ladders

[David Hampson]

Hi I've eventually took the plunge and purchased my first boat. A MacGregor 26X. My friend and I intend to pick it up on the 1st April ( April Fool's Day) and tow it from the South of England upto Lake Windermere. Neither of us have every sailed before, but having read your disscussion board it doesn't seem that hard!!
The boat is a 2000 model, but it does not have the swim / boarding ladder fitted to the transom.
Can you please let me know the name of the manufacturer of the OEM product or any good (cheaper) alternatives.
many thanks

David

[Chip Hindes]

Congratulations on your impending boat purchase.

In talking to Art Reiders at Havencraft when I bought my new boat there in 00, I was under the impression that there was no OEM swim ladder per se, that ladders for the X were strictly dealer installed, and manufactured for each dealer by local fabricators to the dealers' specs. The numerous configurations of ladders would tend to bear this out; some are mounted inside the rudders, some outside, some have three steps, some four, etc.

Bill@B4S might be able to confirm this.

Blue Water Yachts still offers a ladder for the X. At $199 USD its not too far out of line, though I imagine shipping won't be cheap. There's no picture; perhaps somebody who has that ladder can comment on its configuration. If possible, I would recommend buying one that's outside the rudders rather than inside. I would not attempt to fit a generic ladder to the Mac X; the way the transom is curved its bound to fit poorly.

[Morimaro]

Dave,

got a 99 26X and fitted an after market ladder from Havencraft of Boston MA(no longer trading) but the ladder from BWY looks very similar so should be OK. I would not recommend the short ladders that MacGregor used to supply
The only things to remember are the shipping, import duty and VAT charges.
For your info the UK Mac Owners Assoc is having a weekend rally on Windermere in Sept this year and there are already a number of Mac's on the lake.
If you want info on UKMOA I can forward them to you over e-mail.

Cheers
Morris

[Billy]

Chip, some of the ladders were OEM--an option from MacGregor. They were made by http://railmakers.com/about.htm in the same town. In fact the ladder on my X ('01) still has their decal on it. I'm guessing the brackets were installed at the factory and the dealer attached the ladder. The ladder they currently show on their website is longer than the one Roger used.

[kmclemore]

Chip, some of the ladders were OEM--an option from MacGregor. They were made by http://railmakers.com/about.htm in the same town. In fact the ladder on my X ('01) still has their decal on it. I'm guessing the brackets were installed at the factory and the dealer attached the ladder. The ladder they currently show on their website is longer than the one Roger used.

Yep, mine's a Railmaker, too. And the one shown on their website is almost exactly like mine. And IMHO it needs wood or StarBoard steps on it... the rails hurt!

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

congrats. on your Mac X. I've been very satisfied with mine, a 1999 Mac X, purchased last year. They're a great family boat...

[David Hampson]

Thanks for all your help, I will let you know how we get on with our boat. My friends think I'm mad! Buying a boat without actually being on the water in one!!

[Helaku]

My friends think I'm mad! Buying a boat without actually being on the water in one!!

My wife and I purchased an Egg Harbor 37 ft once with only having a mechanic check it to make sure it was sound. The price was right compared to the book value and the reputation of Egg Harbors is top shelf. Nobody bothered to let me know that it takes 300 U.S gallons (1135 litres) to fill one and it is easy to burn it all in one day. The funny thing was that friends would offer to help pay for the fuel on fishing trips. They got very uncomfortable when I told them how much fuel it cost to run it. Those were some of the most expensive fish I ever ate, excluding the bluegills I eat from my pond when I average the cost of each fish verses the cost of my land.

I do not know what price you paid but I bet that you will get great value if the price was reasonable.

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

Kevin, that is the way your ladder looks on a 98 model? I have the railmakers sticker on my ladder too but it has one less step. There are only two steps total on my 2000 model...although maybe the steps are further apart. They must have started skimping more in the later models. It takes a bit of effort to get up mine but its doable...the grab handle is definitely required though. I had to put one of those on myself.

I can understand the argument of putting the ladder outside of the rudder so that it does not interfere with the motor like mine does now sometimes between rudder and motor. However, I expect with a ladder outside the rudder, you may only be able to use it with the rudder down whereas with the inside configuration, you can use it with rudder up or down.

David, congrats on the purchase. If you are ever looking for custom cabinetry, my brother-in-law is a cabinet maker who lives near Buxton and has made custom cabinets for canal boats.

[Frank C]

Railmakers is (or was) a chain, not a single shop. THere's still one in Alameda, right across from my marina. They do more than marine stainless, now also building intricate railings and staircases for office buildings. (So, check your local yellow pages.)

Variance in ladder style was not related to the model years. Near as I can figger:
The 2 step ladder was the standard factory-issue, mounts inside the rudder (might be narrower).
The 3-step ladder was the upgrade, mounts outside the port rudder (might be a skosh wider).

[Catigale]

I have the three-step (sounds like a dance) ladder outside the port rudder - I can fit between the rudder and transom, outboard of the rudder, and Im 220# - so I suspect most could do this. Its not easy pass through but it falls short of gymnastics, certainly no lubricants are required. I prefer to have the rudder well away from the prop with the kids, even if the motor is never on with the ladder 'in use'. It is easier to approach than the inboard ladder when the boat is pitching up and down, I feel. YMMV.

We also mount our Lifesling on the ladder when we cruise.

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

David...may I suggest ordering a Mac X video from the factory. It gives some nice hints on motoring, sailing, set up, etc. In addition, the video is fun to watch periodically when youre wanting to be out there on the water. There are some real Mac sailing pros available at this site...and theyve had ideas that helped me a lot. Hope you post your first day of sailing success real soon.
Happy Sailing, motoring, camping, picknicing, and relaxing on your Mac-X.

[Tom Spohn]

Bite the bullet and buy the BWY ladder. Todd has custom designed it with parts from several sources. For example the ladder legs are different lengths to compensate for the rise in the sheer of the X and M. It snaps right onto the Genny track and works like a champ. We had several cheaper ladders that did not work with much feeling of security before we went for the BWY. Wish we had skipped the cheaper ladders.

[DLT]

Anyone know how much that BWY ladder costs?

I assume, that since it has different length legs, that it only works for one side of the boat. Which side?

Tom, you say that it snaps onto the track. Do you really mean "snaps" on or more like "slides" on? With bimini and Bill's EZ Cleats, I have stuff that I don't want to have to move everytime I want to mount/dismount the ladder...

Anyone have any pictures?

[Bobby T.-26X #4767]

$199 for the X

http://www.bwyachts.com/web%20catalog%2 ... n_page.htm

mine's a Railmaker "2-step".
work for me...



don't have any pictures with the Tohatsu 90 TLDI.

Bob T.
"DaBob"
'02X w/ '04 90 TLDI