MacGregorSailors.com

Hey Guys,

I've intended to get a BWY quick disconnect for quite some time, but I like to do big orders with a lot of stuff with them because they're a bit folksy about getting around to it, being a somewhat part-time business as they are, and that's just enough disincentive for me to never get around to it in time to go sailing.

In the meantime, I'm doing this, and it works well:



It's a push-button quickpin (the smallest at West Marine, and a 10-24 knob from True Value. Total cost is something like $20, but I'm not quite sure because I had both parts laying around.

Also you can see visible in the photo the ballast-gate led-aft mod I've done. Setting the the valve in that position while you're filling the tank causes it to whistle loudly enough to hear all over the cockpit so you can tell when the tank is done filling (if the motor's off).

You may want to take some safety-wire and attach that pin (i.e. make a lanyard) to keep it from getting lost. Generally those centre-push fasteners do stay put, but if it should for some reason come adrift, given it is part of your navigation control system you're not going to want to take a lot of time to be searching all over for it (or worse yet, for it to go overboard or down the drain hole!).

Do that many people really disconnect their engine when sailing? I find it to be a pain, so I just leave it connected all the time, I don't find it to be a hinderence.
I would hate to have an emergency where I needed to fire up the engine and have it be disconnected. JMHO.

Paulieb

Paulieb wrote:I would hate to have an emergency where I needed to fire up the engine and have it be disconnected.

If you anchor it in the straight-ahead position, you'll still have it available. The BWY kit has an anchor stud you mount to the side or bottom of the engine well for that purpose.

Paulieb wrote:Do that many people really disconnect their engine when sailing? I find it to be a pain, so I just leave it connected all the time, I don't find it to be a hinderence.
I would hate to have an emergency where I needed to fire up the engine and have it be disconnected. JMHO.

Paulieb

If I don't disconnect it, when tilted up, the motor falls to the side pulling the wheel all the way over.
The compromise solution is as stated above. I lock it to the middle position. That way, if I need the motor in a hurry, I just tilt it down and fire it up. Steering is then 100% rudder without extra prop thrust, but it works.
When coming back to the dock, I reconnect the motor to the steering for added control.

--Russ

I installed the BWY disconnect, not necessarily for sailing but to hold the motor for trailering. BUT, the final reason that parted me with my $$$ was the fact that the factory linkage folded up like a pretzel while on the Chesapeake Bay - I could only motor in a tight circle. Ever try to straighten thick steel on a fiberglass boat?

Took me a while to figure out the whistle, but now I've got it!
I can't believe with all your sensible mods that you don't have the quick disconnect option. The stock linkage is sooo crappy by comparison. Never mind the 'folksy' - go for it.
I've been staring at my rear end a lot ( ), getting the latest fantasy additions completed (trim tabs), prior to actually using the durn thing - that I was contemplating getting a second quick disconnect set to complement the first, from the opposite side. My reasoning is this; push and pull would result in less jamming while offsetting through that rough hole in the engine well. this should translate into lower friction, hence less effort at the helm while under power. The same effect is already in place with the sailing rudders.
Second: Doing this would require a bracket mod on the outboard 'tongue' to carry the two links from either side. If I positioned that further back, closer to the motor pivot point, I could get a higher rate of turn for the engine, relative to the rudders, which would also result in a faster under power response for my six-turn hydraulic system.
Of course, nothing comes without a price on the MacGregor, and I'd eventually have to follow through with a small covered deck in this space in order to avoid castrating myself while boarding!

By the bye..... Doesn't anybody clean their machine when doing mod posts?

R.

Do that many people really disconnect their engine when sailing?

All the time, takes the weight off the autopilot and makes hand steering less tiring. Most regular sailboats have a fixed prop so fixed OB is not an issue, in an emergency just got to keep steerage way with OB fixed.

Real sailors would never leave their motor connected, you lose almost .025 of a knot per hour in speed dontcha know. Only beer swilling bums would do such a thing.

I've kept mine down on purpose a couple of times when running in high waves, to add some drag and better control in order to avoid over-speeding the sailing rudders. Other than that the engine's up and disconnected.

R.

Paulieb wrote:Do that many people really disconnect their engine when sailing? I find it to be a pain, so I just leave it connected all the time, I don't find it to be a hinderence.
I would hate to have an emergency where I needed to fire up the engine and have it be disconnected. JMHO.

Paulieb

Me too , I never disconnect . We have had to many emergencies come up when I had to fire up the engine and quickly power around something .

I use the quick disconnect - It locks the motor in the straight position. I always do it before I raise the motor because it's hard to do AFTER you raise the motor. I have had emergencies too - one time my wife got a little messed up trying to tack in the tiny little harbor outlet we have here and the boat was pointed at the rocks - I just lowered the tilt button - started the motor, and drove back on course. I really can't think of any situation to not pin the motor if it's out of the water. Mike Inmon never pins the motor - he always sailed the M with the motor attached. There are definitely two schools on this.

BWY's Quick connects are for Suzuki and Nissan motors how hard is it to modify to fit a Honda

My M came with a steering tensioner in the pedestal. I tension it just enough that the motor doesn't flop the steering around when raised. Steering trim and feel is good with this and no need to disconnect the engine from the steering.

We raise the motor when sailing but don't have a quick disconnect. We spend 90% of our time motoring or motor sailing anyway so a quick disconnect is really low on the list of things I would like. Also it is one more thing to do so unless I knew I was going to be under sail power alone for a long time I don't think I could be bothered to disconnect it anyway.