FreeStyle...
Dont forget the (1) Bimini, and a (2) Pier Hook (the extension aluminum type) !
If you want comfort, and a handy tool for docking, both items are absolute necessities.
Happy Sailing to you and yours !!
Advice for a soon to be owner?
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LOUIS B HOLUB
- Admiral
- Posts: 1315
- Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2005 7:40 am
- Location: 1999 Mac-X, Nissan 50 HP, Kemah, TX, "Holub Boat"
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ssichler
- First Officer
- Posts: 342
- Joined: Thu May 04, 2006 9:22 am
- Location: Redondo Beach, CA 06 M 60hp E-Tec
Definitely go to Westmarine and get a New Boat Owner's card for free. Gives you a 10% discount on everything but electronics - although the cashier ended up giving me it on a WHAM Uniden Mic. I hit the demo days sale a couple of weeks ago and got some smoking deals with my discounts and coupons. $13 boat hook, $30 shore cable, $8 spotlight, $4 throwable cushions. etc. For comparison look at Defender, boatersworld and Westmarine catalogs to see who has the better deals.
As far as autopilots there doesn't seem to much of a choice now as Raymarine discontinued the sportpilot and ST4000+. The S1 looks to have the same wheel drive as the ST4000+ so it should work on the M but haven't heard of anyone installing yet so what the heck give it a try and let us know if it works.
-Scott
As far as autopilots there doesn't seem to much of a choice now as Raymarine discontinued the sportpilot and ST4000+. The S1 looks to have the same wheel drive as the ST4000+ so it should work on the M but haven't heard of anyone installing yet so what the heck give it a try and let us know if it works.
-Scott
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Frank C
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ssichler
- First Officer
- Posts: 342
- Joined: Thu May 04, 2006 9:22 am
- Location: Redondo Beach, CA 06 M 60hp E-Tec
Frank,Frank C wrote:I'd like to hear more about that Wham (wireless mic).
Which Uniden base station did you buy, and how's it workin' out?
I bought the Uniden Oceanus. Dealer is still prepping my boat. I checked in last Friday and they had the wrong one in
. The wireless install looks very straightforward and I was planning to add myself whenever I get my boat.-
Terry
- Admiral
- Posts: 1487
- Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2004 2:35 pm
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
- Location: Vancouver, B.C. Canada. '03 26M - New Yamaha 70
Wham
Frank,I'd like to hear more about that Wham (wireless mic).
Which Uniden base station did you buy, and how's it workin' out?
When I bought the Uniden UM525 my wife insisted on getting the wireless WHAM mic with it, sure glad I listened to her. It is just a small little unit slightly larger than the Mic itself but you can sit outside at the helm with it, change stations talk and do other basic tasks associated with the base unit. The base will accomodate up to 4 of them to use as a walkie talkie system on a larger boat, not necessary on the Mac though. We use it more than the base mic as it is more convenient and it will clip to your belt or life jacket, quite the gadget, very cool.
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Frank C
Thanks to you both!
Since our boats are "only 26ers" it's the last thing we'd expect ... but it's sometimes impossible to hear spoken comms across the length of our boats - from the anchor locker to the helm. That Wham wireless mic, plus its optional headset, can be the perfect solution for anchoring communications.
The VOX-headset is almost mandatory for anchoring, since I never have a hand free for thumbing a mic. I know that the UM-models use the Wham-4 wireless mic, which is VOX-headset compatible. Not sure about the Oceanus?
Since our boats are "only 26ers" it's the last thing we'd expect ... but it's sometimes impossible to hear spoken comms across the length of our boats - from the anchor locker to the helm. That Wham wireless mic, plus its optional headset, can be the perfect solution for anchoring communications.
The VOX-headset is almost mandatory for anchoring, since I never have a hand free for thumbing a mic. I know that the UM-models use the Wham-4 wireless mic, which is VOX-headset compatible. Not sure about the Oceanus?
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ssichler
- First Officer
- Posts: 342
- Joined: Thu May 04, 2006 9:22 am
- Location: Redondo Beach, CA 06 M 60hp E-Tec
Doesn't appear to be VOX-headset compatible but can control a PA so at least the wife could hear me and I wouldn't have to strain my voice yelling;) We opted for using hand signals which seems to work well and save martial strain.Frank C wrote: The VOX-headset is almost mandatory for anchoring, since I never have a hand free for thumbing a mic. I know that the UM-models use the Wham-4 wireless mic, which is VOX-headset compatible. Not sure about the Oceanus?
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NiceAft
- Admiral
- Posts: 6773
- Joined: Tue Feb 01, 2005 7:28 pm
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
- Location: Upper Dublin,PA, USA: 2005M 50hp.Honda4strk.,1979 Phantom Sport Sailboat, 9'Achilles 6HP Merc 4strk
Freestyle,
The members of this forum fall into many categories. Some are very much do it yourself. Some are not. Then again, some like me are capable, but really short on the time to do it. You have to decide where you fall.
I knew that time is precious for me, and I seriously examined all options before buying my M new in 2005. I went for loading the boat up. Money was not the concern, time was. We had been thinking about it for over two years, and then my wife was stricken with Breast Cancer. Our perspective changed dramatically. We put off buying the boat for another year, and after the surgery and chemo and radiation we bought the boat with all of the options we felt we wanted in our dream Mac.. We have never looked back on that decision. By the way, we have the Honda 50 and it has never let us down.
If you are going to do a long trip on the river as you mentioned. I don't believe you will be going at such a slow pace while motoring a long duration. At about 5,500 rpm's I can go about 70 miles with the 24 gallons of fuel the boat carries. Maybe more, maybe less, I never went that far on a single trip.
I am glad to say that WE love the boat, and that this forum has been a wonderful help in many of my decisions.
Ray
The members of this forum fall into many categories. Some are very much do it yourself. Some are not. Then again, some like me are capable, but really short on the time to do it. You have to decide where you fall.
I knew that time is precious for me, and I seriously examined all options before buying my M new in 2005. I went for loading the boat up. Money was not the concern, time was. We had been thinking about it for over two years, and then my wife was stricken with Breast Cancer. Our perspective changed dramatically. We put off buying the boat for another year, and after the surgery and chemo and radiation we bought the boat with all of the options we felt we wanted in our dream Mac.. We have never looked back on that decision. By the way, we have the Honda 50 and it has never let us down.
If you are going to do a long trip on the river as you mentioned. I don't believe you will be going at such a slow pace while motoring a long duration. At about 5,500 rpm's I can go about 70 miles with the 24 gallons of fuel the boat carries. Maybe more, maybe less, I never went that far on a single trip.
I am glad to say that WE love the boat, and that this forum has been a wonderful help in many of my decisions.
Ray
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They Theirs
- Captain
- Posts: 790
- Joined: Tue Dec 27, 2005 1:42 pm
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FreeStyle
- Deckhand
- Posts: 31
- Joined: Sat May 27, 2006 11:42 am
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26M
- Location: Atlanta '06 26M 60HP Yamaha
NiceAft,
Folks like you have made me feel much better about my basic decision of buying a Mac 26, and I agree that this is a great forum. The forum is a wealth of information and I thank all of you for that.
Thanks for your perspective on equipping the boat; it is a subject I am dealing with now. More than likely I will have it fairly well equipped to start because the boat will not be stored very close to my home and time is limited. Based on information gained here there are some things I will probably defer until later for me to do or have some one else do after I have become acquainted with the boat, (never having stepped foot in one for more than a few minuets).
I kind of hope you are wrong about my speed on the river. While the river is relatively wide, say 3-500 feet, the channel is much narrower and winds quite a bit. The average depth in the channel looks to be about 8 feet but according to some of the things I have read may shift a good bit so much speed may not be advisable. (Not much opportunity to sailing either unless you want a lot of practice changing points of sail.) With a 5-6 mph boat speed and a 3-6 mph current the trip can easily be made with a couple of overnights in adjoining lakes or creeks. (No marinas or much other civilization on this river.) The plan is to have a 2-3 day trip laying back and watching the world go by. Thank you for the fuel mileage information.
John
Folks like you have made me feel much better about my basic decision of buying a Mac 26, and I agree that this is a great forum. The forum is a wealth of information and I thank all of you for that.
Thanks for your perspective on equipping the boat; it is a subject I am dealing with now. More than likely I will have it fairly well equipped to start because the boat will not be stored very close to my home and time is limited. Based on information gained here there are some things I will probably defer until later for me to do or have some one else do after I have become acquainted with the boat, (never having stepped foot in one for more than a few minuets).
I kind of hope you are wrong about my speed on the river. While the river is relatively wide, say 3-500 feet, the channel is much narrower and winds quite a bit. The average depth in the channel looks to be about 8 feet but according to some of the things I have read may shift a good bit so much speed may not be advisable. (Not much opportunity to sailing either unless you want a lot of practice changing points of sail.) With a 5-6 mph boat speed and a 3-6 mph current the trip can easily be made with a couple of overnights in adjoining lakes or creeks. (No marinas or much other civilization on this river.) The plan is to have a 2-3 day trip laying back and watching the world go by. Thank you for the fuel mileage information.
John
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Frank C
Actually Scott, I think I'm exaggerating a bit. Even the basic Wham should work fine, since a free hand for hand signals can easily thumb the mic instead. Spoken comms, both directions, are so much more explicit than signals. I think I might just wear the mic on a lanyard around my neck. You have that option with just another 100 gadget-bucks.ssichler wrote:Doesn't appear to be VOX-headset compatible but can control a PA so at least the wife could hear me ...Frank C wrote: The VOX-headset is almost mandatory for anchoring, ....