MacGregorSailors.com

trim your sails by the INCH, on a macgregor, are you kidding???

NOT KIDDING--you can get good sailing performance out of the Mac if you learn how to properly trim your sails with a winch, inch by inch

Bob

Confucious say, never split hairs with Barber..

Im sure the poster means by the centimeter....

Where are The Go Fast Maniacs on this board? Highlander? Do you winch by the inch..? I " kind of do" with my cam cleat..
This may be just for me.. Any Time I need to really exert a Lot of Force?? I look to see whats hanging up.. going wrong what am I doing wrong.
Hahahaha Cat No way..Hahahah adjust by the centimeter hahahaha OK Jon where are you ??

I winch by the inch, and slip by the inch. I also move the traveler around and tighten the mainsail all the time. The telltales tell the tale--do what they indicate (and add some tell tales to the luff) and you'll wring hull speed out of these boats.

The last knot on these things is highly dependent upon maintaining good sail shape. It's not less important because the boat isn't a racer--it's MORE important because the boat isn't a racer. On my Columbia Sabre 32 (the 1968 olympic race hull) I didn't have to do any sail trimming ever to maintain 6+ knots consistently. The only boat that could consistently pass us in the big bay was the Stars & Stripes (granted there aren't a whole lot of 40'+ boats running around inside the bay). On a MacGregor, I have to pay constant attention to sail shape to stay above 5+ knots and I'm on the helm like a nervous monkey keeping the thing pointed against the mysterious forces that are always taking this whale off course. That stuff never happened with the Sabre.

But alas, I couldn't afford $500/mo. for a boat I could only use a few weeks a year, and there's no trailering a boat with a 6', 6000lb. keel.

...but for one month slip fee you could dump that trashy main and get one that you wont have to trim as much...

Catigale wrote:...but for one month slip fee you could dump that trashy main and get one that you wont have to trim as much...

Once I know exactly why I don't like the stock main, I'll know which one to buy

When you have that figured out POST IT .. I do have a few sheckels laying around and I might well pop...for a new Better main sail.. yea I play with mine all the time too.. Wife's says I need a hobby on the boat : ) Ahhhhhhhh alast.. mine isn't always for the better hahaha..BUT I'm having fun..
shoooooosh For Christmas I am Making her a stained glass Window that will have "our boat" and say beneath it?? Warn Me Before You Do That

mastreb wrote:

Catigale wrote:...but for one month slip fee you could dump that trashy main and get one that you wont have to trim as much...

Once I know exactly why I don't like the stock main, I'll know which one to buy

Heh. I'm a stickler for sail trim but I don't freak out over it. My boats overloaded and I like to sail comfortably. It's 4.5-5 k for me. Yes I do winch by the inch. But it's like 2 nd nature to me. Something I do without thinking about it.
Bad sail shape bugs me on others boats but I keep my mouth shut.

Someone on here suggested the dealer may have just slipped aluminum drums over the oem plastic insides but a check on the lewmar site verified plastic insides on the # 6 winches.

Someone has tried to winch Thier boat off a sandbar. I'd be afraid to really put my back into the winch handle on those winches. It ain't coming off the yacht since there is plenty of glass there, but I sure would think about the plastic mount.
Ten years from now I'd be terrified.
Don't remind me about hi tech computer engineered this or that. I've seen plenty of those bite it, and the cheaper components are usually to blame.

The end result is we all have different tolerances for thing like that. I hardly ever even wear a watch. Some people will fork over thousands for a rolex. They save money by leaving the oem plastic winches. I'll spend the money for a set that make me happy every time I look at them.

Ixneigh

Checked out the lewmar site . Yep the stems are a fiberglass composite , but only the stems not sure when they changed to that , Because I'm sure the last time I cleaned mine the stems were made of Alum. I know for sure that the #7 Lewmars I have mounted on the aft are alum stems as I installed them myself
I will double check my #6 Lewmars when I get a chance & up-date

J

maybe the difference is in the sails, my boat did come equipped with the KH C2000 sails,art said they were better than the stock sails.but i still can't imagine any one pulling only one inch of rope at a time to adjust a sail, especially to only go one mph faster. also the winches on my boat are for decoration only, as when i trim by the foot it doesnt take much force to pull on the ropes by hand, i do hang coils of rope from them so it looks like there used for something.

I am with you ray... and it seems a few others are as well.. Ive used them for all kinds of things .. I just don't ever remember using them to trim sails.
I Think if I had a 60 foot Mast and a 20 foot Boom I'd be using them for that purpose.. The first few times out I was tempted to and then thought???? Whats wrong? Whats Hanging up? Upon inspection I saw the culprit..

raycarlson wrote:maybe the difference is in the sails, my boat did come equipped with the KH C2000 sails,art said they were better than the stock sails.but i still can't imagine any one pulling only one inch of rope at a time to adjust a sail, especially to only go one mph faster. also the winches on my boat are for decoration only, as when i trim by the foot it doesnt take much force to pull on the ropes by hand, i do hang coils of rope from them so it looks like there used for something.

especially to only go one mph faster.

...and there lies the difference between pleasure sailing (where a 1mph means nothing) and cruising..where 1 mph VMG is a 15-20% increase in speed !!

Both views are correct since the intended uses have different premises..

yeah i guess your right on that point. note to self; before me and my mac set sail for tahiti learn proper sail trim techniques

a dash of sarcasm I detect ??

(I confess Im a cruiser and trim my sails to the nearest metre...thats an Imperial yard of course