First Day on the 26X
Posted: Fri Sep 04, 2015 6:57 pm
So I ended up buying the '96 26X from this thread: http://www.macgregorsailors.com/forum/v ... hp?t=24429 For a variety of reasons (life/bottom painting/etc), I wasn't able to pick it up until today... But I was able to officially pick it up today and take it home. A few observations here, just for my own purposes, but feel free to chime in with any comments.
Issues:
-Although I charged the battery Wednesday and it read a full charge, and we were able to tilt the motor this morning before launching, it wouldn't start. Both batteries on board ended up being dead at launch time. I haven't done a full examination of this issue, but we ended up disconnecting all other electrical connections and hooking up a brand new battery to just the motor. The broker/seller on this deal was extremely helpful and provided the new battery at his cost. A few projects as a result (PO had put in substandard wiring, and I need (want) to rewire everything to get a full appreciation.
-Overheating. We got out on the water and the engine alarm came on. It was overheating. Took the cover off the engine and made sure water was coming out, but the issue persisted. A quick phone call to a Tohatsu dealer indicated that the issue was likely the thermostat, so we popped off the over, cleaned out a bit of gunk and motored on. It'll be easy enough to repair.
-Wasp nest. While the boat was on the market, somehow a wasp nest snuck into the main sail. A quick trip to store got us some wasp killer and I've got some cleaning to do on the sails, but they were advertised as "average shape" and certainly seem that way.
Improvements that I need to make:
-The main sheet was VERY thick to the point of unmanageable and also too long. The instructor I hired (an experienced Mac sailor/dealer that the broker connected me with) immediately suggested replacing with 3/8. Unfortunately he insisted in tying a knot and removing it (I would've taken a picture and redone it at my own pace), but I'm going to use the boom vang as a guide as to how to reconnect it.
-All the "ropes" (I know I'm not supposed to call them that) are the same color. Jib sheets, jib halyard and main halyard. This will be changed quickly, because I already made a mistake when I grabbed one (and we only sailed for a short period of time)
-Rudder lines were also both the same color. I will be color coding these.
-Speed. I won't say that I was dissatisfied with the motor (its only a Tohatsu 40HP), but there is certainly some improvements to be made. WOT was around 4400rpm, the throttle was sticky, and I think I can refine this. It's certainly fast enough for now (first boat for me, so I can learn), but I plan to do some research and have some winter projects... Props and whatnot.
Other points:
-Greg from Grab Bag Sailboats (both the owner and broker for this boat) was a pleasure to deal with. With the amount I paid for the boat ($6500) I wasn't expecting perfection, but he did a stand-up job of assisting. I highly recommend him.
-Backing in. The instructor just motored straight into my slip. I asked him a couple times to show me backing in, but he was pretty adamant that I wouldn't want to do this. Not sure if this is frowned upon, or what, but he suggested more privacy in the cockpit/cabin and the fact that I had a lot of a room to back out that made it unnecessary to back in. But I don't want to be "that guy" if its somehow not a good idea.
-I need to take time to learn to sail on this thing. I'll stick with the jib over the genoa for the short term, and I plan to take it out and just get a feel for things. If anybody sees a MacGregor not sailing well on the Chesapeake/Patapsco, it's probably me, but I'm just learning. It'll be fun though.
-As per the previous point, I have a lot of learning to do all around. Even though I've only lurked on this forum aside from the above post, it has been overwhelmingly helpful so far. I imagine it will continue to be.
Also, I don't know if there's a way to change your profile name on this board. A quick look at the settings didn't make it pop out to me, but perhaps I just skimmed. I'm intending to start posting as per my boat name (Dog House), but I figured I'd mention it in case there is a way to change it (or needs moderator intervention perhaps), or to ensure its not bad form to just create a new profile.
Thanks everybody.
Issues:
-Although I charged the battery Wednesday and it read a full charge, and we were able to tilt the motor this morning before launching, it wouldn't start. Both batteries on board ended up being dead at launch time. I haven't done a full examination of this issue, but we ended up disconnecting all other electrical connections and hooking up a brand new battery to just the motor. The broker/seller on this deal was extremely helpful and provided the new battery at his cost. A few projects as a result (PO had put in substandard wiring, and I need (want) to rewire everything to get a full appreciation.
-Overheating. We got out on the water and the engine alarm came on. It was overheating. Took the cover off the engine and made sure water was coming out, but the issue persisted. A quick phone call to a Tohatsu dealer indicated that the issue was likely the thermostat, so we popped off the over, cleaned out a bit of gunk and motored on. It'll be easy enough to repair.
-Wasp nest. While the boat was on the market, somehow a wasp nest snuck into the main sail. A quick trip to store got us some wasp killer and I've got some cleaning to do on the sails, but they were advertised as "average shape" and certainly seem that way.
Improvements that I need to make:
-The main sheet was VERY thick to the point of unmanageable and also too long. The instructor I hired (an experienced Mac sailor/dealer that the broker connected me with) immediately suggested replacing with 3/8. Unfortunately he insisted in tying a knot and removing it (I would've taken a picture and redone it at my own pace), but I'm going to use the boom vang as a guide as to how to reconnect it.
-All the "ropes" (I know I'm not supposed to call them that) are the same color. Jib sheets, jib halyard and main halyard. This will be changed quickly, because I already made a mistake when I grabbed one (and we only sailed for a short period of time)
-Rudder lines were also both the same color. I will be color coding these.
-Speed. I won't say that I was dissatisfied with the motor (its only a Tohatsu 40HP), but there is certainly some improvements to be made. WOT was around 4400rpm, the throttle was sticky, and I think I can refine this. It's certainly fast enough for now (first boat for me, so I can learn), but I plan to do some research and have some winter projects... Props and whatnot.
Other points:
-Greg from Grab Bag Sailboats (both the owner and broker for this boat) was a pleasure to deal with. With the amount I paid for the boat ($6500) I wasn't expecting perfection, but he did a stand-up job of assisting. I highly recommend him.
-Backing in. The instructor just motored straight into my slip. I asked him a couple times to show me backing in, but he was pretty adamant that I wouldn't want to do this. Not sure if this is frowned upon, or what, but he suggested more privacy in the cockpit/cabin and the fact that I had a lot of a room to back out that made it unnecessary to back in. But I don't want to be "that guy" if its somehow not a good idea.
-I need to take time to learn to sail on this thing. I'll stick with the jib over the genoa for the short term, and I plan to take it out and just get a feel for things. If anybody sees a MacGregor not sailing well on the Chesapeake/Patapsco, it's probably me, but I'm just learning. It'll be fun though.
-As per the previous point, I have a lot of learning to do all around. Even though I've only lurked on this forum aside from the above post, it has been overwhelmingly helpful so far. I imagine it will continue to be.
Also, I don't know if there's a way to change your profile name on this board. A quick look at the settings didn't make it pop out to me, but perhaps I just skimmed. I'm intending to start posting as per my boat name (Dog House), but I figured I'd mention it in case there is a way to change it (or needs moderator intervention perhaps), or to ensure its not bad form to just create a new profile.
Thanks everybody.
