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I read all of your comments before watching the video. That was informative by itself This was certainly a bad situation, but fundamentally he did OK.

The big thing I noticed was the missing mast, sails and other equipment associated. When boats get confused about their identity they tend to misbehave around other boats and sometimes go with the flow instead of societal or crew pressures.

The helmsman's first mistake was his angle of attack, on approach he should have been far more upstream of the current than he was to come in straight, but that would likely put him properly aligned for the other dock, a different problem in the end.

When he instructed his crew to tie off the bow, and at some point she let go allowing the slack in the rope to take the boat away and making it behave unpredictably because the helmsman had compensated and started taking measures to line up based on the bow's seeming steady position.

Then with the help of other mariners he got his stern line to the dock, at which point the dock crew decided to torque on the bow in an attempt to apparently dislodge their invitation from future expeditions. I have had many crew not realize that boats have a pointy end and when pulling on that pointy end, the motor end tends to liberate from my control and away from the object I am near.

My only advice for our fellow sailors reading this, is fair winds and following seas. Or .. make sure you sail with a crew.. Don't expect passengers to double as hardened boatswains in times of unfair winds and intense seas.

Do you have the center board and rudders down to help maintain direction in cross winds and current?

Lee

lelandmorris wrote: ↑Wed Feb 18, 2026 12:35 pm Do you have the center board and rudders down to help maintain direction in cross winds and current?

Lee

I know many do, I have been known to lower the centerboard 1-2' and lower the rudders a BIT. But as soon as you get your ropes over, you have to pull those up lest the ramp sneak up on you and shorten everything. But it would have to be conditions such as this, and honestly, propulsion is what gives you control, not the boards.

Anytime I’m moving slow slowly and maneuvering with my Mac, it’s an “all boards down” situation, for ease of maneuvering and safety sake. However, once I can put a line on the boat, and control it with that, then it’s time for “boards up”. So once the boat is docked and tied up, it’s boards up. Also, when it’s at the dock and being pulled onto the trailer, it’s also boards up. Finally, whenever I’m running on the motor, and I’m doing more than 5 mph, it’s also a “boards up” situation.

lelandmorris wrote: ↑Wed Feb 18, 2026 12:35 pm Do you have the center board and rudders down to help maintain direction in cross winds and current?

Lee

I drop the centerboard just enough to have it act like a skeg but I put both rudders down fully. It makes a world of difference in the low speed control.

Akin to what Be Free does we drop our swing keel about 1/3 of the lift line length of travel to have it act as a Skeg.
This extends the swing keel about a blade’s width depth below the hull.
It makes a considerable predictable difference in crosswind and cross current handling.
Note: We use this so often that we mark the position of the keel travel on the lift line where it catches in the cleat for consistency .

Dropping the swing keel further makes the boat tend to pivot more (or too) abruptly about the keel which can be a disadvantage when dealing with a crowded dock or ramp area. The fully extended swing keel can also run aground and then one has the potential of a sea floor pivot point and potentially huge lateral loads imposed upon the keel which could damage (crack/break/snap ) the leveraged keel.

Having it only 1/3 extended give a huge fin area closer to the hull that is more distributed along the length of the hull (rather than at a narrow section) which dramatically aids in predictable longitudinal track stability. At the same time the swing keel is raked toward the stern so if it contacted the sea floor it naturally generally easily swings up out of the way, even when it’s side loaded, thus avoid becoming a ground pivot or getting damaged. (Remember that the keels on Mac26X and Mac26M are hollow flooding keels, not something solid!)

We’ve found it to be so beneficial to longitudinal stability that we generally leave it at the 1/3 extension position regardless when motoring (our primary operational mode ) at any speed. The only time we haul it all the way up is when we are crossing shallow bars or when in our slip. No sense in scraping the leading edge unnecessarily on the bars or having the keel flop back ‘n forth against the trunk in the slip with every little wave.

This deployable/retractable Skeg works out very well for us without having to modify the hull as some have done (which has the additional benefit of being able to move the Skeg further aft which further improves longitudinal stability and tracking ).

This works well for us but the important thing is to find what works for you!
There is no ‘one and only way’ in boating (or in much of life for that matter ).
If you’ve got a Mac26X or other swing keel boat you might want to give this a try in a safe test area to see if this might work for your needs.
It’s just a what works for us and is a suggestion.
Your boat, your rules!

Best Regards,
Over Easy

From what I see from the comments the water ballast tank is drained while motoring. At slow speeds this make the boat lighter and more susceptible to the effects of cross winds and current. Wouldn't it then be better to leave tank full for low speed manuvering?

Lee

lelandmorris wrote: ↑Thu Feb 19, 2026 11:04 am From what I see from the comments the water ballast tank is drained while motoring. At slow speeds this make the boat lighter and more susceptible to the effects of cross winds and current. Wouldn't it then be better to leave tank full for low speed manuvering?

Lee

Yes. I fill my ballast tank at the beginning of the season and drain it at the end.

IF.....if I wanted to motor fast, I would consider draining the ballast. However, it doesn't cost much in speed and the stability of running with ballast is worth it.

The boat sits lower and has more "grip" on the water with the ballast full.

lelandmorris wrote: ↑Thu Feb 19, 2026 11:04 am From what I see from the comments the water ballast tank is drained while motoring. At slow speeds this make the boat lighter and more susceptible to the effects of cross winds and current. Wouldn't it then be better to leave tank full for low speed manuvering?

Lee

Yes, slow speed and sailing I keep the ballast full. When I want to go fast I drain it. Unlike Russ (and his 70hp engine) I see a noticeable drop in my top speed with ballast when using my 40hp.

The factory documents pretty strongly state not to have the centerboard down while motoring at speed. I would never recommend it, and I think it’s important that we reiterate that here.

If the centerboard is extended, in whatever measure, there is a potential, when in a sharp turn - either planned or during an evasive maneuver - that the Mac can trip over the centerboard and roll excessively, potentially ejecting people and/or equipment overboard, or causing a complete roll-over and foundering.

As with a lot of things there are aspects of nuance to consider….

Having a keel fully extended while motoring above 6 mph wouldn’t be a good thing as the fully extended keel makes a considerable dynamic lever force in a narrow area of the hull length that could be destabilizing at higher water speeds. As such I fully agree that a fully extended keel at planing speeds isn’t a good idea.

Now while it would be really nice to add a 4-to-8” deep protruding Skeg from bow to stern as it would definitely improve the longitudinal stability of a Mac26X there are some significant challenges to accomplishing that sort of thing. Having neither the time or inclination to make such a permanent modification we’ve opted for a compromise approach that works well for us by limiting the swing keel to drop down to protrude about a blade width providing a long narrow longitudinal stabilizing Skeg like function that works well for us. We’ve deliberately tried aggressively maneuvering at about 12 to 16 mph without feeling any breakout or instability. Quite the opposite.
Now as said earlier, this works for us on our boat for our setup and operations. Having less extension also has worked well except at lower speeds the longitudinal stability is less and crosswind wind drift is more pronounced.

Again, this is just a suggestion for one to do with as one wills.
Your boat, your rules.

Best Regards,
Over Easy

100% agree. Motoring at speed with the board down is a very, very bad idea. When the board has any significant vertical component the shape of the board will cause it to act as a foil. As it generates lift it will make handling dangerously difficult with sudden, unexpected heeling likely.

In an M there is always a significant vertical component when the board is lowered at all. On the X the board can be lowered slightly so that it is partially exposed but still mostly in the trunk. This allows it to act as a skeg rather than a centerboard.

Even on an X, low speed maneuvering and docking are the only time it is safe to have any centerboard down under power and then only enough to simulate a skeg. Anything faster and it's "all boards up".

Ditto

Be Free wrote: ↑Thu Feb 19, 2026 6:45 pm 100% agree. Motoring at speed with the board down is a very, very bad idea. When the board has any significant vertical component the shape of the board will cause it to act as a foil. As it generates lift it will make handling dangerously difficult with sudden, unexpected heeling likely.

In an M there is always a significant vertical component when the board is lowered at all. On the X the board can be lowered slightly so that it is partially exposed but still mostly in the trunk. This allows it to act as a skeg rather than a centerboard.

Even on an X, low speed maneuvering and docking are the only time it is safe to have any centerboard down under power and then only enough to simulate a skeg. Anything faster and it's "all boards up".