MacGregorSailors.com

Hello everyone,

I know the specs for the are a draft of 5'9" with the daggerboard fully extended to the recommended 57 inches below the deck.

I'm wondering if anyone has ever actually measured what their M draws with the ballast full, and the daggerboard fully extended?

The reason I ask is because I've had my depth finder read below 5 feet (4.5 feet at one point) with the daggerboard down, and haven't hit anything. (Not that I'm complaining.... )

I measured how far my daggerboard line drops down into the trunk, and got 54 inches. This is how my dealer set it up, probably giving it a 3 inch margin of error to allow for rope stretch.

In any case, even at 54 inches, my boat should be drawing 5'6", but I suspect it's less than that, based on readings I get on my depth finder coming in and out of the channel. Is there a way to convert how many inches the daggerboard is lowered inside the trunk to the actual depth you're drawing underneath the boat?

Cheers, Joe

I don't know the as well as the , of course, but it's possible your depth instrument is reading soft mud that you can't feel at the helm. That, or it's not calibrated and/or zeroed properly. Just puttin' it out there.

My guess is the same. It measures zero at the bottom of the boat which is ~12" below the waterline. I have hit stuff. It has measured much lower

As an aside, I have broken 2 daggers. One in shallow water where I deserved what I got and the other was in 22 feet. I stopped dead in 22ft. May have been some uncharted scrap or I hit a beluga. I was in a spoil area but watching the depth very carefully. My gauge never measured lower than 20ft. Then again, the Montreal harbor are is a 400 year old dumping ground.

Run your Mac aground then break out a tape measure and see. Obviously your depth finder is off.
This is a good question. It's pretty important to know the depth required.

It's kind of ironic that the Mac with fins up can go places no other boat can go. However, under sail, she needs a lot of depth with a dagger. Centerboard is probably lower in draft requirements.
My Hunter 34 only needed 4'3" which was pretty close in Barnegat bay where average depth was 5'-6'.

I stopped dead in 22ft.

That's pretty scary. Was it something very hard? Lots of stuff floating to hit. Tree trunks, telephone poles etc. If you actually grounded in 22' of water, that might be worth noting. I've been told of a spot where a daymarker sank and lurks below the water.

Run your Mac aground then break out a tape measure and see. Obviously your depth finder is off.
This is a good question. It's pretty important to know the depth required.

It's kind of ironic that the Mac with fins up can go places no other boat can go. However, under sail, she needs a lot of depth with a dagger. Centerboard is probably lower in draft requirements.
My Hunter 34 only needed 4'3" which was pretty close in Barnegat bay where average depth was 5'-6'.

I stopped dead in 22ft.

That's pretty scary. Was it something very hard? Lots of stuff floating to hit. Tree trunks, telephone poles etc. If you actually grounded in 22' of water, that might be worth noting. I've been told of a spot where a daymarker sank and lurks below the water.

I may have just figured out an answer to my own question.

I'm an English major, so please bear with me on the math...

When I had my dagger board out of the boat, I measured it at 69 1/2"

Several folks on this board have noted that the board is 2" recessed from the bottom of the boat when fully raised. Thus, let's assume that the daggerboard trunk, from the top of the deck to the bottom of the boat, is 2 inches longer, or 71 1/2".

At the standard 57" drop, then, you're exposing approximately 55 inches of daggerboard into the water, with the remaining 14 1/2 inches remaining in the trunk.

If the spec'd draft of 5'9" (or 69") of the M is accurate (and is assumes a full ballast), that means the dagger board begins to stick out of the boat 14 inches below the waterline. That's approximately equal to the 12" draft that Roger specifies for the boat with daggerboard up on the official sheet, which probably assumes an empty ballast, and thus accounts for sitting 2 inches higher in the water.

Thus, by measuring the drop of the dagger board from the deck, and adding 14", you'll get your true draft, within a couple inches.

For example, if I drop my board 48" from the top of the deck, I'm actually drawing 62 inches, or 5 feet, 2 inches.

Does that make sense to anyone else but me? I'm fully prepared for a rife flogging if my math skills are subpar...

RussMT wrote:Run your Mac aground then break out a tape measure and see. Obviously your depth finder is off.
This is a good question. It's pretty important to know the depth required.

It's kind of ironic that the Mac with fins up can go places no other boat can go. However, under sail, she needs a lot of depth with a dagger. Centerboard is probably lower in draft requirements.
My Hunter 34 only needed 4'3" which was pretty close in Barnegat bay where average depth was 5'-6'.

I stopped dead in 22ft.

That's pretty scary. Was it something very hard? Lots of stuff floating to hit. Tree trunks, telephone poles etc. If you actually grounded in 22' of water, that might be worth noting. I've been told of a spot where a daymarker sank and lurks below the water.

It could not have been one of our submarines. None are in service..

They are actually. They are just very quiet....

If your daggerboard line is routed back to a clutch in front of the cockpit and the original line wasn't replaced, your board may not be going all the way down. I found that true with my boat. I just changed the line and added a 2:1 set up. The board now not only goes down all the way, but its much easier to raise.
An earlier post suggested marking the line at the point where the bottom of the board is even with the bottom of the daggerboard well. It reduces the drag a little when you're under power.

robbarnes1965 wrote:It could not have been one of our submarines. None are in service...

Catigale wrote:They are actually. They are just very quiet....

The Canadians have submarines?





(Couldn't help it...)

vizwhiz wrote:

robbarnes1965 wrote:It could not have been one of our submarines. None are in service...

Catigale wrote:They are actually. They are just very quiet....

The Canadians have submarines?





(Couldn't help it...)

Listen S/A we have the most advanced navy ships in the world ours are capable of of diving & running just below the surface so we have no need of submarines they can dive & surface with a full array of sails here is a pic of one of them preparing to dive


here's one just breaking the surface


Here's a pic of one of our top secret lethal attack covert naval coersion units " the location of this secret fleet remains top secret"
Can't have the pirates know of our location

the Blue hulled one is used for night opp's
Here is one doing doing top secret sea trail maneuvers

http://s844.photobucket.com/albums/ab1/ ... 010128.mp4

They are also capable of going air born
http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab1/ ... 4942-4.jpg

Here they are involved in a highspeed chase running down pirates

http://s844.photobucket.com/albums/ab1/ ... 010002.mp4

So eat yer heart out baby

J

I just did not see any guns mounted. And would-be pirates are dealt with how?

Very interesting thread, has anyone verified this?

Telling u might endanger my life. I have stumbled on TOP, TOP SECRET footage of there new rekrute s busy with traning, If they catch me they will t ocher me by trying to take my mas down.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wC721zLZz4
Code name