MacGregor 22 just purchased "Spirit"

[McTexan]

In conjunction with adding turnbuckles to the side stays, I raised the boom and mast enough to allow sailing with the poptop up.
Can't use the boom vang, but there are times when it's nice to be able to do that. Nice option for those really hot days with very light breeze.

Thanks for the words of encouragement guys. The note about spending all your money is true. I'm going to slow down a bit and try to enjoy the boat before doing much more to it. Chad - here are a few pictures of the gas struts. It was a fairly simple installation. Just make sure you check the geometry in the up position, then the down position to make sure the strut won't bottom out before the canopy is fully closed. I chose to mount the strut to the aluminum bars to eliminate more holes in the canopy (leak points). The MacGregor aluminum tubing has a heavy wall thickness so I'm not too worried about the 1/4" holes in it. The open length on each strut is about 22 inches. I wanted 24, but I found these with the pivot plates on the ends. Pep Boys auto parts has a huge selection and I just picked a unit that seemed strong and was close to 24" long when open. The open position you see in the pictures matches exactly the height of the canopy using the prop-rods that came with the boat. I can get you the part numbers off the struts if you are interested, but there are probably several that will do the trick.

Happy Sailing,

Aubrey Scott in Texas

[cookwithgas]

McTexan:

Thanks for the excellent advice. I think I'll put a downhaul on the jib right away. Looks like a great idea! I did a fair amount of bottom dragging with the keel this weekend at PK. I'll keep an eye out for plant clutter. thanks again.

Aubrey Scott in Texas

[McTexan]

It's not a bad option to have and cheap to do. One of the major Mac dealers in the upper midwest whose name and website I have temporarily forgotten (might be boats4sail in Wisconsin) recommends that kind of an arrangement over a roller furler for those who trailer a lot. It's cheap, and I'm all over that concept. These old Macs definitely fit the bill for affordability and usability in Texas lakes, and your enthusiasm for yours is well-justified. My primary gripe is lack of headroom in the cabin, and the no-man's-land under the cockpit, but you can't have everything in a 22 foot trailerable sailboat.
You will get varied opinions about locking the keel down under sail. I never have and don't intend to because I like to be able to adust the depth as needed. Some will regard this as blasphemy and at least one guy who has taken one on a 3000 mile ocean cruise will say it was designed to be adjustable according to need. Your results may vary. As an experiment, you can head her into the wind with the keel up, and count how many turns down it takes before you start to make forward progress to get a feel for the minimum you need down to get the job done.
Early on, I did my best to heel this one over far enough to get something catastrophic to happen, but I couldn't get 'er done. I was able to get water to pour into the cockpit, but it righted itself before we took on much water. The hull/deck joint leaks on this one when you bury it in the water, but no biggie. My understanding is that this is common. You will hear concerns about the keel smashing into the trunk during a blowdown and causing hull damage, but I couldn't get that to happen either. My guess is that it would take higher waves than I have encountered for that to occur. Just a hunch. (Hey, I can swim, and the wife's shrieks aren't loud enough to cause permanent hearing loss.) I suppose this seems reckless or stupid, but we experienced as much worst-case scenario as we could from the get-go and were able to go forward with an educated perspective of the boat's capabilities and our reactions in less than ideal conditions. Mac's don't make much progress into the wind in a heavy blow, so it's kind of pointless to be out there unless you're caught unawares by a storm or you're looking for experience.
We cussed the local weather guy a few times before we found http://www.sailflow.com. It does a pretty good job of predicting what kind of wind will be available.

McTexan:

Thanks for the excellent advice. I think I'll put a downhaul on the jib right away. Looks like a great idea! I did a fair amount of bottom dragging with the keel this weekend at PK. I'll keep an eye out for plant clutter. thanks again.

Aubrey Scott in Texas

[chefmike]

Hey Mctexan, where do you sail? I am in Lindale and sail on Lake Palestine.

[McTexan]

Our closest option is Fork, which is OK if there's not a 60 mph group bass chase going on. We are apologetic former power boaters. HAHAHA
Tawokoni and Lake O the Pines are also within reasonable distance. Palestine would also be an option....how do you find it for sailing? Looks like maybe 8 miles available north of the bridge. Fork gives us around 12 between bridges, but it's a fairly narrow channel for tacking into the wind, and more darn stumps than you can shake a keel at if you wander off the beaten path. Ran into a guy with a Mac on that lake who told me he had never ran into a stump, but I've never once seen him sailing in the last five years either. Go figure. It's definitely not ideal for sailing, but it's convenient and when the wind is right for us, it's nasty for the cluster-casters. They tend to look at us like we beamed down from the Mother Ship, but we also get a few friendly waves. At least I think that's what it is...pretty much a blur going by at that speed. I noticed the latest trend is spandex suits and goggles with that bunch. Had to crack up when one of them whizzed by and made the mistake of opening his mouth....... the wind got in there and starting blowing his lips around real bad. Hope nothing got sprained or dislocated. Face shields might be a better option. Just sayin'.

Hey Mctexan, where do you sail? I am in Lindale and sail on Lake Palestine.

[jtis1]

Thanks for the info-sounds like you will have a nice boat when all is said and done. I am getting ready to lower my keel to inspect the pivot hole. Can you detail how you did this with the car jack and tractor? Mine is currently on the trailer. Was yours when you did this?

[cookwithgas]

Jtis1:

If you haven't already lowered your keel I can try to answer your question. My boat was on the trailer so I raised it up on some 4X4 wood blocks - I think two or three. I took several pictures so I'll have to see if I can find them. After the back of the boat was raised, I put a car jack under the keel and lifted the load off the pivot bolt, then removed the bolt. Easy peasy. I then let the thing fall to the ground (slowly) by lowering the jack and basically letting it find it's way to the ground. It is HEAVY! I pulled it out with my Jeep or Lawn tractor, I can't remember. Then I had a few friends and family members help me lift it onto a workmate - approaching the wight limits of my workmate. I then sanded and painted it. I made a rolling cradle to put it back under the boat, then jacked it back in the slot and replaced the bolt and cable. Just be careful and make sure you have lots of help with the lifting. I have some pictures I will try to post if I can remember how - it's been a while since I've been here.

[bmxer]

You have any more pictures of the back of the boat, blocked up. It doesn't look all that high, so should be fairly easy to do.

[Catigale]

After seeing his first "get the boat ready in 3 weeks" saga I think us mortals need to job estimate by tripling Aubrey's time....

[jtis1]

Aubrey-Thanks-I just lowered, repainted and replaced a few weeks ago. You are right-it is heavy!. I used an engine hoist to turn it while painting and to replace it because I was short-handed. How did you roll the dolly and keel back under the boat with the trailer still in place? It looks like the cross members of the trailer would get in the way (not that I plan on doing this again anytime soon) ANy tips on rewiring the front running light that runs through the stainless steel pulpit?