Going out of Mooloolaba again this weekend, wife is joining me from late noon Saturday on, this is big for her so I will be taking it very easy, she is starting to look forward to outings now, I am hoping to actually get the sails up with her on board this time if the weather/swell is kind. If not then just some lazy motoring and anchoring with swimming in the harbour area, overnighting in the Marina. It will be my first chance at using my new Jib as well, I have it mounted on the furler good to go. weather is promising to be excellent so far, 28 with winds starting at 6 and by noon getting to 18 knots so Saturday's sailing should be a treat. I also have my new flooring down (black interlocking mats) so I will see how practical they are.
Cheers, Dennis.
Another weekend outing
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sunshinecoasting
- First Officer
- Posts: 402
- Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2013 5:00 am
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
- Location: Sunshine Coast Queensland Australia - "Entropy" Nissan 50 CDI Furling Jib
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Fresh Breeze
- Chief Steward
- Posts: 68
- Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2012 1:51 pm
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
- Location: Fraser Coast Qld Australia
Re: Another weekend outing
Hi Dennis,
It's great your going out on the water this weekend hope the weather is kind to you and the Mrs.
We have the inter locking mats in the cockpit also, on the floor and on the seats and they work well. Took the cushions away for we were always walking on them and didn't want them get damage. We cut the mats to fit, they do look good not out of place at all.
Don't forget to take heaps of pic's.
Cheers
It's great your going out on the water this weekend hope the weather is kind to you and the Mrs.
We have the inter locking mats in the cockpit also, on the floor and on the seats and they work well. Took the cushions away for we were always walking on them and didn't want them get damage. We cut the mats to fit, they do look good not out of place at all.
Don't forget to take heaps of pic's.
Cheers
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Mac26Mpaul
- Admiral
- Posts: 1066
- Joined: Mon Jun 14, 2010 2:36 am
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
- Location: Gold Coast, Australia 26M "Little Annie" Etec 50
Re: Another weekend outing
Cockpit cushions annoy us too, not waterpoof and get all sticky and hot - We pretty much gave up on taking them but that makes for sore butts after a few days out there...
hadnt even thought of using those foam tiles on the seats.
Can throw em in the water and wash em off etc - great! Will have to get some cheers 
hadnt even thought of using those foam tiles on the seats.
Can throw em in the water and wash em off etc - great! Will have to get some cheers Re: Another weekend outing
Re the cockpit cushions....bought terrytoweling material and made slip on covers which also have ties which stops them from falling off...not totally fool proof but certainly more comfy...then installed a hatch in the cockpit seat on the toilet side of our MacX which is dead area underneath otherwise and you can drop all the cushions inside quickly and easily retrieved in the morning without going inside.Each use of our Mac...we make a list of things that have to be improved...not a chore,its actually fun to mod our boat.....we do the same with our camper
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sunshinecoasting
- First Officer
- Posts: 402
- Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2013 5:00 am
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
- Location: Sunshine Coast Queensland Australia - "Entropy" Nissan 50 CDI Furling Jib
Re: Another weekend outing
Awesome weekend, very sunny, even hot at times, not bad for first day of spring?
Saturday:
Left boat ramp around 8am, wind was stronger than forecast so got to flog that new Jib, sailed really well, points better with new jib and definately faster, I can only put this down to better sail shape, it doesnt flutter like the old one did either. Covered 24 Nm in 4.5 hours (according to Navionics on tablet via GPS) simply tacking about, was really flying (for a Mac). Then about half way through the morning I noticed a few small boats gathered about 2 nm off shore and about 1 nm from me, I went over for a closer look and it was a pod of humpback whales having a frollick, just awesome, got some pics but only of humps and tails. One thing I have learned from this is once out at sea in a 1.5 meter swell and you drop your sails and just drift you are at the whim of the ocean and the swell really knocks you around, I had ballast in and all boards down but I was getting rolled around so bad it was hard to get pictures, at one stage I was standing on cabin roof holding mast and the boat was pitching about 35 deg one way then other, it was all I could do to hold on let alone take pictures, being on my own I had no one to motor into the swell to keep me steady. At that time I wished she was a cat. Also passed a dolphin diving through the waves in opposite direction to me, dont know where he was going but he wanted to get there quick so encounter lasted about three seconds.
Sunday:
Wife, daughter and dog (Vinnie) met me late Saturday and we spent a really nice evening in the marina, fish and chips, red wine, balmy breeze.
Left Marina about 9am after lazy start and motored out of river, wife took over helm and motored for about an hour around Maroochydore area, wife really enjoyed it, only about a .6 mtr swell, warm sunny day breeze at about 6 knotts. Then wife announced she wanted to see a whale and I was to motor at full steam out 2Nm??????? I asked her if she was sure and she said yes (while she quickly put on a lifejacket) so I dumped the ballast, raised all boards and powered up to 15 Knotts and blasted out to sea, she was fine and actually enjoyed it much to my surprise, however I was very dissapointed that the whales didnt understand the importance of the event and were no where to be seen. Still, we motored gently around out there for 15 minutes or so looking and wife was quite relaxed except for a couple of freak waves that pitched us more than she was hoping for, motored back to harbour and anchored in 2 meters of water out of the swell and enjoyed lunch, swimming and generally laying about the deck. Never got the sails up with family on board but still very happy with what we did achieve. Flooring was a winner, I dont have any trouble with my cockpit cushions and love them, they dont get hot but we do have a biminy which I am sure helps. Bartmac, love to see photos of that hatch in the cockpit seat, sounds interesting.
Cheers, Dennis.
Saturday:
Left boat ramp around 8am, wind was stronger than forecast so got to flog that new Jib, sailed really well, points better with new jib and definately faster, I can only put this down to better sail shape, it doesnt flutter like the old one did either. Covered 24 Nm in 4.5 hours (according to Navionics on tablet via GPS) simply tacking about, was really flying (for a Mac). Then about half way through the morning I noticed a few small boats gathered about 2 nm off shore and about 1 nm from me, I went over for a closer look and it was a pod of humpback whales having a frollick, just awesome, got some pics but only of humps and tails. One thing I have learned from this is once out at sea in a 1.5 meter swell and you drop your sails and just drift you are at the whim of the ocean and the swell really knocks you around, I had ballast in and all boards down but I was getting rolled around so bad it was hard to get pictures, at one stage I was standing on cabin roof holding mast and the boat was pitching about 35 deg one way then other, it was all I could do to hold on let alone take pictures, being on my own I had no one to motor into the swell to keep me steady. At that time I wished she was a cat. Also passed a dolphin diving through the waves in opposite direction to me, dont know where he was going but he wanted to get there quick so encounter lasted about three seconds.
Sunday:
Wife, daughter and dog (Vinnie) met me late Saturday and we spent a really nice evening in the marina, fish and chips, red wine, balmy breeze.
Left Marina about 9am after lazy start and motored out of river, wife took over helm and motored for about an hour around Maroochydore area, wife really enjoyed it, only about a .6 mtr swell, warm sunny day breeze at about 6 knotts. Then wife announced she wanted to see a whale and I was to motor at full steam out 2Nm??????? I asked her if she was sure and she said yes (while she quickly put on a lifejacket) so I dumped the ballast, raised all boards and powered up to 15 Knotts and blasted out to sea, she was fine and actually enjoyed it much to my surprise, however I was very dissapointed that the whales didnt understand the importance of the event and were no where to be seen. Still, we motored gently around out there for 15 minutes or so looking and wife was quite relaxed except for a couple of freak waves that pitched us more than she was hoping for, motored back to harbour and anchored in 2 meters of water out of the swell and enjoyed lunch, swimming and generally laying about the deck. Never got the sails up with family on board but still very happy with what we did achieve. Flooring was a winner, I dont have any trouble with my cockpit cushions and love them, they dont get hot but we do have a biminy which I am sure helps. Bartmac, love to see photos of that hatch in the cockpit seat, sounds interesting.
Cheers, Dennis.