MacGregorSailors.com

The beauty of the Mac is even if your rigging isnt right the boat will still sail about the same....the danger of too loose rigging isnt loss of performance, but the damage from shock loading in heavy air.

If you can easily pin your forestay I would guess its too loose..

I have a 2004 26 , last summer my genoa always seemed to
be too loose...I had to take up almost all of the thread length at the roller furling bailI to try to tighten up the forestay. Which was not enough...so
I tightened up my shrouds by one pin setting. Even this setting seemed
to loose. The next pin setting down seemed to make the shrouds too tight...
If I buy a Loos gage are there recommended tension values for both sets of shrouds and the forestay?

Thanks

Loos' instruction sheet does includes recommendations, but you'll be unique (I think) if you can even come close to how tight they suggest for our shroud tension. Be sure you purchase the gauge for our shroud wire-size, 5/32". (You only need the gauge for setting shrouds, not the stays.)

I you read a bit in Brion Toss' Rigging Apprentice, you'll learn that the "floor" for wire tensions is around 8 percent of wire strength. Apparently the initial 5 or 6 percent will just remove the wire's inate stretch. Rigging at less than minimum tension risks the rig "working" loose as the wind pressures push the rig to and fro. (Read the summary that Bruce Whitmore wrote after he read Toss' rigging book - look under Heath's button for Featured Articles.)

Keep in mind that Loos instruction sheet must speak to all manner of boat owners who'll have this size ... maybe that's mostly racing dinghies?

I don't think I could ever get the shrouds up to Loos' recommended tension without impaling the Mac's mast right into the mud (or asphalt) under the CB trunk. And if I DID get the shrouds that tight, it would take much more than SloopJohn's techniques to pin the forestay. (But it sounds as if your rig, Rich's too, were woefully too loose.)

"The MacGregor 26 has a permanent backstay. We consider this to be an absolute essential for keeping the forestay tight (for proper sail shape) and for keeping the mast from collapsing forward when sailing downwind. Other builders' omission of this critical support is something of a triumph of hope over reality." - Roger MacGregor

Yikes....are you saying that I can't believe everything written in my 2004 Mac M glossy sales rag?

Moe wrote:
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"The MacGregor 26 has a permanent backstay. We consider this to be an absolute essential for keeping the forestay tight (for proper sail shape) and for keeping the mast from collapsing forward when sailing downwind. Other builders' omission of this critical support is something of a triumph of hope over reality." - Roger MacGregor

"Avoid interiors that have fabric bonded to the walls and ceilings. They are hard to dry, and mildew badly." - Roger MacGregor
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Moe

Aw, Moe. C'mon. Tell us how your really "feel"

Catigale wrote:The beauty of the Mac is even if your rigging isnt right the boat will still sail about the same....the danger of too loose rigging isnt loss of performance, but the damage from shock loading in heavy air.

If you can easily pin your forestay I would guess its too loose..

Not sure I would agree with that statement in heavy air....although I agree that in light air, it probably doesn't make any difference. I bought a loos gauge but have still not used it yet. My rig is a bit too loose, although would still be a bear to try to pin the forestay without the mast raising kit. Only did it once, and that was when the rigging was looser than now. IMO, the mast raising kit is essential for pinning a tight rig.

When the forestay is too loose (especially with the heavy furler and heavy genoa with UV strip) in heavier air, you can see it bowing inboard towards the middle. This is basically a bent leading edge to the airfoil and will not likely perform as well as a straight leading edge. An adjustable backstay helps a lot though, when I notice my forestay start bowing a bit, I tighten up the backstay some and that removes a lot of the bow.

RichandLori wrote:Yikes....are you saying that I can't believe everything written in my 2004 Mac M glossy sales rag?

or their website....still got to love the statement of the internal mast channel is STILL on the website. Unless a dealer here can confirm they are now adding it, it is still wrong...5 years later!!!

A small tube will be cast into the mast flotation foam to allow the future passage of wires to the top of the mast.

http://www.macgregor26.com/comparison_26x_and_26m.htm

Got to love marketing!!

Paul

Not sure I would agree with that statement in heavy air....although I agree that in light air, it probably doesn't make any difference

Agree with you on that Dimitri.

....here is hoping to see the 2006 Mac M at the upcoming Houston Boat Show...with or without a back stay, ice chest, molded in fabric that will mildew, claims that the blue hull is faster, etc.
But, I'll probably keep my Mac-X for a while longer...both nice boats