MacGregorSailors.com

Hey Guys,

Weathered another Hurricane in S Florida! Got 50 years experience to date.

As my newly acquired 26M still sits on the trailer, working on the hull, we got Helene.

A 24 inch rebar drove into the ground, at the tongue of the 26M stock trailer using the safety chains attached and one ratchet strap around the mid section of the boat held everything in place with no movement with 56 MPH gusts with the wind hitting the starboard side for duration of 6 hours.

Time to paint the hull with a few questions. I see that Macgregor likes the solid black Plimsoll/Load line on the 26 model.

1. I understand the usefulness of the Plimsoll line. You can see how the boat is sitting while moored. It helps with knowing whether your boat is listing because of balance issues. Is the painted Plimsoll line on the 26's really required, helpful and why?

2. Are there more pictures of 26's with this area around the Plimsoll line painted differently? How can they be viewed?

3. Trying to come up with a paint scheme that is both functional and appealing. Any ideas?

Thanks for your input,

Ed

I believe the long black line indicating the water line is what you are describing as a Plimsoll line. Are you sure that is the correct nomenclature
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/The ... _313506430

I just call it the waterline

Can’t you just paint it pink, or am I missing what this plimsoll line is

I don't think that the line is a plimsol line, I think it's a boot stripe for cosmetic purposes. It breaks up the huge slab sides of the boat visually.

A plimsol line is used in commercial shipping to indicate the waterline at max load conditions, and it actually has multiple locations, depending on the type and temperature of the water. I'm pretty positive MacGregor didn't do thst kind of research.

So in my opinion the line is cosmetic only.

I found that for my 26X, the actual waterline when fully loaded is right on that line. When I painted my hull (multiple layers of epoxy barrier coat followed by antifoul) I ended up painting right up to the top of the original bootstripe. I then painted a new bootstripe an inch above the top of the new antifoul line, again, not to indicate load but because it looks nice. If your boat stays on the water and will be relatively loaded, I recommend doing this as im very happy with the results. I posted about it on the forum...I'm typing on my cell so it's hard to go get the link for it, but I'll edit this post later with the link.

ON EDIT: Here's the link to a photo with the newly painted boot-stripe: viewtopic.php?t=29958

I had four teenage boys and their coach on board, with food and gas a couple of weekends ago, and they weighed the boat down so that the anti-foul was right at the waterline.

Yea, I've always called it the "waterline". I assume the name is because......it's along the water....line.

Sumner moved his waterline because his boat is so heavy and rested lower in the water.

This might explain how he did it.

https://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumne ... de-39.html