Macgregor 26 X coming to Mooloolaba soon

[Rick62]

Looks like another Macgregor (26X) may be based at Mooloolaba Marina soon on the hard stand.
Would be nice to arrange a sail day or a drink/coffee session one evening in the future. It will be my 2nd Macgregor (I owned a Mac 26S) Kick myself for selling it so now gone up a size.
Please feel free to drop me a line.
Rick

[sunshinecoasting]

Hi Rick,

Always happy to catch up with a fellow 'r

Mine is not at the hard in Mooloolaba, I just launch mine when I wish to use it at the boat ramp next door, I just returned from 5 days aboard including a sail to Noosa and back, no wind so motored a lot of it unfortunately.

I will be back in the water around the 10th June at this stage. Drop me a line if you want to catch up or need to know anything about your

Cheers, Dennis.

[Rick62]

Hi Dennis,
Yes I have seen your trailer there at Mooloolaba on many occasions and you sailing around. I owned the 26S that was there for awhile that now lives at Noosa. I am hoping the X sails just as good but not too bothered as i am not the worlds best sailor.You may have noticed a distintive Gaff rig boat on the hard as well for a while or sailing around. That was mine as well. A great day boat. I have gone back to a Mac because I want to do do some over nighting. I will have the winter to sort her out for summer fun. It was a hard choice between the X and the M but the X won me over mainly because of the placement of the head. And off course budget had something to do with it. A choice of a very well maintained X or a tired M. They certainly both have their merits and for what they are and do quite simply there is no other boat on the planet that fits the bill. On a sad note I recently went to the boat show at Sanctuary Cove and not one trailer sailer manufacturer to be found. I believe the end of an era is coming soon. So sad. By the way whats happened to Tattoo 26 and the manufacturers? Have they also come to an end of production. There were rumours of a 22 But I don't see any that have been built and sold.
Cheers.
Rick.

[sailboatmike]

Hi Rick

The X is a fine sailboat once you get used to its strange little habits, stalling the rudders I have found to be the biggest issue, you give them to much input and it just ploughs straight ahead, you have to give it a bit of rudder and wait for it to react, if they stall out you straighten them out, pick up a bit of speed then try again, this time with less input.

As I have said once you get used to it a great sail boat, very stable and not as slow as some may have you believe as long as you dont weight it down with tons of gear that you dont need to carry.

Good luck and enjoy

[sunshinecoasting]

The has the most important thing that you didnt mention, all that cockpit space
Oh and no traveller in front of the companionway. I too looked at both boats carefully, the won me too and budget wasnt the issue. I dont take mine out unless it is for three days or more so I always live aboard, often up in the anchorage but sometimes in the marina. The biggest issue I find is keeping food cold, I now have a Evacool fridge and solar panel and extra battery. This combination works best, I bought a generator but that was a dead loss, just not practical. One of my favourite trips here is up Pumice Stone passage from Golden beach to Bribie bridge and back, yes the will make it through the skids no problem but use quality charts, on that point I use a tablet and Navionics, cheap and powerful. I will be back in the river around the 14th of June, not sure for how long. Give me a yell if you want to come out for a sail, happy to give you some pointers about the

Cheers, Dennis.

[Rick62]

Hey thanks Dennis.Sounds like a plan.Do you know who owns the Mac X at Gympie getting a new trailer built by Watsons Marine ? I was told he lives in Cooroy.A really spec'd out boat.

[sailboatmike]

I was up at Tin Can Bay a month or so ago visiting relos, would love to bring the MAc up and sail around there

[sunshinecoasting]

No idea about the Gympie boat. I will let you know when I launch next.

Cheers.

[sunshinecoasting]

Any news yet Rick?

[Rick62]

Hi Dennis,
Apologies I haven't been in touch. I haven't been on the site since last I saw you. Firstly a very public thank you for allowing myself and Teresa on your beautiful Macgregor 26 X the other Saturday. It was a really nice afternoon and I learned so much.First time on a 26 X and it was a very pleasant experience. I hope the site administrator thats coming over will enjoy the sail as much as we both did if he decides to go for a sail with you and your family.
The 26 X i put a deposit on is now legally mine after paying the final installment on Friday. I have had no luck trying to bring it up from Paynesville Victoria to Mooloolaba as yet. The quotes have been quite high (from $3500 to $5000) and the couple of well priced quotes have not gotten back to me and one wanted money up front. ( Right... ) So my Mac is under a tarp down south. I purchased a new vehicle in the mean time as I now need an appropiate tow vehicle as I couldn't see the 1996 VS Commodore doing the job. A car i purchased for only $1,000. has only so many uses and the tow bar on it was only rated to 1200 kgs so not a good choice. After hopping on carsales and forking out money for the Mac i narrowed it down to a low Klm Hyundai Terracan highlander Crdi turbo diesel with a tow rating of 2,500 kgs that met my modest budget. I'm off to Sydney this weekend to catch up with my family and was half thinking of driving down and sneaking away for an 18 hour return trip to Sydney to pick up the Mac but decided against it as Mum hasn't seen me since Christmas and I need to spend as much time as I can with her and family.
Hope things are well with you and your family.
Talk soon.
Kind Regards
Rick.

[sunshinecoasting]

Hi Rick, thanks for the kind words, it was a nice sail and a nice day.

Congrats on your purchase, I would just bite the bullet and do a 5 day turnaround trip and pick the thing up , but that's me, travelling 3600klms in 5 days isn't everyone's cup of tea.

I may need to pick up a trailer from Clayton Victoria myself very shortly so I feel your pain.

Give me a yell when you get her here if you need any help on your first launch.

Cheers, Dennis.

[Rick62]

Finally...
looks like my boat will be on the Sunshine Coast in her new home at Mooloolaba next week. Went down to Paynesville Lakes Entrance last week and brought her home over the weekend. Close to a 4000 elm round trip in 3 and a half days.Just doing some maintenance work on her and readying her for her maiden voyage her on the coast. Engine serviced,hull and deck gurnied with a high pressure spay machine from work and installing some home comforts. Have detected a small leak coming in from the rear into the rear berth area. Not sure where its coming from if any one can shed some light. The survey said from the control lines but not sure ? I taped the lines up but after the gurney I noticed a bit of water coming from the transom area.
Now a guessing game you can all play...Guess her new name by the letters below. Dennis (Sunshine Coasting) I think I already told you so you can't play
P S D O L E A E O
Now to make it tricky there are two words. First word three letter.
The winner gets a free beverage at the Mooloolaba Yacht club.

[sunshinecoasting]

Hey Rick,
Good to hear you have her safe and home.

If you need any help setting up for your maiden flight just give me a yell, I am not sure what plans I have for the weekend but I am happy to help if I can get there.

The only place I can think of that water may get in the rear berth area is either the hole in the centre of the console that the steering cable runs through or perhaps the drain hose in the transom that drains the engine well, I have heard that they sometimes can leak. Is the water on the floor of the rear berth or in the outer ribs of the bilge? If it is bilge then it can come from any deck fitting and most likely the shroud fittings at the deck, mine leak there.

I have forgotten the new name sorry, I have a crappy memory for such things but I suspect I have worked it out, please do let us know before you launch.

Cheers, Den.