Frustrations - Ring dings & Mac Bump!

[rick retiree]

Did a walkaround prior to a sail on Lake Michigan only to find a ring ding missing on one of my shrouds. Of course didnt have a spare, and as necessity is the mother of invention, stole a ring from my keychain and went off to sail 10 miles to the downtown's Chicago's glorious lakefront. While on the way, got to thinking; one of the most frustrating things about my are those dang ringdings, not to mention boat wont sit forward on trailer (Mac bump wont even correct), the bolt that holds centerboard 1 inch too short to work on DB without falling down on ground. So for under $200.00 I purchased five SS 1/4 inch turnbuckles (Ebay @ $10.00 per and two 3/8 turnbuckles for upper shrouds (Ebay at $20.00 per) and a Roos PTI tension gauge (West Marine at $90.00) and in under 2 hours had all tangs replaced and proper tension set. Best $ I ever spent. Of the 20 plus mods on this was one of the best and would highly recommend. Cant say my sailing will improve with this mod but definitly have more time to practice.


ModEdit: to clarify title ~fc

[James V]

Mac bump won't work - ??? The way that it works for me is I tighten the rope, move the tow, hit the brake, tighten the rope, etc....

I do wish the factory would replace the ring ding's or at least make it an upgrade option.

[Trav White]

When I bought my Mac 26X used, it didn't have a bow stop, so I went down to Wal-Mart and purchased the standard black bow stop. I have done the Mac bump several times, sometimes with success, other times without, it was always a few inches short. One recommendation on this board has been to LOOSEN the strap when performing the Mac bump. When tight, the strap actually pulls down on the boat, increasing friction forces on the bunks. I got tired of the black stop rubbing on the hull, so I replaced with the orange stuff from West Marine. The boat slides up much better. I think a big culprit was the black rubber bow stop itself holding the boat back.

[Jeff Stagg]

About the Mac Bump: I have not had as good of a "scoot" by the boat unless I do it right after coming up the ramp. If I try it after a few minutes, it doesn't move without a little more speed, so wet bunk carpet works for me. I'm on my second set of wood bunks and third set of carpet. The factory wood rots and then a board won't stay in place, then you have the boat lying on the steel frame. So I recommend you wiggle the bunks when parking your trailer and inspect the carpet. I replaced with redwood, not fir, maybe someone would recommend the treated instead.

Last week I ordered a 26M replacement trailer winch for a customer who had cinched the boat too tight at the ramp. Ripped the steel at the bolt holes. Better to leave the crank just snug or a little less than to try winching the boat forward using the crank. Then after the "Bump" or "Scoot" snug up the winch so the bow is in the rubber V.

I've found the carpet can become very thin from wear. When I installed new carpet, I used stainless staples from Home Depot and tacked it right over the existing set for more padding. Years ago someone posted they would put some liquid soap on the carpet and the boat slid. There are spray products that act like teflon that some swear by, but I haven't had the need to try them.

Also stick a can of Rustoleum black spray paint and a wire brush or sand paper in the kit in the tow vehicle. You can do some touch-up at the ramp when the boat is in the water if the wind isn't blowing the spray toward your or someone's rig.

An afterthought is to remind everyone to loop the aft dock lines through the trailer frame and back to the cleats for trailering. I've seen photos of Macs on the road instead of on the trailer.

[ALX357]

IMPORTANT ... listen to TravWhite, he has the answer to all the bump problems. The winch line when tightened is actually holding the boat down hard on the front bunks, and makes it HARDER to move forward.
LEAVE THE LINE SLACK, only taking up the excess after the boat is on the trailer, all the way forward after a successful bump or slide, on dry ground.
IN THE WATER, no matter how tight you winch the boat into the front chock, its hull is floating above the rest of the trailer bunks, at an angle to the trailer frame, and when you pull out, it settles in a downward arc, its hull still resting and then pivoting on the front bunk, and the geometry leaves its bow back from the chock. Trying to winch it forward at this point is a two-vector problem, much of the force acting downwards.
No one seems to get this point, at least not intuitively, so it must be reiterated by those with experience continually on this board.

[ALX357]

Keep in mind that turnbuckles have to be pinned somehow, with something thru the inside ends of the threaded eye bolts, at least thru the wire stay end bolt, if not both. You can use stainless steel rigging wire, or you can use cotter pins, or ring-dings, as I do on my furler turnbuckle, inside the furler drum top cone. Wire is believed to be the best, if done right, but cotter pins can be pulled out or straightened out accidently, and ring-dings can come off and go missing. But on turnbuckles, if applied correctly, they are the most effective.
So, substituting turnbuckles for the vernier stay adjusters in itself per se will not cure the problem of fasteners gone missing, and if you were to use the wire on the verniers your rigging would be just as secure as with the turnbuckles.
Another note and defense of the stock vernier adjusters, is that they can be wired to secure their pins, or even just using PVC boots which cover the entire adjuster and cable end will all but prevent running rigging ( like jib sheets ) or pants cuffs from ever snagging the rings, which is the usual problem when they are exposed.
There is no substitute for vigilant rigging inspection on a regular basis, no matter what hardware you have.

[tangentair]

listen to TravWhite, he has the answer to all the bump problems

I thought I had good search skills but I can not find all the answers referred to. I have a 06M w/ 50BF Merc and 6 gal of gas. I have been towing all season and have yet to have the bow in the v by the time I get out of the water. It is usually 2-3 inches out. Tongue weight seems to be around 300-500 pounds. I can lift up to 250 and I can't lift the tongue but I might just be getting old. Still it does not sway or wiggle at 55+.

I do not have space to do the bump at my primary launch site and there is usually to many people with to little patience to let me back in and out several times. They get annoyed waiting for me to empty the ballast water.

So before I start with the winter mods list and include moving the winch and greasing the bunks, do the posts from 2004 and X owners apply to the 06Ms? or did the trailer change?

And oh yeah, even with the boat being 2-3 inches back when my son opens the ez cleats and drops the db, it hits the cross bar on the trailer and does not come down more than 5-6 inches.

[ALX357]

tangentair,
the posting by Trav White is right in this same thread, a few posts above.

You can empty the ballast water before you pull the boat out, by using the motor for about 5 or 10 minutes at 8 mph or more, before you get into the no wake zone. If not, it will come out while you are driving away from the ramp.
Have fun with the other boaters, tell them you are dumping the holding tank. Throw some tootsie rolls in the vent hole as the water is going out.
After the water is gone out, You can do the bump as described at any time, in a straight line, before you get out of the marina. As long as you are doing about 10 miles per hour, then put on the brakes, not a panic stop, but a firm quick slow down, the boat will move forward as long as it is not bound down too tightly by the winch strap. If you don't get full contact with the nose in the chock the first time, go and stop again - increase your braking forces.
It is a real bad idea to drive around with the boat not all the way forward. Your tongue weight will be too low, the trailer will buck at every bump, and the boat is not really settled safely.
There is a product that will help if you are still having problems, buy at West Marine etc. called Liquid Roller, or equivalent, .... spray it on dry carpet bunks, and let it soak in.

[tangentair]

OK, I will blame my lack of the obvious on jet lag, I was thinking that there was another thread with greater detail. The flip of this thread is that when the M is parked in the yard, I need to find a way to lighten the tongue so that I can rig a block and tackle up to one of my leaf machines and move it around without having to hitch it up. I want to park it over the winter in a spot that would be hard to manuver into any other way.

[James V]

Put some people in the cockpit seats or hang a 5 gal bucket off the mast.

Don't know how much you need to overcome the 400 pound tongue weight.

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

The "Mac bump" or "scoot" works much better with a little bit of liquid soap on the bunks rubbed in by hand. Do this at the sites where the Mac rests on the trailer. You'll be amazed.

[opie]

Ok, let me have it on the ear for this question....
Why can't I just winch it close on the ramp, then go up the lot onto a flat stretch (100-200 yards or so) and winch it tight. I have never done the "bump" in my one novice year so far, and all is still good..
Opie

[Frank C]

Mine can't be winched tight in the parking lot because:
1. Too much friction, so the winch post "leans," boat won't move;
2. The winch mount pulls "down" on the bow eye, not forward.

However, I have used your approach once or twice.
It only works if I've soaped the bunks pretty well w/lemon Joy.
( I'm not sure any other brand would do it ...)

[Bill at BOATS 4 SAIL]

Back your tow vehicle just a little farther.
Winch the boat tight while it is still floating.

[ALX357]

Bill, please read the post above where I describe why the floating X boat cannot be winched tight to the trailer at the bow, and still be tight when the boat settles on the trailer coming out of the water. Can't say for sure about the M winching tight and staying tight, so I won't.