Sleepy wrote:Heck, Put on your harness and jump in the water and do the Jack LaLanne.
Too funny... I thought it was the Captain's job to assign the crew (admiral) to "get out and push"
But, if she refuses, I keep a trolling motor stored within the port side cabin storage area. I have a make-shift attachment that clamps onto the swim ladder.
I carry a pump up Sevylor kayak which works well kayaking inlets or used as a tender. I routinely use the kayak paddle during anchoring to back up when dropping my second paddle. The kayak paddle is just the right length to paddle from the cockpit or bow using it with one hand on the blade end and the other on the shaft.
Lin & Larry Pardy... the famous "purist" sailing couple... have been getting in and out of harbors & tight spots for 25 years using sweeps to scull on their 30' boat Taleisin.
The boat has no engine.....
They have a two piece oar that they store lashed to the rigging when not in use. The large oar attaches to the stern and they scull with it same as the italian gondolas do.
But I see no use for it on a Mac.....we've got a motor or sail....one or the other will always work. You can ghost sail right up to the dock or beach with just a little jib out.
We had to row our 26X once, while in Southeast Arm of Yellowstone Lake. This is a non motorized wilderness area, so we entered under sail and anchored in very shallow water, in the mouth of a little cove. Getting underway with no wind close to shore, and water too shallow to drop fins posed a problem. The admiral got into our porta-bote dinghy, tied the bow line to dinghy, and started rowing. We moved nicely out into deeper water, where there was a light sailing breeze. I raised the main, then picked the admiral up. It was a fun way of getting underway without motor. In light air and smooth seas, a rowed dinghy moved the Mac just fine. I expect that this approach would be a lot harder in an inflatable dinghy.
What works for me.... may not necessarily work for others...???
In the past 12 years of cruising new england coastal area I only had two occasions when my motor died. Each time it was on approach to a marina. One, I was able to sail with jib only.... up into a marina dockside.....to make the needed repair. The second incident I did not have favorable conditions to get into a tight dock space, so I picked up a vacant harbor mooring after hailing marina on radio, dinked into the marina for new plugs, and back to boat to changed out the fouled plugs (the days of 9.9hp 2 cycle)... and was off again in no time
Also, I've always carry Boat US towing unlimited...just in case!...used only once in Fl for a hard grounding......couldn't kedge off....oars would not have helped any.
I just can't see adding more gear & fittings to the boat that can get in the way, for the few times I might want to consider their use. I just think the main motor, the sails, the dink & its outboard & Unlimited towing are sufficient options for most any situation I will encounter.
acdave wrote:
I just think the main motor, the sails, the dink & its outboard & Unlimited towing are sufficient options for most any situation I will encounter.
I know this is an old thread but I was just looking to see if anyone might have tried mounting a set of oars on a Mac. If you think it is totally silly, perhaps this photo might cause you to reconsider:
Alrighty then.
I have rowed my tavana 33 yawl with a 12 foot sweep oar lashed to a cockpit winch. Standing in the cockpit facing forward and pushing, I could manage about a knot in flat calm conditions. Note that the lower hull number tavanas were rumored to weigh about 18,000 pounds.
I would not want to do it for very long on that boat.
On the Mac, I plan to have a similar oar, but not solid wood. Something much lighter. I will lash it to the base of the lifeline stancions.
I plan to have things so I came use it to steer the boat while shooting the shoals so I want it to be easily deployable. Also good for easing into the no motor areas.
I will post my results here as soon as I find the right oar.
Yes by all means have a boat us gold card. I do. They wont come out to nudge you closer to a nice spot to
anchore however.
So far as a motor back up. I doubt I have the stamina to row even a much lighter boat any more then a mile or two.
Fine tune your sails if your worried about motor fail and always have an anchor and a few gallons of drinking water even just for a daysail.
I thought it was the Captain's job to assign the crew (admiral) to "get out and push" 
