, but if someone was brave/foolish enough to try I think the models before the X/M would be a better choice.

Did any of you see the story where a guy sailing to Hawaii had health problems and had to be picked up off the boat, but left a head sail up and the autopilot on and the boat sailed by itself to Hawaii where some people went out and got it?

Sum

===================================
Our MacGregor 26-S

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links

[DaveB]

Sum, come on down to South Dade Marina for a 4 day cruise. Dec.29th and you will enjoy.
Dave
http://members.ij.net/wctss/wctss/dates.htm

I think I've seen mention a couple places where maybe a father/son took a Venture from Calif. to Hawaii, but have never seen that really confirmed. I'd be interested if anyone has more.

Also there is Bucko that took his S ....

http://lbucko.tripod.com/index.html

...from Calif. to Panama. According to his diaries he survived some major blows by heading out to sea further.

Me, I would do neither, but if someone was brave/foolish enough to try I think the models before the X/M would be a better choice.

Did any of you see the story where a guy sailing to Hawaii had health problems and had to be picked up off the boat, but left a head sail up and the autopilot on and the boat sailed by itself to Hawaii where some people went out and got it?

Sum

===================================
Our MacGregor 26-S

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links

[Sumner]

Sum, come on down to South Dade Marina for a 4 day cruise. Dec.29th and you will enjoy.
Dave
http://members.ij.net/wctss/wctss/dates.htm..

That sounds nice, but we won't be down to mid Jan. if everything works out and hopefully in the water by March. You guys have a great time,

Sum

===================================
Our MacGregor 26-S

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links

[Ormonddude]

by dlandersson » Thu Nov 22, 2012 9:06 am
Is Lake Michigan a pond? Because that's wear I sail.

See thats just making my point Many believe the great lakes much more dangerous than even oceans with land surrounding it to make sudden weather changes many a great ship been lost, My entire deal-argument is ocean sailing is no more dangerous than the lakes if you truly analyze the weather, Now this is not to say a sudden thunder storm may not strike you and things may roughen up but you dont see 6' swells come out of nowhere just ask my friends that surf! Now do you have to look in a thousand mile radius YES because the swells can travel that far. On another point if seas where truly huge and you were trying to surf your Mac in 10' waves like the big kahuna I could certainly see a rudder breaking and I meant no disrespect. ( we do not have pond use only on our boats )

[raycarlson]

anyone ever hear of Thor Huyerduhl (excuse the spelling)

[Mac26Mpaul]

Excused but its Thor Heyerdahl (only know that because its on the desk in front of me ) Amazing book.

As to rudders. I did something pretty stupid last year I went through a bar (under Iron Jenny) which turned out to be bigger than I had thought. Waves 8 to 10 feet , not breaking, but close together. Once I got through the worst of it, I quickly did a 180 to come back in. My steering was pretty crappy (hard) and I was kind of thinking something was going to break coming in! We made it in fine (huge sigh of relief ), but heres the embarrasing part. When I looked down at my rudders, I realized I had forgot to cleat them off - they were pretty much trailing behind . I was then amazed, considering how we had been bouncing around, that one hadnt broke!

Although the rudders/brackets are the main thing on this boat I dont think much of, I think there must be quite a bit of flex in em and it can probably handle a bit more than we give em credit for. Of course I'm not saying they are good for blue water use. Personally I just wouldnt take a Mac more than say, 20 miles off shore ( in very good weather) but each to their own....