Looking for other Mac owners in Australia

[Mac26Mpaul]

ahh, they are what they are and what they arnt is a race boat Personally I'm quite happy plodding along at 4 knots, (on Sunday morning we were goosewinged heading from Amity to Peel with just the slighest of breeze, averaging just under 2 knots, and quite happy LOL) but I guess if I sailed with other faster boats, I'd probably get a bit annoyed by situations like what you describe LOL. On Sunday we were coming back down the main channel from the bay hitting about 5 knots under main alone (jib clew ring had blown out), and we came to a headwind section so I thought blow it, lets motor the rest of the way. I dropped and stowed the main and to dump the ballast, went full throttle which in the headwind with full ballast then in, was about 11 knots from memory. I was happily scooting along and some cruising style cat (not that big) with what looked like an older couple lazily lying back in the cockpit, shot past us under sail LOL. So much for being able to beat them all back to the marina with our big motors

For us the Macs primary role is as a portable (on land or water) beachhouse/cheap family holiday home. We are too cheap/poor to pay marina fees so being able to keep our beachhouse parked next to our house is also part of its appeal). Secondary role is probably motor cruiser as circumstances seem to see us mostly utilizing the boat as a motor cruiser. She is generally better at all that than all those fancy fast sailboats Thirdly she is of course a sailboat. Luckily I'm not that competitive so happy to accept the compromise in this area.. Still,, having said that,, I have been amazed to find myself running down the main channel on more than one occasion and passing other trailer sailers, (like a Sonata 7, Careel etc) and even a keelboat or two.

Dont expect me to get your boat sailing any better. I dont pretend to be much of a sailor LOL. I'm the sort of guy who puts the sails up and points the boat in the general direction. If a telltale or two are steaming aft, its a bonus I'm not the guy to ask about permormance related issues

Yeah, you can make (or buy) a mastgate cover for your style of mast, so your slugs dont fall out. Just search on this forum. Heres a start
http://www.macgregorsailors.com/forum/v ... t=mastgate
Mines differnt and I just bashed mine closed with a hammer, and I use a bungie cord as a slug stop (that reminds me, I need to pretty that up a bit as I was in a bit of rush.....)

I will have a look out for the yacht at Tabby Island.

Bart, I'v never been on the Tweed River. Is it worth a few days cruising down there?

Now, I need to think about cleaning up the boat a little - its still a huge mess after the weekend...............

[bartmac]

Tweed river is not that exciting but worth a look...you can go all the way up past Murwillumbah...mast down from the Barneys point bridge ie expressway...reads 11.5m but weren't keen to try.For us its a short tow 1.2 hrs and the new years eve thing was appealing at Tweed heads/Coolangatta.Really nice clean water near the mouth,lots of fish but due to the nutrients in the water we had barnicles growing after less than 11 days...even cleaned the hull after less than a week.We don't really care where we go its just away from work,home,mowing,slashing,brushcutting,spraying etc etc etc

[Mac26Mpaul]

Yeah I still have the baby barnicles on the hull from the 4 days after Xmas. Got to get around to giving it a bit of a scrub...

yeah, have been swimming at the mouth of the Tweed numerous times when I was younger, but not up the river. Will get down there for a look sooner or later then cheers...

[KookaSnook]

Thanks guys for info on slug gates will do some research. Unfortunately on our X there is quite a long section of the mast cut out so not just a matter of a good old mallet and maybe that's why the black shock cleats are on either side. I will take a photo next weekend and post it to show you what I mean. Someone might have a better idea what they are there for.

Yes Paul: I think our mate set us up and threw everything at us. We lost 2 cases of beer but had lots of laughs. I must admit it was all hard work compared to our usually relaxed sails. My husband said he is looking forward to a more relaxed sail over the long weekend. Our X sits very nice at just over 5 - 6 knots depending on how acute our water speed gauge is and our hand held GPS on our phone. Our boat is very comfortable and perfect also for our plans to eventually take it to our island in Fiji. There we have the afternoon trade winds nice and steady to get us around nicely.

The main problem we saw with the bigger keel yacht was it would limit us so much here on the Gold Coast and I would have to quickly develop a love for ocean sailing. I'm still not game to get out there yet as I have never ever been seasick on our boat even in the roughest of conditions. Probably all in my head because I get sick every time going across to our Island in Fiji and I have even been sick on the big ferry in Suva Bay. Usually I'm hopeless and on the big trip across the equator from Tarawa to Banaba Island I have to knock myself out for the days it takes to get there. Ken thinks I am just getting use to it.

The other reason we are not keen to put up a cockpit pod yet is we are really enjoy being so close to the water and enjoying it all. Yes we do get drenched in the big waves and when it rains but our bimini is a godsend protecting us from the sun without completely cutting us off from the elements. As I said at the moment I feel more like we are riding a motor bike than an enclosed sedan. Just love it!

[Mac26Mpaul]

I'd like to get a dodger (they fold down so you can go either way) but couldnt bring the missus around to the cost (not right now anyway). Another option for a bit dryer a ride is spray rails down the side. I think your looking at a coupla grand if you get it done at the marina. Could probably do it yourselfs cheaper of course.

Yes, the Mac is a very good choice for the Gold Coast area,, and your X is a better choice than the M. There are of course a few small things that annoy me about my boat. The two main things are first and foremost; the totally underrated trailer they come on and secondly, all that freeboard becomes a real pain in a few ways when the wind really picks up. I have no problems with the way the boat sails - does all I need it too.

You could get a shallow draft keelboat of course,, theres even a few bildge keelers floating around which would be perfect around here if you ask me (wont go any faster than the Mac though I dont think LOL)

Saw that yacht over at Tabby island before. How does your friend get to use that mooring? People around here call the house on that Island, "the Pizza hut" but nobody seems to know much about the place. Does your mate know the owners or something? Whats the deal with that place?

Do you by any chance no how much Rudy maas is charging for the swing moorings. I keep meaning to ring and ask but havn't got around to it. Did you see that yacht thats sunk on one of them a few weeks back. I bet the owner shed a few tears when he saw that..

[KookaSnook]

Hi Paul

Our friends have been the caretakers (not living there) over on Tabby Tabby for years when Bill Bradman owned the island They use to keep their yacht over there. We spent many a day and night over there in the good old days accept for the nightmare midgie problem. The island was sold to a Chinese company who have never been there and our friend was still looking after it but not to the extent on Bill's days. The new owners went on to rent it out for some fantastic price and ended up with not getting any money from the people and had to kick them out. They were the ones who put the mooring in so now it is very handy for them and us to drop over and visit.

Our friends have had their yacht out of the water for nearly 5 years and now he has done all the repairs and has it back in the water and leaving it over at Tabby Tabby until the rent it out again. The house is amazing really and only has the best quality fittings inside. The only thing I hate is the midges and even with all the screens I'm sure they come up through the floorboards on the verandah. Oh by the way the whole island runs on solar power and is very self sufficient.

So you might have seen us pulled up at the jetty overnight last weekend as we camped there the night before our day out sailing. So please drop by next time you see us over there.

Regards Stacey

[Mac26Mpaul]

That clears up a bit. I did see a couple doing gardening or something there one day, must have been your friends. But how long ago did this Chinese mob buy it, and what have they bought it for? It cant be developed so.. (well actually, with the 'right' government in power and the right money changing hands, I guess anything can be developed... ).

I'm sure I saw Lamas or something on the mudbank when I was sailing by one day - is that what i saw???

Anyway, If I see you I will drop over. I'm usually out there once or twice a week buzzing around in my sailing dinghy.

We did land on the Island near the jetty one day and my kids ran back to the boat screaming about the midgies - excellent security mechanism

[Mac26Mpaul]

one other thing Stacey. Do you know anything about that mooring - as in, did they get permission to put it down there?? When I first moved here I kind of thought I'd be able to get my own mooring but then found out they are all owned by Rudy Maas. Still havnt got around to finding out if its possible to apply for a private mooring out there somewhere (??)

[KookaSnook]

Hi Paul

They are all over on Tabby Tabby today and when I asked them about the mooring last weekend they said that the people renting the place just applied to Qld waterways or whoever the official body is and paid so much for them to sink it and then so much a year. I will ask them when I see them next. Maybe Rudy Maas pays an annual fee for a whole area near him under a marina licence. Apparently its not that expensive from what they said but I didn't take a lot of notice. But will ask them for you. There yacht is a ROSS - called CHARBURG so you see it a lot more there now.

The other thing you mentioned was the sunken yacht on the south end of Horizon Shores - yes we had been watching every weekend when we went past. It was in a very bad state before it sunk and the sails were all shredded that's what drew my attention to it in the first place. It started to really get low in the water about 3-4 weeks back and I said to Ken it looks like it is filling with water. Every weekend got lower and lower until it finally sunk. Don't know if it was just wood rot on the hull but obviously sunk from neglect.

The Chinese (who I think live here on the Gold Coast) bought it as an investment and have never been there. When tenants moved out owing a fortune place was in pretty bad nick, but our friends have cleaned it all up again and with them there more you will see the place looking a lot better.

If you drop by make sure you spray you and family with plenty of bushman 80 it seems to be the only thing that works for me plus now I only ever wear long pants and sleeves around those parts. One year after 2 following weekends of staying over there I was so badly bitten it took more than 6 weeks for the bites to go. Deb and I were only saying on the weekend that they seem to be a very vicious strain on that island but I suppose if you look at the map right next door is Mosquito Island and half of TT goes under water at high tide. It's a shame as I only said to Deb it would cost an absolute fortune to build that house over there today... as it has expensive fittings and you can image the infrastructure costs of setting up all the solar and water system. You know all those sheds on the island one of them is totally full of interconnected water tanks. Just massive. They barge over there is also great.

[Mac26Mpaul]

Thanks for the info Stacey, very interesting. Yes, swing moorings are not expensive (hundred and something a year I believe), but in theory, if you do not have a boat on it for something like 30 days, the government takes it off you. Thats why you see some horrible boats that dont move on some moorings about the Gold Coast - they call them "mooring minders" and the owners just use them so they dont lose their moorings, waiting to get a proper boat later on or whatever). You usually have to wait a few years to get a swing mooring I'm told, but you cant just put one down anywhere. It has to be in a designated mooring area I believe, and that is why I thought you couldnt do it near Cabbage tree point anymore - the Rudy Maas mooring area is some sort of a business lease or something.

I believe they were all once private, but they took them over at some stage. I think it was my neighbour who said you can no longer get them from the QLD government out there (for private use). If you can get them, the proper way is to have a concrete block put down which cost about 1200 (from memory) to have done,, but lots of people have done it themselves with train wheels and stuff..

I'd love to get one out there - It would be so handy to leave the boat on for a week or two here and there....... Occasionally I leave my boat anchored over there where the moorings start, but I'm always worried something willl happen to the anchor line or something.....

[KookaSnook]

Yes Paul all a bit of food for thought on the mooring issue. Never knew about them taking your mooring off you if it sat vacant for more than 30 days but makes sense. I know all the times we have been past Tabby Tabby for the past 9 months that we never saw a boat moored there over the weekends anyway. Apparently when the tenants moved out they used a small tender to run stuff back and forward one trip at a time to Horizon. I also noticed your comment about small barnacles growing on the bottom of your boat just after 4 days in the water over Christmas. We were in the water for 8 days all up and not a problem at all but apparently our previous owner had the bottom painted with antifoul so obviously works on ours.

So as you say a lot of these horrible old wrecks we see sitting at anchor around Horizon are just there to hold the mooring? So what happens now when they sink and are still sitting at the mooring?

Also I'm sure our friends said it cost a thousand or so to sink the mooring. I know the current off Tabby Tabby is pretty strong and as you say leaving your boat sitting out on a mooring near the main channels is a bit of a worry with the idiots that go past and not forgetting the huge Riviera's. Imagine the bashing around of your boat when they go past even though it state 6 knots these guys at low speed are still kicking up huge wakes. TT has no speed restriction there so that mooring really cops it with the big ones speeding past.

So is your house backing down on the water there at Cabbage Tree closer to Rudy Maas? If so would be ideal. But for us if we were going to leave it in the water all the time I would use Horizon Shores. Great security and so handy to have our marine electrician, mechanic, fuel, water, everything so accessible for us. I was thinking if we had bought the bigger Bavaria would have to set it up at Southport Yacht club just so we could be closer to work if we wanted to spend a few night aboard during the week. But at this stage with Horizon Shores putting our boat in and out of the water each weekend for us allows us all our time to be out there using our boat. We haven't even bothered to re-register our trailer while it lives there and to get our mast down would be a whole new learning exercise for us and would have to work in with our new static bimini on the back with our large solar panel.

One question about leaving your boat permanently in the water... how do you get on with water in the ballast? Image it would grow algae etc and get quite stagnant? Also we have found out boat bounces around so much even with the water ballast so wondering how you would go at mooring? I suppose you guys with M's and a dagger board can leave your board down but ours stills seems to be knocking when moored even with a bit of pressure on the rope. Ken is just worried we are going to damage it if it keeps knocking all the time.

They are predicting flooding rains Sunday and Monday of the long weekend. We will go out Saturday if not to heavy and probably come back in early if it gets to miserable out there. But should catch up with our friends either this weekend or next and find out more about what they know on the TT mooring.

LEAKING HATCH COVER: OH! We found that in the big waves crashing over the bow of our boat that we have water coming in through under our hatch from under the front. Has anyone else had this problem and how did they fix it?

[Boblee]

LEAKING HATCH COVER: OH! We found that in the big waves crashing over the bow of our boat that we have water coming in through under our hatch from under the front. Has anyone else had this problem and how did they fix it?
KookaSnook

Don't think we have had that problem except when hosing, just don't go out when waves are coming over the bow unless caught out which is rare but you probably could try experimenting with seals across the hatch front, when you find a good solution let us know

[KookaSnook]

Thanks Booblee

The only thing we could do was roll up towels and jamb them in under the hatch. We were wondering after we have been out in the big waves a few times with waves crashing right over us that we found that the seat on our dinning table was wet. We couldn't work it out when the hatch was over so it was only over Christmas that my girlfriend and I went down inside to dry out that we watched the water pouring in when a big wave hit. I was a bit surprised as I would have through that the hatch cover was water tight at least from the front to prevent this.

It's pretty normal on Moreton Bay here for the waves to get quite big if the wind picks up. Ask Mac26Mpaul he has also had some good adventures around Peel Island with his main sail blowing out of the mast and him hanging off the boom over the side of the boat.

[bartmac]

Have looked at the sliding hatch and as it leaks when cleaning and hosing the mac...its not surprising that deck water makes its way in.Thanks for reminding me because it will have to be a job on THE list....AND THE LIST GETS LONGER

[Mac26Mpaul]

I avoid waves crashing over the bow situations wherever possible... and havn't experienced water coming in yet (touch wood)

I have old antifoul on the boat, but it is long past its used by date and so the growth starts after about a week or so in the water.

To leave the ballast in, you just chuck a coupla of pool chlorine tablets in there. I still have the bottle of them my boat came with. The PO had my boat sitting in a Marina Pen for over a year by itself while he was in the US. The dagger board on Ms rattles around too, but I dont worry about it. When I have left my boat out there, I have done it board up, as I leave it where it sometimes dry out on the mud. I have had it out there in some very high winds. One week it was blowing a gale and I was going down the boat ramp every day to look over at it and worry watching it swing back and forth. When I picked it up, I found some of the anchor line had worn through a bit where it lays accross the bow roller. Wouldnt be worried too much if I had it chained to a proper mooring though (except for theives)

No, I'm not on the water (coupla blocks back). When I moved here three years back, the waterfront places didnt go for under about 1.2 million or so which is out of our budget.. Some months back, the closest one to the boatramp (with the huge jetty/pontoon) went for $550K and another a few houses up went for $470K apparently (?)