CRUNCH! (loading on trailer)

[beene]

Thanks to all of you for your words of wisdom and stories of your personal experiences. I have always used the 2 line method with my 565. I have been looking into buying the Mac 26 for 10 years. From the moment I saw her at the International boat show in Toronto, I knew it was the boat for me and my family. I got the 55 min video and must have watched it 100’s of times since then. With my 565 and its tiller steering and separate kicker tiller, I was never under the impression I could drive the boat onto the trailer like the other power boats I always watched in envy. I would always tell my wife, “wait till we get the Mac26, we’ll be able to drive it on like in the video”. You have to admit, it looks pretty slick on that video. I did however note how incredibly calm it was when he did it. Not a ripple. It was my first time putting the new M on the trailer, and the last time I will ever drive it on. Now that she is in storage I just have my pictures to remind me of what fun I had and will have again next spring.




Cheers

G

[ALX357]

PVC Pipes, nylon ropes inside to reinforce, all removable in short time, but I leave it on all the time. Catches the boat if it is not straight when driven on. Note the side boards on the fenders. Pressure treated 2x6, covered with in-out carpet, and bolted at the fender and goal-post. protects the hull from contact with fenders.

[Catigale]

Nice pix ALX...that is a neat arrangement - it would be useful for me when I extend the season here up North, and sail in November, and the docks come off the ramps. Its tough walking the boat onto the trailer without docks, but your arrangement makes that a lot easier.

[Tim Stone WindDancer]

Some of the old timers (gosh that makes me sound really old) will remember the post about the rope guide harness..

It goes something like this.. Tie a rope around one of the goal posts near the top then very thightly up above the rubber V, then down to the opposite goal post.

What this rope guide harness does is allow you to with control drive up on the trailer in windy conditions without crabbing sideways.. It acts like a harness to guide the boat to the V.

One modification is the goal post extension with this. I am told that if your extensions are strong enough and when the trailer is in at the ramp with the goal post above the water the rope really works even aligning the stern.

The harness works and make retrieving much easier in crosswinds..

At any rate that is how I do it..

Fair Winds
Tim S...

[opie]

In review of all the pictures, I have these questions or comments for anyone to help me with:
1. In one of the last shots I see the trailer with carpet covered wood supports perpendicular to the boat in two places, lateral, in other words. My trailer has two parallel or longitudinal, wood supports. They extend from the stern to the ice chest area on my X. There appears to be a slight 'sag' in the hull just forward of the end of the support. Should the supports be longer? Or should I scrap this method and go with cross-wise supports as shown in the pictures?
2. I see rudders up as he enters the docking area. Should not the rudders be down?
3. I see one line used to keep the boat from drifting. Two lines to the mate on the dock, one aft, will keep the boat from 'afting" away as I learned. But, as I also learned, any tension on the lines at all will prevent the baot from drifting off properly and could scrape the bow if pulled off of the V or rollers.
4. It appears the rudders are in a 45 dgree position when trailered. Shold not they be straight up with the pins in place?

Thanks,
(I'm still learning. The mast went on the boat for my first time yesterday.)
Opie

[rickjnav]

2. I see rudders up as he enters the docking area. Should not the rudders be down?
3. I see one line used to keep the boat from drifting. Two lines to the mate on the dock, one aft, will keep the boat from 'afting" away as I learned. But, as I also learned, any tension on the lines at all will prevent the baot from drifting off properly and could scrape the bow if pulled off of the V or rollers.
4. It appears the rudders are in a 45 dgree position when trailered. Shold not they be straight up with the pins in place?

Hi Opie, Yes, the rudders should be down when entering the docking area. I had them up while we were motoring in after sailing, and was 'posing' for the photographer. I got them down before we got to the slip.
3. That's not a bad idea. I was using one line to the bow, and controlling the stern position with the motor. You need to be carefull that the lines don't get caught on the trailer when you are backing off when launching.

4. When trailering I put in the security bolts, and snug the rudder lift lines just in case a bolt should rattle loose. The photos of the first launch show the bolt-secured "UP" position, which is not much more than 60 degrees on my M. (We were in such a hurry to get the boat in the water I forgot to get the bolts out that trip, so that's the way they stayed).

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

Opie,

The factory X trailer only has 3 supports, all crosswise (side to side). You can see them clearly in the pictures with the PVC pipe. One is at the extreme back end of the trailer, the second crosses just nehind the aft end of the centerboard trunk (esentially under the cooler), and the third is the small vee shaped set at the bow. The boards on the fender tops in the picture are not factory. If you have fore /aft supports (the norm on most trailers) then your mac trailer has been modified. This is not the way it came from the factory. I would worry if I was getting a indent at the end of the bunk. The weight of the boat is not being distributed correctly. With the side to side bunks I've never seen indents in the hull.

M rudders do not fold all the way up like X rudders.

[opie]

Rickjnav and Duane,

Rick, thanks for commenting on rudder positioning, etc. I am far from critical in intent since I just started, so I understand what was in the pics now.

Duane, now I am concerned. Yes, the previous owner told me the original trailer died with acute rust-e-osis. The Load-Right trailer was made to order. With longitudinal boards for support, I will take a straight edge and other measurements to see if I have a forward sag just forward of the boards. I think this is serious. Does anyone else have boards like mine? Any concerns or damage done?

..... x x x x x x x x x x x x x
...x.................bbbbbbbbbb
x.....................................the "b's" indicate my two support boards.
...x.................bbbbbbbbbb
..... x x x x x x x x x x x x x

[Frank C]

1. My trailer has two parallel or longitudinal, wood supports. They extend from the stern to the ice chest area on my X. There appears to be a slight 'sag' in the hull just forward of the end of the support. Should the supports be longer? Or should I scrap this method and go with cross-wise supports as shown in the pictures?
...
4. It appears the rudders are in a 45 dgree position when trailered. Shold not they be straight up with the pins in place?

IIRC, Dimitri's boat lift uses long stringers under his 26X, so maybe he'll offer an opinion.

Meanwhile, seems to me that Roger's design has lots of inate lengthwise stiffness. The ballast tunnels are like 4x6 timbers along the bottom, plus the chines provide natural reinforcement for the hull bottom. But there's little beamwise support in the design. Bulkheads are absent from both X and M, except for the cabintop/companionway structure, and of course, the transom. Just a guess, this is partly why Roger's trailer uses beamwise bunks.

Since I've never read of a powersailor suffering from sagging hull, seems to be working. If your 26X hull shows distortion I'd think it best to modify that Load-Rite ... shouldn't cost very much.

As for your 26X rudders, yes, fully perpendicular is correct stowage angle.
The 26M rudders are mounted differently, and can only go up about 45 degrees when full-up.

[Chip Hindes]

I'm a mechanical engineer by trade, and I don't believe it's possible for there to be a sag in the lower part of the hull without a corresponding buckle or actual crack in the upper part of the hull.

[Catigale]

Im an eternal optimist, but what you might think is sag might be the illusion of the hull compressing the bunk carpet at the end of the bunk lumber. Since the straight line of the lumber and the hull is visibly broken, you think the hull is bent. See Chip's comment above.

In fact, at the end of the bunk the carpet is compressed, the hull still makes the nice straight line, and all is well.

[mackatt68]

Most articles and owner's manuals regarding trailers for powerboats warn that the bunks have to extend at least to the aft edge of the transom. If not, the hull can develop a hook in the bottom that will affect performance. There is no mention that it the topsides would have to buckle for it to take place.

[Catigale]

I think it is some pretty basic, rigid body mechanics that would say you have to have some buckle or failure somewhere else if the hull sagged.

[Catigale]

I am getting docking experience on various restaurant, hotel and city docks. The admiral docked almost by herself tonight.

This is really smart - when I started learning my in 2002 we got a 'skill gap' which then gets amplified because, due to the marriage dynamic, spouse A doesnt want to screw up when spouse B has better skills...

If you take turns and grow your skills together, you end up safer and happier sooner...

Barbara is a natural sailor and easily out-trims and outhelms me under sail....somehow when I see the Admiral at the helm that just doesnt bother me.....especially when her uber competitive sister calls her to ask her whats up and she says...

"Nothing much, just taking the yacht over to the Vineyard....."

Ill say a couple of rosaries tonight for avarice..and a couple for Margo too..

[beene]

Steph

You are a very lucky man.

I hope you know that....


.... on second thought.... I am certain you know that.

G