MacGregorSailors.com

sailboatmike wrote:Wow, the tax man gets you everytime and at every corner.

One of the big issues of bringing second hand boats into Australia is the customs charge close to $3500 inspection fee (bio hazard), just for the record thats about the same or slightly more than the cost of the actual transport via ship.

We dont have local taxes, just the 10% GST which in general we dont pay on things posted from overseas. we used to have a stupid tax system that different things are charged at different rates but I think the government found it was cheaper to enforce just by charging a single rate across the board, I think we have a free trade agreement with the USA or are working on it (the global economy and all that) so that should make NEW things made in the USA easier and less expensive here.

Are Hyde Sails in the USA related to Hyde sails here in Australia??

We sell the same products. But we operate completely independently of each other. None of us are employees of Hyde. Kind of like new car dealers: We are all independently operated distributors for products built by Hyde to Hyde's quality standards The sail you buy from me is backed by Hyde's warranty anywhere in the world.

I buy products from Hyde and resell them. I have certain countries/territories into which I market. I am authorized to sell to many countries in the world but Australia isn't one of them.

I own the designs that I paid to have developed. For example, the Macgregor sails built by me would be subtley different from the ones you might buy from another Hyde distributor.

Judy
Hyde Sails Direct

Thats not good Judy

I was hoping to get sails from someone that knew specifically about the best cut for these boats, rather than just a generic cut for the size required.

Mike,

There is no such thing as "the bust cut for these boats." Boat specs don't change. It's all done by computer. Any sailmaker will design your three edges of each sail per your boat specs. The cut is a custom thing, assuming you're not buying a sail off the shelf. The real issue is how much draft you want in your sails. More draft if you sail in light air, less draft if you sail in moderate air and minimum draft if you sail in heavy air. Then you have all the options like luff hardware, full or partial battens, number or reefs, cunningham, etc.

Someone needs to design a better rudder bracket. My idea is actually not a bracket at all but a hinge. Tubes like the stock brackets would enter the fiberglass tubes in the boat, just as stock. Instead of the bracket there would be a hinge perpendicular to the stern so the rudders can kick up. The bottom of the hinge would have an attachment to each side of the rudder. This would eliminate a bracket that can't really be reinforced as there is only a single boat in the middle and the loads are leveraged, thus distorting the brackets. The hinge would eliminate this problem, though it would need to be fairly beefy... like 1/4 to 5/16" pin. Just some food for thought. If anyone uses this concept and sells it and makes a fortune, I expect a cut

Leon

Here are some better Transom Gudgeons and Pintles for your steering pleasure


http://www.westmarine.com/rudder-hardware

sailboatmike wrote:Thats not good Judy

I was hoping to get sails from someone that knew specifically about the best cut for these boats, rather than just a generic cut for the size required.

Good news, I can ship MacGregor sails to Australia, Mike!

Awesome Judy, I will watch the exchange rate

delevi wrote:Someone needs to design a better rudder bracket.

Old thread I know.... I'm not sure what your rudder brackets are made of (would love to see a photo?) but mine are made from 3mm Stainless Steel, which is pretty tough and a can't see them bending under normal operation. In the past I've made the mistake of motoring up to 15knts, steering port/starboard, but I've never bent my brackets or stock Mac rudders.

Just curious to get the the bottom of this


All the best.
Neo

Neo wrote:

delevi wrote:Someone needs to design a better rudder bracket.

Old thread I know.... I'm not sure what your rudder brackets are made of (would love to see a photo?) but mine are made from 3mm Stainless Steel, which is pretty tough and a can't see them bending under normal operation. In the past I've made the mistake of motoring up to 15knts, steering port/starboard, but I've never bent my brackets or stock Mac rudders.

Just curious to get the the bottom of this


All the best.
Neo

this is quite new for me. I thought ALL rudder brackets are bent. The bracket material is too week not to be bent.

How you managed not to bend the brackets?

Hmmm, maybe my 2004 had thicker metal ones???

As an example. When I was refitting my rudders a tried using a big G-clamp close the bracket up a bit on the rudders. I put one bracket under a lot of pressure, but when I released the G-Clamp it went straight back to its original position.

I'v bent my rudder brackets a few times (mudbanks etc ). The first time I broke a rudder, I took the bracket off and bashed it back into shape in my vice.

This last time I snapped one (two months ago)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dzaOEMyqrQ
I bent the bracket pretty bad, but managed to get it back into shape without taking it off the boat..

Unfortunately I forgot to film that part of the repair, but all I did was,, with the rudder removed,,, jam a wooden block into the top of the bracket, and use a G clamp to clamp the bottom (which was flared out quite a bit) in as tight as I could, and then put another G clamp in behind it and did the same again. When I let it out, it was very close (close enough) to being back in shape

Great Video Paul, thanks for sharing that.

I had wondered about those "Bathtub" Fly deck boats and their big bow waves ... Now I'm thinking that I need to find a way to pull up my rudders fast!
How are your rudders holding up now? .... You called it a "hack" but the end result looked fantastic

BTW what was the blue board sitting on your bow bunks?... Do you use that as a tender?

All the best.
Neo

Ive found a welding shop where they will make a set of brackets out of 1/4 in SS. Next years project.
Ix

Neo, dont worry, I have been in some very confused seas with large swells considerably bigger than the 4 foot bow waves thrown up by the Gold Coast gin palace brigade,, and had no issues. It was just the fact that it had a bad crack in it which caused it to fail.

Unfortunately I haven't taken the boat out yet (putting it in the water on boxing day with luck...), but it will be fine.... (leaning on wood as I type )

Yep, I have three tenders to choose from depending on what I am doing and that blue one is what I take when going out by myself. Actually its my sons kayak and can be stored in the boat, or on deck, as you can see at about 5.10 in this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxZrINPUMrc


Its pretty handy,
http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/perth-re ... 1034603385
but being a small kayak, its not that stable when trying to carry anything (which I found out when going ashore to get a jerry can of fuel at the Servo (gas station).

The rudder brackets could definitely be a bit sturdier. I'm surprised nobody came up with some aftermarket ones as I think many people would buy them...

Hairline crack in one of the original (aluminum) rudder brackets five years ago in the bahamas. The water was so clear and calm, that it fooled me into a false sense of security and forgot to double-check the depth. Before I knew it, we found ourselves on top of a sandbar, perched on the rudders and centerboard, while the tide was going out. Had to grab a knife and cut the rudder ropes in order to release the rudders, but the damage was done. The cracked bracket lasted all the way back home where I replaced it with a new one.

The newer X models have stainless steel brackets that are much sturdier. BWY used to have them in stock. If you change your rudders to the more efficient IDAs, this is the way to go... but the mod is pretty expensive, if you add up all the parts plus the rudders.

I remember an older tread in which someone beefed up the aluminum brackets by welding two vertical aluminum plates on either side of the brackets. That's what I plan to do for the spares, too