Brand new mac owner

[Rum boogie]

Not 100 percent sure on the process of getting up on plane,and returning to sailing mode.I have an idea but have read conflicting opinions such as leaving the tank empty when sailing in light winds.Any advice from mac sailors will be greatly appreciated.

[Maraquita]

Welcome to the forum. First know that I have a 26D, which is a much more traditional “sailboat” than your 19. My boat is pure displacement hull, so never going to get on plane! I think everyone will say, though, that no water ballasted MAC should ever be sailed without ballast. I know that mine, even with the board down, is frighteningly tender without the tank full. (It reminds me before I even get away from the dock if I forget to fill the ballast). Under power, with the big outboard pushing from water level, instead of the wind pushing 15 or 20 feet overhead, things may be different. I’m sure the 26M and X owners will let you know. But under sail, keep the ballast full.

[OverEasy]

Hi Rum Boogie!

Welcome to the forum!

If you don’t already have the original operators manual for your boat you can find a copy within the Resources Tab of this website.
It’s well written and very informative! Well worth it!

When it comes to sailing a Mac please understand that it was specifically designed only to be sailed with the ballast full. This is necessary to provide adequate stability and self righting capability. As Maraquita said: Sail with full ballast.
With Stability comes Control… With Control comes Performance

Sailing:
A Mac is designed to be operated only with a full ballast or an empty ballast tank.
It should never be operated with a partially filled ballast tank.

Motoring:
The Mac was designed such that when motoring the ballast can be either full or empty.
—> Full ballast adds stability, nice in rough conditions to smooth things out a bit.
—> Empty ballast let’s one ride a little higher and possibly get on plane sooner or at lower power setting.

Hope this helps some…

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[Rum boogie]

Thanks,thats very helpful,I sail in the keys and Biscayne Miami fl,and since I bought this boat its been thunderstorms every day.Typical summer here, Can't wait to try her out and use your advice.

[Russ]

You might want to connect with Ixneigh on this forum. He lives/sails the keys. He knows them like the back of his hand.

I keep the ballast in all the time. The cost is a bit of speed and it wont get up on full plane, but the boat will motor fast enough with ballast in. It just feels safer with the ballast in. Especially if you get hit with weather, seas or rough conditions.

To get the powersailer up on full plane the ballast needs to be out. However, understand the cost of doing that. It needs to be FULLY empty. Partially empty ballast is a very dangerous thing. Conditions need to be calm and your crew must not be topsides on the deck.

Honestly, I've only run with ballast out a few times. Usually when I first launch just for fun to see the difference. The difference in speed isn't that much for the cost of more danger and tenderness.

[Rum boogie]

Thanks alot guys, I'll let everyone know how it goes.

[Rum boogie]

Thanks alot guys, I'll let everyone know how it goes.

[charlieaim]

Great question! On a MacGregor, to get up on plane, you’ll usually empty the ballast tank and use the motor at higher speed. When switching back to sailing mode, refill the ballast tank for stability and safety. In light winds, some sailors leave it empty for better speed, but it’s riskier — so it depends on your experience and conditions. Safety first!

[kmclemore]

Great question! On a MacGregor, to get up on plane, you’ll usually empty the ballast tank and use the motor at higher speed. When switching back to sailing mode, refill the ballast tank for stability and safety. In light winds, some sailors leave it empty for better speed, but it’s riskier — so it depends on your experience and conditions. Safety first!

Charlie, you're new, and for both our sakes I hoe you're a real person and not AI. However, the manual clearly states to NEVER sail the boat with the ballast removed - not even in light winds. Doing so would be at considerable risk to both the vessel and persons aboard.

[rsvpasap]

Yes, but the MacGregor marketing department definitely got ahead of the Macgregor engineering department some days. From the 26x brochure:

"Here are your sailing choices: ( 1 ) With water ballast tank full and conservative sails, the 26 is an extremely stable sailboat, ideal for a beginner. ( 2 ) With the big genoa jib or spinnaker, it is a conventional self righting sailboat with outstanding sailing speed. ( 3 ) Unbalasted, it is one of the wildest and potentially fastest sailboats around. Under power ( 1 ) without ballast, it is a rather fast conventional cabin cruiser, or ( 2 ) with the ballast, a docile, heavily ballasted power boat."

[leefrankpierce]

Another issue = pull the centerboard/swingboard/whatever we call that thing up before getting too much speed. It will tend to make the boat want to turn. Rudders are supposed to be up also.
In practice, I leave both down, wather in, go at a spead "faster than other sailboats" but not trying to plane.

[tuxonpup]

First Mac 26X I looked at locally, the owner talked about sailing it unballasted on the Sea of Cortez. I could see using it as a day sailor that way, with the engine removed and nothing inside that you can't afford to submerge or have float away, just assume you will eventually end up with the wrong side up, and want a full service tow and haul out nearby.

[Be Free]

First Mac 26X I looked at locally, the owner talked about sailing it unballasted on the Sea of Cortez. I could see using it as a day sailor that way, with the engine removed and nothing inside that you can't afford to submerge or have float away, just assume you will eventually end up with the wrong side up, and want a full service tow and haul out nearby.

Sailing our boats without a full ballast tank in any sea state is dangerous. Don't do it!

The problem is not so much that "you will eventually end up with the wrong side up" sailing it unballasted. It is that it will remain "wrong side up". Without ballast our boats are not self-righting.

I've sailed many boats that were not self-righting but all of them were small enough that they could be righted by myself without any additional assistance. I don't think I could right my "X" on my own and I really don't want to find out one way or the other.

For any who are unconvinced:

The Pros and Cons of Sailing Unballasted

PRO

• The boat will accelerate faster

• The boat may sail a bit faster in light wind

Sorry, that's all I can think of.

CON

• While the boat will likely accelerate faster without ballast, all of the water ballasted models will already accelerate faster than their fixed-ballast competition. This is because even with our ballast in we are usually still lighter than a ballasted boat of the same length.

• Conversely, the boat will lose speed more quickly when it is unballasted when it hits a wave. Even with our ballast in we don't built the same momentum that traditional sailboats do. This is one of the many reasons why it is so difficult to race successfully using any of the hybrid Macs.

• Removing the ballast decreases the theoretical hull speed slightly. Hull speed is primarily a function of waterline length. Without ballast the boat will sit about 2 inches higher in the water, decreasing the waterline length and consequently decreasing your theoretical hull speed.

• While removing the ballast in light wind may increase your speed slightly you are unlikely to reach your reduced hull speed under those conditions. The only point of sail where you might be able to do so is on a run and even then any type of sea state would likely slow you down do to lowered momentum reducing your ability to carry you through waves, chop, and boat wakes.

• On all other points of sail your lack of ballast will make it impossible to fully utilize the wind regardless of speed. The boat will begin to heel under the lightest of winds and will continue to heel at the same rate as the wind increases. Remember what that first 10 degrees or so of heel feel like before the boat "hardens-up"? That's the way it will feel all the time and it will never harden-up. It will just heel more and spill more wind until it either rounds up or is knocked down.

• Your MacGregor's already "problematic" pointing ability will be totally shot. The ability to point requires that the underwater foils do their job. As the boat heels beyond 15 degrees or so they begin to lose the ability to develop the lift needed to keep the boat on course. Even if you manage to keep the boat from being knocked down (an impressive feat while unballasted) a lot of your theoretical increase in speed is just pushing you to lee (leeway).

The tiny, theoretical benefits (only possible in a small window of conditions) is just not worth the near-certainty that you will spend the day rounding up or getting knocked down (if you are lucky). Add in the not-insignificant chance that you may capsize and almost-certain chance that you won't be able to fix it without (possibly) expensive help and I say, "Keep the ballast in".

This sport is supposed to be fun. There will always be a slight, usually manageable bit of danger inherent in taking a small boat out on the water but there is no reason to remove one of the central safety features of the boat for a slight, theoretical increase in speed or acceleration. That's not fun, that's folly.

[dlandersson]

Ok, with watrer ballast, an X has a draft of 20 inches with kell and ruddder up. The manual claerly states, do not sail w/o water ballast.

First Mac 26X I looked at locally, the owner talked about sailing it unballasted on the Sea of Cortez. I could see using it as a day sailor that way, with the engine removed and nothing inside that you can't afford to submerge or have float away, just assume you will eventually end up with the wrong side up, and want a full service tow and haul out nearby.

[Russ]

Yes, but the MacGregor marketing department definitely got ahead of the Macgregor engineering department some days. From the 26x brochure:

"Here are your sailing choices: ( 1 ) With water ballast tank full and conservative sails, the 26 is an extremely stable sailboat, ideal for a beginner. ( 2 ) With the big genoa jib or spinnaker, it is a conventional self righting sailboat with outstanding sailing speed. ( 3 ) Unbalasted, it is one of the wildest and potentially fastest sailboats around. Under power ( 1 ) without ballast, it is a rather fast conventional cabin cruiser, or ( 2 ) with the ballast, a docile, heavily ballasted power boat."

Now that is disturbing. I know Roger pushed the limits with his marketing, but this is flat out dangerous. I'm sure an expert sailor who understands the boat well can sail it dinghy style, but MOST people don't have this skill. I can't believe the lawyers let him print this. No doubt this didn't go through legal.

The safety decal clearly states to fill the ballast. The part that says "see manual for exceptions" seems foolish

https://www.macgregorsailors.com/resour ... _decal.pdf