Experimenter
Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 5:36 pm
I have just joined the group and thought some may be interested in my approach to having fun.I love to 'fiddle' with things. I am a recently retired mech eng and have a Mac 26S and an older likely unknown Customflex Mallard.
The Mac is '96 and the Mallard is '68 - and weighs as much as the Mac although it is only 19' WL. This little gem taught me to sail, bail, and wail!
Some of the things I have/will do to the Mac include ...... split at the long seam and filling the space betwixt the liner and the hull with expanding foam. I have also added glass tape to the lower hull flange, added 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" x 3/16" angle and 1" x 3/16" flat (in a sandwich) to the top/bottom seam. These two items really stiffen the hull - and allow the inadvertent rough dockings to go by without fretting.......mighta been cheaper to learn how to dock 'softly'! But............I do like to mess with stuff.
What else? Ah yes, weight. The Mac's sail pretty well but I find that losing way in a tack is too often the case, and I suspect that their light weight is a major contributor. I think I will try adding some ballast (80lb bags of gravel) to see what effect that has. To those who are a bit squeamish about ensuring flotation capacity, I have a plan to add that too via foam.
I have also tossed the original keel and rudder (cheap at best) and replaced them with more efficient ones of my own design.
Soon I shall take my Sawzall to the pointy end interior and make room for a head that will be more pleasant for the ladies. I can pee over the side but the girls well, you know......and I do want to be a gent.
Fair winds.
The Mac is '96 and the Mallard is '68 - and weighs as much as the Mac although it is only 19' WL. This little gem taught me to sail, bail, and wail!
Some of the things I have/will do to the Mac include ...... split at the long seam and filling the space betwixt the liner and the hull with expanding foam. I have also added glass tape to the lower hull flange, added 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" x 3/16" angle and 1" x 3/16" flat (in a sandwich) to the top/bottom seam. These two items really stiffen the hull - and allow the inadvertent rough dockings to go by without fretting.......mighta been cheaper to learn how to dock 'softly'! But............I do like to mess with stuff.
What else? Ah yes, weight. The Mac's sail pretty well but I find that losing way in a tack is too often the case, and I suspect that their light weight is a major contributor. I think I will try adding some ballast (80lb bags of gravel) to see what effect that has. To those who are a bit squeamish about ensuring flotation capacity, I have a plan to add that too via foam.
I have also tossed the original keel and rudder (cheap at best) and replaced them with more efficient ones of my own design.
Soon I shall take my Sawzall to the pointy end interior and make room for a head that will be more pleasant for the ladies. I can pee over the side but the girls well, you know......and I do want to be a gent.
Fair winds.