Shakedown cruise - Mac newbie

[K9Kampers]

We just purchased an '01 MacX a week ago, and here are a few things I learned / observed before /during / after the first cruise.

If your computer power fails (and all data is lost) during a long-winded posting on how your first cruise in a new-to-you Mac went, that is the boat god(s) saying "Keep it short!"

Solo mast raising, in the driveway & at dockside, really does work. Even without the side support wires!

If the owners manual calls for side support wires for mast raising, and the former owner didn't explain / show them, keep looking til you find them.

If you can't find a necessary piece of equipment when you need it, it will reveal itself after you've figured another way of doing something.

Even if the former owner shows you how to easily raise the mast with four people, the owners manual will best illustrate how to do it with one.

If a picture in the owners manual is worth a thousand words, then a paragraph in the owners manual is better than a black & white picture.

... Because the Admiral had a sore back last week, I did all the driveway prepwork of our new Mac, including solo mast raising & lowering practice, (future lessons to reveal!). When launch day arrived, the Admiral was out of commission, so it was up to myself and K9 First Mate - Abby the Aquadog to shakedown the Mac.

A late afternoon launch & dockside mast raising went off without a hitch. I discovered the side support wires in the bilge after the mast was already up. Thinking the side wires were additional rigging, I installed them unknowing, then continued to re-route the jib sheets to no satisfaction. Only long after trailering home, did I reason the necessity to use / not use the side support wires. I had it backwards - now it makes better sense!

A jib only sail across Wolfeboro Bay of Lake Winnipesaukee at the edge of darkness was a perfect first sail. Too much wind / waves / darkness, convinced me to motor the rest of the way to dock for the night at my brothers cottage on a nearby island. Sleeping aboard was fairly comfortable.

On Sunday morning, the winds that were promising at 8:30 am were gone by 10 o'clock. Hauled out at the start of an afternoon storm. When reloading the trailer, the bow pushed the right carpeted rotted block off the trailer frame, putting a gouge in the bow. Traveling with a rolling floor jack, jackstands and extra tools allowed me to lift the bow off the trailer and make adequate repairs before hitting the road.

The "Mac Bump" is still a myth (to me), even with wet bunks and abruptly stopping down a hill.

All in all my first experience with the Mac X was positive, despite last sailing a boat of that size 10 years ago. Everything felt natural and comfortable. I'm looking forward to cruising with my wife & K9 crew and meeting other Macs on the water.

Andrew

[Night Sailor]

Welcome aboard the forum Andrew, and congrats on starting a new relationship with your X. May all your journies be memorable ones...

Happy Sailing, motoring, doing it all in your X.

[They Theirs]

K9Kampers
Great first outing story! I hope the K9 is for your sailing pups? We have many sailing pups on this board. Jackie m has posted of their "Five Westies" and my wife has not let up chatting about those great little sailors (Five of them). Last week we purchased Bichon Frise Pups, three of them (Two Girls and the Brother, all related) I hope to enjoy them with the boat as your first sail.

[K9Kampers]

Our K9 crew are sister cocker spaniels, 12 years old. Dakota, the black one, has a gimpy rear end - the result of disk problem six years ago. Tho she is about 90% able, she can't jump, and needs to be lifted. Because of the injury, she doesn't have total control of #1 & #2, and will "go" where-ever / when-ever. Dakota hasn't been onboard yet. Abby, the chocolate one, easily climbs up/down the companionway ladder, but will have to be trained for cockpit duties when it isn't easy to get to shore. Both pups love being with us whatever we are doing, even 4-up on a sit-on-top kayak for flat water paddling.

[They Theirs]

Some cute pix and sailing pups

More to look

[K9Kampers]

An update on my "shakedown" post:

Last weekend was my "break-in cruise". I've found my experiences with the Mac X to be easy & enjoyable so far. It's great to be able to launch / haul out with ease single-handed. Spectators who want to help don't believe that one person can handle such a large boat with ease. I'm not patting myself on the back, it's just that I know what I'm doing and it is easy to do it with this boat. Then comes the solo dockside mast raising. Have gotten many good comments on the boat / rigging. "Macgregor has thought of everything" comes from people who don't have a mast raising system. My next mod is to switch the mast pivot "bolt" to a hitch pin. Buggered threads on that bolt is the only mishap from doing it myself.

Under sail, again solo, the boat is so enjoyable! With full ballast, full keel, motor up, and both rudders down, the boat is virtually self steering. It's not an autopilot, I know, but enough so that I've been able to quickly use the head or grab something from below or jump up on deck and not fall off course.

Dumping some ballast while powering to reduce the load on the motor will take some time to know how much is enough for the present conditions.
The cabin arrangement is perfect. Just the underseat cooler can be a bit challenging as is head-butting the semi-open hatch.

A few things to tweak & some mods to come, but overall a very enjoyable boat!

[Beam's Reach]

Good point on timing for removal of ballast under power. I've put ribbons on the intake valve to guage the fill process, but it's hard to determine when ballast is empty under power. Has anyone come up with a method or timed it?

[K9Kampers]

I look over the transom at the valve while underway and can see the ballast water flushing out of the valve. Gauging it is the challenge. I count, close the valve, and observe boat/motor performance & tach, repeating if necessary. Until there's some kind of gauge, I just go by how the boat feels.

[DLT]

Dumping some ballast while powering to reduce the load on the motor will take some time to know how much is enough for the present conditions.

A word of caution - I would not recommend dumping some ballast. For me, and according to manufacturer recommendations I believe, ballast is an all or nothing thing. Water sloshing around in the ballast tank can cause instability...

[K9Kampers]

DLT-

Thanks for the reminder. I had thought about that point when I was doing it, and just now have re-read the manual sections on ballast..."Never sail or power with the ballast tank partially full"... I stand corrected.

On that topic, what are peoples impressions on mast up / sails down / unballasted powering performance & stability?

[Idle Time]

We've gotten pretty good at stepping the mast while on the water...unstep also. Now we can launch....head up river (actually down) and when the sun, heat etc suit us we stop and step the mast. Sometimes when you have been busy all day...then load up and go ....it's nice to just pull away from the dock, enjoy a few hours cruising before stepping it. Make sure you have extra pins for the forstay etc....just in case....thats the only drawback....if you drop one....you cant jump off and find it.

Welcome...glad to hear you are enjoying your X

[DLT]

On that topic, what are peoples impressions on mast up / sails down / unballasted powering performance & stability?

We do this all the time. In fact, the only time I've ever motored with the mast down is when we first got the boat and hadn't rigged it yet, and a few times from the launch ramp to the slip.

The boat motors fine with the mast up. Its not a speed boat and it doesn't have the chines of a runabout, so it can be a bit squirrely to a new captain. But, you get used to it...

[Terry]

K9

Solo mast raising, in the driveway & at dockside, really does work. Even without the side support wires!

Don't ever try raising your mast without the baby stays, the amount of pressure exerted on the base plate will twist it, I know this first hand, I had to replace mine. I leave them (baby stays) on full time so when the dealer removed them during routine maintenance he placed them on the seat below with the boom and sail covering them so I did not realize they weren't in place when I raised the mast. Much to my horror when I raised the mast it went swinging out to port and twisted the base plate quite severely. Amazing that a thick peice of SS like that can actually be twisted.

[K9Kampers]

Terry,

Yeah, I raised the mast twice without the baby stays - before I found them in the bilge. The first time did put a slight twist in the mast plate, but I was able to remove it later and put it back to shape. I think this is what led to my pivot pin/bolt crossthreading.

If you leave the baby stays on all the time, you must be flying a genoa, otherwise the jib sheets would chafe on them. Or if you remove them from the deck straps & lash them to the mast, do they not interfere with the sail lines?

[Frank C]

... Make sure you have extra pins for the forstay etc....just in case....thats the only drawback....
if you drop one....you cant jump off and find it.

Hey IT,

Is it true what I heard about Floridians? ....
If you practice the correct whistle, you can coax 'gators to retrieve those lost shackles & pins?