Request for any m26 owner in Melbourne

[jimbo]

The Mac 26M is on my short list to buy now but I would like to see one in action - see it rigged etc. Would any Melbourne based owners be willing to take a sticky beak aka me on a ride?

[Fresh Breeze]

Welcome Jimbo. When we bought our we didn't get a demo. we relied on the Mac video, youtube, we did alot of research, having a boatie back ground made the choice a bit easier. Youtube was very informative, you can view just about very thing there is to know about . I do remember one Mac we were looking at, we asked for a demo and the reply was, not until we put a deposit down before we even got a closer look! We were astonished with that reply so we declined and that very boat is sell for sale, that was over 12 months ago.
My advice would be to contact your local dealer for a run through. Lets hope they will be able to help you.

Hope you get the you want, they are great boats, you will have heaps of fun sailing her.

Cheers

[Tempus]

Same here. Lots of research and talking to people will provide a substantial amount of confidence in your decision...one way or another.

We moved from an Aquarius to a Mac 26M and, even though I'd studied-up on Mac mast raising, was still very pleasantly surprised the first time we set her up for a sail. Our 26M is a lovely boat no matter what those Mac naysayers actual say.

I believe that "no deposit-no test sail" is a common policy, as I've come across it myself.

Either way, we're in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, so a tad too far from Melbourne to assist!!

Cheers

[jimbo]

Thanks for assist but done and dusted.
There is a nice white 2011 Mac 26M parked outside my house now pending enough cars to clear the cul de sac to back her into the drive. Very nervous time towing through peak hour traffic but it tows very nicely. Bounced over two curbs taking corners too tight but the rubber torsion suspension does a great job. The former owner even stuck the new name on her for me. Aka "Edge of reason". Time to change signature.
Now to see if I can rig her on dry land. Then the aqueous H2O with a touch of salt.

[jimbo]

Ps thanks to all forum members for all the information that sold me on the 26M

[Mac26Mpaul]

Nice work Jimbo, happy days ahead

[bartmac]

Stop it now Paul....you're just rubbing it in....me life is planned for the next 6 month and it doesn't feature our X even once

[Mac26Mpaul]

Thats horrible

[jimbo]

First weigh in today.
GTM 1640
ATM 1840
A bit too much n the tow ball for my X3 so will have to re distribute. Cannot move the boat on the trailer as it is a factor alloy trailer.
This is a pretty bare Mac btw. No additional water storage. No stove. Nothing else that would be needed for real trip. All this to come.

[Hamin' X]

Sometimes the bare Mac is the best. It allows you to make her yours, the way you want her. No bad habits from the PO. Welcome to the club.

~Rich

[Oskar 26M]

Welcome Jimbo and congratulations on the acquisition of your 26M.
May you have fair winds and smooth seas and many happy days of sailing .

Thank you also for posting the weigh-in figures of your new boat. They are very useful figure to have.

Your journey is just beginning if you plan to do more than use it as an occasional day-sailer You might give some thought to items that could be "necessary" to turn your 26M into a comfortable and easily managed boat. As you will see they soon add mass to the boat and it takes very little to push it over the the allowable trailer limit.

A few thoughts of items that make life easier on board, but add significantly to the mass of the boat:
* a decent anchor. The standard Danforth style anchor is grossly inadequate for a boat with the 26M's windage. You really need an anchor such as the Manson Supreme 12kg or perhaps the Delta or Sarca equivalents or maybe a couple of anchors of varying capabilities plus good sized chain and rode;
* a 2nd (probably larger) battery just in case you run the single battery down;
* a decent amount of fresh water storage;
* maybe an additional fuel tank;
* mast raising gear if you don't already have it;
* a dinghy and outboard if you plan to moor or anchor-out and maybe a small outboard;
* davits so you can easily hoist and stow the dinghy;
* a decent sized ice box plus contents and/or a fridge/freezer;
* solar panels so you can power the fridge;
* portable air conditioner if you plan to head north, or stay on board during winter in the south;
* if you are staying on board, either at sea or in a camping area, a generator to power the air-con and recharge all those bits and pieces like GPS, mobile phones, laptops, TV/DVD player;
* miscellaneous ropes, chains, rodes, fenders etc that all add up;
* safety equipment like flares, EPIRB, fire extinguisher, bilge pumps;
* personal stuff like clothing bedding, food and drinks,

Other good things that don't add a lot of mass, but are nice to have:
* a good quality GPS-chart plotter, plus depth sounder.
* a NMEA 2000 chart plotter would be good because then you can add an interface to your engine so you can monitor fuel consumption and other important aspects of engine state;
* LED cabin/running lights to save on power consumption;
* mast head LED anchor light;
* all lines led aft to the cockpit;
* sail slugs
* lazy jacks;
* jiffy reefing system or similar;
* an auto pilot to make single handing easier and a lot safer;

... the list goes on, consuming lots of boat bucks, but is terminated by...:
* Trailer + boat GVM exceeds 2000kg which requires:
*a new or upgraded trailer capable of carrying the increased mass and equipped with mandatory 2000kg plus brakes
* a tow vehicle to match.

My point is that the bare boat is great for an occasional day-sail, but the Mac has the room to do much more than that and most of us are tempted to modify the bare boat according to our needs. Quite apart from the boat bucks involved (and the fun of adding all these things that make your boat do just what you want it to do

The unseen penalty of mods is that it is very easy to go over the trailer's rated capacity, with the consequential risks to legal road worthiness and insurance or the substantial costs involved in achieving legal compliance. Its a shame that the OEM Mac trailer sails so close to the wind.

[bartmac]

What no warp drive

[Oskar 26M]

What no warp drive

It was under consideration but then I realised that the faster blue hull made it unnecessary

[jimbo]

Neat list. Yes trailer and vehicle on the cards but not immediately.
Two 12 gallon fuel tanks already present. Massive dang things. Little fuel when I weighed in maybe 25percent capacity. Auto steer already present. Dual batteries present. Garmin 640 gpsmap present. Depth sounder present.
Immediate planning: Origo 4100 stove ordered. Replace the factory pump faucet ( more water shoots out side than down the nozle). Ordered from amazon today. Water bladder with pressurised water. Jabsco linear pump ordered. Solar panel off the mast support and dual battery charging system. Parts selected but will have to wait till i get someone to fabricate the support arms i need. Change to LED lighting. Will stick to esky type cooler for now to keep weight down but will get a modern super insulated version. VHF radio and antenna off the mast support. Note to self will need to brace that mast support off the other guard rails. Re plumb the fuel supply system to remove the rubber hoses from underfoot. Fix that dang gasket where the motor control cables enter the hull.
That is the short term list. The aim is to be able to lighten or keep light the towing mass at the expense of increasing the towing vehicle load by removing stuff, watering and fuelling up at destination. Will upgrade the towing vehicle first then the trailer.
Oh minor things like remote release of the trailer nose connection for solo launching have already done and safety nose strap being built for me by Anchor marine.
Edit. Yes anchor is short term as well.