MacGregorSailors.com

Hello fellow Macgregor Sailors!

My husband and I just purchsed our first sailboat! A 1993 Macgregor S. It is sitting in our driveway, finally. So big we couldn't even turn it around, so we had to back it into our very long, uphill, curved driveway. Needless to say, hubby nearly called it quits then. But it is now safely tucked away, after many trial and errors, not to mention a few curse words.....

Rain and storms were in the forecast, so plans of putting it in the water were out of the question. So we spent the next day cleaning. Didn't get nearly as much done as we had hoped. So much more work than we thought. My neck, back, and stomach are so hurting. You have to be a contortionist to clean in some of these places! I did however get the vinyl laminate flooring in, thanks to several posts here. Looks great I must add! My very first mod!!!

A little background about us; we have two years before retirement, we are new to sailing, and we wanted a trailerable boat to practice our sailing skills here in near San Diego. We have taken a few ASA sailing classes and plan to eventually use our skills to charter larger boats in exotic places once we retire..... at least that is the plan.

So here is my first question, since I will post the remaining questions in their own thread.
How do you hide all the wires for stereo's, speakers,navigation equipment, shore power, etc.?????

We bought an audio system with 4 speakers, two for the cabin, and two for the cockpit. Sounded simple until we unpacked it all and realized that we have NO idea how to run the wires so that they don't show. This boat is pretty much stock from whatweI can see, so not a lot to go from. There are "plugs" everywhere, but not sure how to use them, or what they are for.

I see so many mods with great electrical features, but nobody tells how they hid all those wires. Hubby said to ask online. We love our music and can 't imagine sailing without it, but don't want a tangle of wires hanging about. Can you help?
thanks.

I suggest you think about a ratchet jockey wheel for your trailer - these are great for moving a boat on a not 'too' steep, winding driveway. Some Australian examples as follows:

http://www.caravansplus.com.au/catalog/ ... 9f715a0d43

There are also various powered jocket wheels available but they do get up a bit in cost.

I won't profess to being a wiring expert. However, the Macs are built using four moulds - a hull mould and a deck mould with a liner for each. It is therefore very easy to feed the wiring between the hull or the deck and their respective liners - not always easy but very do-able. I suggest you get in contact with some local trailer sailer owners in order to get some assistance and ideas. These forums are of course invaluable for guidance.

On running wires: I have an X so the layout is different but the principle is the same.

I sometimes use a fish tape (available at lowe's or home depot for about $10 and push it through gaps between the molds, then use it to pull your wire back through. Sometimes even it's too big though so what I've found particularly effective is to tie a nut or washer (not stainless as it's not magnetic) to a string and shove it in the gap. Then take a strong magnet wrapped in cloth, to keep from scratching the gel coat, and pull the washer through the run you want to make. You have to be a bit patient as you'll occasionally hit bits of resin that you'll get hung up on but eventually you'll work your way though. Once you get the string out the other side of the run tie or tape your wire to the string and pull it back through the run. Pro Tip: pull another string back through with your wire and leave it in the liner for future use.

I try to use existing holes when possible (look for the white plugs you can pry out) but sometimes you have to drill a new hole. You can find similar plugs at your favorite hardware store if you have to make a new hole. If you do have to drill, it's sometimes helpful to put a piece of masking or painters tape over the area you want to drill and then drill through the tape. That reduces the chance of chipping the gel coat as you drill.

If you decide to run wire through the bilge area you'll want to make sure and secure it as high as possible to keep it away from any water or moisture. You can use cable holders that screw in or get the kind that attach with adhesive that you run a cable tie through (but the adhesive doesn't last forever on a boat).

One more tip - on your boat, running wire through the mast is easy. Put one end on the ground, support the other end on a ladder or the boat so it's at a pretty steep angle. Tie something heavy to a string and drop it in, it will slide down to the ground. Again, then use the string to pull your wire back through. (Doesn't apply to M owners since you guys have foam in your mast) I like to attach 6" cable ties to any wires I run in the mast and leave the "tails" attached. Space them about a foot apart and rotate them so the tails are 90 degrees from each other. This will eliminate any annoying "mast slap" that will keep you awake at night.

Congrats on your new boat. How very exciting! You've found the best forum for information right here!

Thanks so much cruiser and hart! Can't wait to tell hubby all the great ideas you have.
And cruiser, we already have a rolling wheel cart that we use for a trailer we own, and we tried turning the boat around, however it is just too big. Wouldn't even fit sideways on our driveway. Would either hit the house with the mast, or hit the brick containment wall with the motor/rudder. Guess our drive is narrower that most. But thanks for the information. Hope to join a local Macgregor owners club soon and pick their brains. Just have to get it in the water first.

Welcome flbkroxie!

One thing you might already have come across in the forums is the existence of marine grade wiring. If you plan on keeping this boat for the long term, since you are near salt air, you might want to contemplate the extra initial expense that might save you headaches down the road. It's more resistant to corrosion in the marine environment, and more forgiving of less-than-perfect connections.

- Brian.