Feedback Mexico Trip
Posted: Thu May 20, 2010 9:38 pm
I got back last week from my trip to Baja California. I pulled my 26M from Sacramento, CA to Loreto Mexico in Baja Sur a round trip of about 2500 miles. The total trip including driving lasted about six weeks. I posted the feedback on my upgrade to two axles on the Trailer section. I figure I will give an account of what worked and didn't seem to work with the idea it might be helpful to someone else. I have gotten so much information and good ideas from these forums I would like to give something back.
1. My Edgestar 43 refrigerator worked flawlessly and I had ice cold beer etc the whole time. I have it paired with a 135 watt Kyocera solar panel and had plenty of power. I have set up my solar panel so it stays up while I am towing the boat so everything stays refrigerated even on the 3-4 day trip coming and going. This was an important test as I plan on using the 26M as a travel trailer as well as a boat in exploring the USA and Canada next year. You can check out my installation in the mod section.
2. The propane installation worked very well. See my mod. Based on my experience with two people living on board my 10 lb. tank should last 6-8 weeks before refilling. I carry a couple of small propane cylinders as reserve just in case I run out. The propane Magma BBQ is supplied from the main tank on the stern by a tee fitting and it worked better than my BBQ at home.
3. The Plastimo water bladder I installed under the aft berth gave the two of us about 7-8 days of fresh water. We washed dishes, took one pot (old copper tea kettle) fresh water showers daily, drinking water and cooking water including a couple of meals of pasta. We also carried a reserve of 7.5 gal in two collapsible jugs under the front berth.
4. The boom shade worked really well and made life much more bearable on hot days. It was very easy and quick to put up and take down. I bought the silver reflective one.
5. The bug screens for the companionway and forward hatch were worth their weight in gold. Don't leave home without them.
6. The Aqua Max (8ft 10 in)dinghy worked very well. It towed, rowed and motored well. I think it is good value for the price. It is a little on the heavy side because it has a double protective bottom and reinforcement in several places. This is great for toughness on beaches but if you just want a light simple dinghy for light use them you may not want this dinghy.
7. I have a 10kg Rochna anchor that I tried for the first time. I am still making up my mind about it.
8. I bought a 2.5 Suzuki 4 stroke for the trip. It seems to have a bad habit of kicking back when cold. It ran fine but I keep comparing it to a 2 hp 2 stroke I used to have. Frankly I wish I had my old 2 hp back. It was lighter and seemed to start and run better. Maybe my memory is just failing me. So far I would only rate it about a 6-7 on a scale of 10.
9. The 60 hp Etech was flawless and powerful. Wide open I could get up to 17-18 mph pulling the dinghy without engine. I think I could get up to around 20 mph without the towing the dinghy. Most of the time I would cruise at 15 mph at about 4800 rpm. At that speed with flat calm seas I could get about 18-20 miles on a 6 gal tank of gas.
I will try to add more later with pictures when I sort them out. The Mac itself was exactly what I wanted in terms of versatility and livability for a small boat. I made a lot of modifications regarding storage which were necessary and worked out very well . I will share them in the future in the Mod section as soon as I can get to it. My wife and I had a blast and experienced the same sunsets as the bigger yachts anchored next to us. The other boats were very envious that we could anchor in the shallow areas next to the sandy beaches.
We left Baja in the transition period before hurricane season. The larger boats either had to find a "safe" anchorage, haul out or make the 4-6 week bash to windward back to California. They were very envious when I told them I was loading LaVida on her trailer for a 3-4 day drive (windward bash) back home to Sacramento. Some of them started to take second and third looks at LaVida. I've made the windward trip up the Pacific side of Baja to San Francisco in a 43 foot sailboat and believe me I would much rather do it with a 26 ft MacGregor. So far I really like my MacGregor and she just keeps getting better.
Hope some of this is useful. Curtiss on LaVida
1. My Edgestar 43 refrigerator worked flawlessly and I had ice cold beer etc the whole time. I have it paired with a 135 watt Kyocera solar panel and had plenty of power. I have set up my solar panel so it stays up while I am towing the boat so everything stays refrigerated even on the 3-4 day trip coming and going. This was an important test as I plan on using the 26M as a travel trailer as well as a boat in exploring the USA and Canada next year. You can check out my installation in the mod section.
2. The propane installation worked very well. See my mod. Based on my experience with two people living on board my 10 lb. tank should last 6-8 weeks before refilling. I carry a couple of small propane cylinders as reserve just in case I run out. The propane Magma BBQ is supplied from the main tank on the stern by a tee fitting and it worked better than my BBQ at home.
3. The Plastimo water bladder I installed under the aft berth gave the two of us about 7-8 days of fresh water. We washed dishes, took one pot (old copper tea kettle) fresh water showers daily, drinking water and cooking water including a couple of meals of pasta. We also carried a reserve of 7.5 gal in two collapsible jugs under the front berth.
4. The boom shade worked really well and made life much more bearable on hot days. It was very easy and quick to put up and take down. I bought the silver reflective one.
5. The bug screens for the companionway and forward hatch were worth their weight in gold. Don't leave home without them.
6. The Aqua Max (8ft 10 in)dinghy worked very well. It towed, rowed and motored well. I think it is good value for the price. It is a little on the heavy side because it has a double protective bottom and reinforcement in several places. This is great for toughness on beaches but if you just want a light simple dinghy for light use them you may not want this dinghy.
7. I have a 10kg Rochna anchor that I tried for the first time. I am still making up my mind about it.
8. I bought a 2.5 Suzuki 4 stroke for the trip. It seems to have a bad habit of kicking back when cold. It ran fine but I keep comparing it to a 2 hp 2 stroke I used to have. Frankly I wish I had my old 2 hp back. It was lighter and seemed to start and run better. Maybe my memory is just failing me. So far I would only rate it about a 6-7 on a scale of 10.
9. The 60 hp Etech was flawless and powerful. Wide open I could get up to 17-18 mph pulling the dinghy without engine. I think I could get up to around 20 mph without the towing the dinghy. Most of the time I would cruise at 15 mph at about 4800 rpm. At that speed with flat calm seas I could get about 18-20 miles on a 6 gal tank of gas.
I will try to add more later with pictures when I sort them out. The Mac itself was exactly what I wanted in terms of versatility and livability for a small boat. I made a lot of modifications regarding storage which were necessary and worked out very well . I will share them in the future in the Mod section as soon as I can get to it. My wife and I had a blast and experienced the same sunsets as the bigger yachts anchored next to us. The other boats were very envious that we could anchor in the shallow areas next to the sandy beaches.
We left Baja in the transition period before hurricane season. The larger boats either had to find a "safe" anchorage, haul out or make the 4-6 week bash to windward back to California. They were very envious when I told them I was loading LaVida on her trailer for a 3-4 day drive (windward bash) back home to Sacramento. Some of them started to take second and third looks at LaVida. I've made the windward trip up the Pacific side of Baja to San Francisco in a 43 foot sailboat and believe me I would much rather do it with a 26 ft MacGregor. So far I really like my MacGregor and she just keeps getting better.
Hope some of this is useful. Curtiss on LaVida
Less
, thanks. I hope you find time to write a little trip log of where you went, where you would go back to, etc.