Besides that, Roger's most enthusiastic advertising never claimed 24 kts. They claimed 24 mph for a 26X with Merc Bigfoot 50, a claim that was already inflated by 20 percent. Your 26M would come up a couple miles per hour less than the 26X.
Just from reading in this Forum over past years, I would guess the best top speed for a lightly loaded 26X with a Bigfoot 50 is 19 or 20 mph, or maybe 17 mph when loaded for cruising.
Your Yamaha is not reaching its max RPM range, so your boat probably can go a bit faster than your current experience of 13 kts. If you empty your 26M for testing, and find the correct prop - probably a 14-inch with 10-pitch, you might see a WOT at 16 or 17 mph. Andrew already quoted about the same:
Andrew Kay wrote:With 2 person and empty ballast 14 x 11 (K11) at 5700RPM, I can at most get 15 knots. With 6 person and full ballast, I can at most get 8 Knots.
Just to understand each other. My advertising liflet 3 pages writes: with outboard motor 50hp can gain 23 mph. The top speed of 24 mph can be reached only with empty balance and small crue. At the back, at the specifications writes: speed with outboard motor 50hp 23 knt. Since we are all talking about sea I assume that we are measuring in nautical miles. 1 nautical mile = 1 knot. Which is also wrong because in the sea mile is measure of distance, Knot is measure of speed. The advertising video claims that M is slightly faster than the X (at least under sail).
My problem is not to speed 20 or 22 or 24 knts. My problem was that I was expecting something around 19 knots and I got with Suzuki 12 knots, to finally discover (thanks to you all and this site) that 15 knts is OK. Why in Europe we can not install bigger motor? Does anyone know? Is this an issue that Roger can help by changing the motor hp in the specifications?
Beene, I didn't enjoy only this video, I enjoyed all your videos and photos especially those with the two beautiful young ladys (daughters?). I have a son 3 1/2 and with my wife we are taking him tomorrow first time in a big (4 days) trip with M26M. (I can not say that I am not warring a bit).
geocat wrote:Just to understand each other. My advertising liflet 3 pages writes: with outboard motor 50hp can gain 23 mph. The top speed of 24 mph can be reached only with empty balance and small crue.
At the back, at the specifications writes: speed with outboard motor 50hp 23 knt.
Since we are all talking about sea I assume that we are measuring in nautical miles. 1 nautical mile = 1 knot. Which is also wrong because in the sea mile is measure of distance, Knot is measure of speed. The advertising video claims that M is slightly faster than the X (at least under sail)....
geocat,
It seems there might be a difference of interpretations between our two countries. Just to be perfectly clear . . . in the USA speed is measured in two different ways that are distinct, MPH or KTS.
1. MPH = "statute miles" per hour: most common for measuring speed of automobiles and frequently for powerboats, also. All USA road signs use this measurement. Since many powerboats are targeted at inland waters rather than the ocean, nautical measurements are not assumed.
2. KTS = "nautical miles" per hour: therefore, it is a measurement of speed based on nautical miles traveled in one hour. This measurement is for ocean craft, generally including sailboats, and it describes a totally different result.
In the USA, MPH never means "nautical," so your leaflet's top speeds are contradictory.
1 Nautical mile = ~1.15 Statute miles, so
Max 24 MPH = ~21 KTS, or
Max 23 KTS = ~26 MPH.
It seems your leaflet is mixing the use of these two different indexes of speed. Such conflicting descriptions would not be correct for use in the USA. I believe that Macgregor's factory literature has never quoted Nautical speeds, only 'statute' MPH. They quoted 24 MPH for the earlier powersailer, 26X, and more recently quote 22 MPH for the 26M, a bit slower motoring due to extra weight and a rounded hull profile.
Beene, I didn't enjoy only this video, I enjoyed all your videos and photos especially those with the two beautiful young ladys (daughters?).
Glad you liked them all. My girls are my reason for living. 6-8..... these are the golden years where Dad still rock's and knows so much about a great many things. That will last until they realise that I am actually just a goofy guy that tries hard to be the best Dad he can be, setting a good example whenever possible. Even though my wife might disagree about the good example part when it comes to "some" things I do she finds questionable at best.
Frank you mean that in US you have two different ways to calculate your speed in the water???? One near the coast or in rivers and one in the ocean??? And what kind of miles are on your maps? In Greece and I hope in many countries around the world nautical mile is a measure of distance and Knt is a measure of speed for the sea. Static mile is for land.
Beene, same here with my son 3 1/2 We just came from a 6 days trip with our and we are continuing with a 43 feet sail boat for an other 7 days. is not so comfortable for 7 persons. Maybe I overdo it and he will hate the sea.
George
Hi George,
I went exactly through the same stages like you.
Excitement when I went through the advertising stuff and when I saw her the first time, doubts and disappointment when I found out that the "speedboat" side was not really there, thoughtful about the tenderness and the sailing performance of the boat.
Now, after 8 month of extensive use - I am doing daytrips for tourists with the Mac - I really like her for what she CAN do.
Anyway, I want to give you advice on your engine considerations: I have the FT50 as well and I tried 5 props on it. The genuine yamaha prop 13 5/8x13 is doing quite well, however my solas amita 14x11 gives almost the same results only slightly better. I can go 13-14 knots with empty ballast and up to 6 persons on board. Alone it´s 15 knots in smooth water.
Don´t worry too much about not getting over 5000. You have a 4 stroke engine (which give a good thrust at just about any rev-level), and the recommended upper range is 5000-6000. Mine is giving only 4900 at max speed but my local yamaha guy checked it out and said, nothing to worry about the famous "lugging". The reason why it can´t rev higher is that here is the max torque of the block. More revs (with another prop) mean higher gasoline usage at LESS speed.
It´s true, in Europe you can´t just put on a bigger engine without loosing your insurance coverage. But what you could do, is tune your 50 towards 60HP. I learned, that I would have to exchange the CDI unit and my carburetors (yes, they delivered a carbureted "new" engine to me in 06) and then have the 60 . At least the CDI change should work for you also if you have the injected version, but pls. double check on that. Will cost around 600,- euros anyway.
What you should also do is play with the weight distribution on the boat. I frequently see the speed increasing by up to 2 knots if 2 persons move from the cockpit to the foredeck. Also, weight in the front is a good thing when sailing. However, when conditions get really rough (waves over 1m), you need all heavy items in the back of the boat to avoid excessive heeling.
You bought a boat that can do many things averagely, and you have to love her for that or change to a "real" ....boat.
As I also know greek waters quite well, here´s a suggestion: I was so terrified by the excessive heeling of the boat in 15 knots + winds, that I only motored in these conditions to not frighten my customers. Now I found out, that it´s a much smoother and more stable ride, if you add the jib to that (reduced or 100%). With that of course daggerboard and at least one rudder.
Macgregor suggests to use only the mainsail when it blows hard, but be prepared, to round up in every gust if you do that. Rounding up will take out the fun of sailing for your fellow crew.
One one more thing: you CAN singlehand her nicely! Just make sure you use a safety harness.
Gerry
Forgive me for answering to you almost a year after. Thank you very much you have being very helpful. The total amount of money for transform ft50 to ft60 in Greece is 1500 euros. My engineer is against it. He says a lot of money for 2 extra knts. I will think about it
Question: When powering 10 knts per hour I spend a full tank (30 litters) in 2 hours. Is it normal?
Thank you again
George
I had a FT50HT for 10 years on a 26X. sold that and bought a 26M a few months ago. I was told the Suzuki was the best 50HP (with a good history).
I bought it, it makes a whining sound. It seems noisier than the Yamaha 50 and the Suzuki will not keep the M on simi plane unless it is almost WOT with no ballast.
Did you find that true between your Suzuki and Yamaha (noisey and no crusing speed)
I tried to email you privately but was blocked.
Thanks for your time.
Will
Andrew Kay wrote:.
M26M inclines a lot, not much space on both sides for balancing, sailing speed is not fast, and difficult to sail single-handled. I think most owner use motor than the sail.
I did not even fill up the water storage.
Andrew Kay
There were so many inacuracuracies in the above post, I didn't know where to start to dispute the assumptions - - - until I realized that the post is 9 months old, so I didn't bother.
Will
It is absolutely true.
I had the opposite experience: First suzuki then yamaha
With Suzuki I was thinking that it was something wrong with my M26 or motor (both new)
Sorry about the e-mail I have changed provider. Now my new e-mail have been upgraded in my profile.
I tell my customers that the boat cruises nicely at 8mph, and will speed at 16 mph. Getting above that performance is a complicated function of weight. prop, balance so those numbers mean I always meet my customer's expectations. I flat out describe the numbers in the marketing lit as ideal - I attained 21 mph on my my first season with a 50 HP merc, but as the boat was loaded for cruising this speed has dropped down to 16 mph, despite my attaining my buff 18 year old high school physique.
We are installing 70HP motors (Nissan) on our boats for those who really want 20 mph performance.
If I read your statement of "8 & 16 speed range" correctly. The 26M with a suzuki 50 will have no crusing speed, say 12 mph due to the lack of thrust of the prop on the Suzuki to push the weight at a slower speed?
I don't know what the largest diameter is for a Suzuki 50 is, but if I were to go with a 12x9 instead of the 11 1/2x10 would that allow for the prop to spin between 5900 and 65000 at WOT and allow me to back down a 1000 RPM to crusies around 11-12 MPH?
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Changing props isnt going to magically change the top speed - that is pretty much a function of horsepower and loading of boat, unless you are way off on the prop size, in which case you will either cavitate or lug your engine to destruction.
You wont find any 50 HP/prop combo that will let you cruise at 1000 rpm and 12 mph for example, you will need more like 4000-4500 rpm with a properly propped engine.
The correct prop for your boat and engine is one that lets your engine acheive design RPM (not a boat speed) when normally loaded, at Wide Open Throttle (WOT). You can play a bit with this prop size, maybe going down or up one inch in pitch, but not more than that.
Informationally, I run a 14x11 pitch prop on my BF 50 and am a little overpropped - a 14x10 would be correct by the WOT criteria.
I did not choose my words correctly "to back down 1000 RPM to crusie around 11-12 MPH" I meant back down/ decrease throttle from the 6500- 5900 WOT range to 4900 range if I used a 12X9 prop instead of a 11 1/2X10 that I have now that will do 6100 WOT.
A larger diameter but less pitch would be slower out of the hole but hopefully reach optimum RPM range at WOT but would still have the thrust to let me cruse at 11 to 12 MPH.
Has anybody tried a 12X9 on a 50 Suzuki and a 26M?
Wrudd3 wrote:... I meant back down/ decrease throttle from the 6500- 5900 WOT range to 4900 range if I used a 12X9 prop instead of a 11 1/2X10 that I have now that will do 6100 WOT.
... A larger diameter but less pitch would be slower out of the hole but hopefully reach optimum RPM range at WOT but would still have the thrust to let me cruse at 11 to 12 MPH.
.... Has anybody tried a 12X9 on a 50 Suzuki and a 26M?
Your logic is correct, but exact speeds & RPMs will depend on your boat & load, of course.
Yes, the 12x9 prop has certainly been tried, most particularly by Mark K.
There are some very long threads in the archives on propping the Suzuki 50.
The Search button (at top-center of every page) is your friend.
and we are continuing with a 43 feet sail boat for an other 7 days. 
my first season with a 50 HP merc, but as the boat was loaded for cruising this speed has dropped down to 16 mph, despite my attaining my buff 18 year old high school physique.