MacGregorSailors.com

Following a discussion on FB on capsizing a 26X... The discussion was filled with misinformation, of course.

As far as I know there has only been 1 fatal 26X capsize, on lake Champlain in NY, with a drunk captain on a borrowed 26X with No ballast and 11 on board, several adults on the cabintop, centerboard down and a full-throttle turn initiated by the captain ending up with the 26X turning turtle and tragically killing two children who were inside the cabin and too tangled in ropes to be rescued. Absolutely tragic.

There was a poster here who has been knocked down on a 26X, in major gusts with sail up, but the boat came back on its feet.

There was another death concerning a 26X that was being operated under full power in choppy waves and wakes, and the crew of two was ejected from the cockpit. The unmanned 26X continued on in a wide circle and came back to run over and kill the wife of a poster on FB. This is another tragic situation, but also a really odd situation with the way it was posted in FB. Some news channels reported it as a capsize.

We all know about the 26X owned by Fran which sank after portholes below the heeled waterline were left open.

A poster on FB suggested that there was a fatal 26X capsize in Vancouver, but I cannot find anything about that. I suspect that poster may have confused Vancouver with the 26D that capsized in San Diego. Does anyone have any info about a Vancouver incident?

Any comments on the situation in the photo below? Some days/weeks/months after this photo was taken, this boat capsized and two people were killed. It was operating with 13 people on board, with multiple adults on the cabin top, and only the jib deployed. The boom was not attached and there was no mainsail. The two who died were not wearing PFD's. Lots of speculation out there, but from the photo I deduce that the boat was unballasted, and I don't believe that the daggerboard position of the 26D would have much to give or take from a capsize.

Apparently this operator went out routinely with 11+ people on board. To me, this is manslaughter. Can you imagine, more people on this boat than in the photo, and the jib deployed????

It never ceases to amaze me, the level of stupidity out there.

It is said that ignorance is bliss. The photo is a good example of at least one of those statements; probably both.

As I noted in that FB discussion…

“Roger Macgregor manufactured over 36,000 yachts, of which 18-20,000 were water ballasted. I know of only 2 (that’s TWO) that were ever documented to have capsized (not just a knock-down, which many light sailboats experience). One was clearly due to gross operator error(s), which went against everything in the owner’s handbook that was delivered with the boat. The other is uncertain, but may be a case of the owner or previous owner having removed the flotation to increase storage space (a common error when modifying Macs). That’s a 0.01 percent failure rate, even allowing for gross incompetence and non-standard boats. I’d say that’s a pretty good record of safety.”

Starscream wrote: ↑Thu Jan 04, 2024 5:24 pm Apparently this operator went out routinely with 11+ people on board. To me, this is manslaughter. Can you imagine, more people on this boat than in the photo, and the jib deployed????

Agreed. I remember that story and it was obvious something tragic would happen with a seriously overloaded boat. Overloading has been linked to so many tragedies.

All the incidents can be linked to operator error or stupidity.

I do recall a Venture of Newport 23 that actually sank. The boat had no floatation. I don't remember the specifics, it got knocked down and filled quickly. The design of that boat allowed water to enter the cabin fast. The captain managed to go back and recover/salvage the boat in 25' of water.

The 26 series boats have an amazing safety record. Especially when you factor in how many were built.

One thing I really noticed this year on our 26X was how differently the boat floated with and without ballast. At the stern, the ballast makes almost no difference to the waterline, but at the bow the difference is huge.

In the 1st photo below, ballast is OUT, and the sink drain hole is two or three inches above the waterline and you can see the exposed yellow water-stains up to the bootstripe, while in the second photo the sink drain hole is just about level with the waterline. Note that the water level at the rear end is almost the same.

While I know nothing of the 26D ballast layout, the nose-high attitude of the capsized 26D confirms, to me, that the capsized boat most likely did not have ballast in.

Not the best waterline photos because of the reflection, but still.

Unballasted:



Ballast IN:

Looks the same with my