MacGregorSailors.com

Does anyone have an average estimate of or feel for:

How many feet a 26X draws under full power?

The max it draws when getting on plane?

What it draws under sail with the centerboard all the way down?

Hello:
I'll take a stab at this but I have no definitive absolutes. Variables include boat loading, type and mounting height of the motor, speed, ballast, water conditions and bottom conditions. The only way for an exact number is to have ran it just shy of neccessary and hit.

These are from Columbia River day trips.
1995 26x - Tohatsu 50 - ~20 gal fuel - 2 batts - 10 gal water - 2 adults

Idling along I have bounced out of trouble in 10" of water. Motor angled up, wife in the bow and I stood forward of the pedistal to raise the stern (no ballast).

Cruising at 15 mph - nailed a sand bar in 18" (no ballast). The boat slowed down and throttling down let me motor out of trouble. It draws more fast than slow.

I have dragged the bottom with the center board at 6' (ballasted). We had light wind so heal was around 10* I suppose. Love that groinking noise, you can feel it right up through your spine.

How much does she draw unballasted standing still? 9 inches?

How much does she draw ballasted standing still?

Just curious, because I woke up on an unfamiliar mud flat just out of the channel on the Wakulla River at low tide two mornings ago. Everything's up, including the motor because I sort of anticipate this situation from the looks of the chart.

Night before Id dropped the hook in 4 feet of water, but then theres the swing factor.

I'm always ballasted.

Sounder now shows 1 foot, which is low as she goes.

My boat pole immediately goes splat into the mud and I ain't been swinging for some while!

I'm across from the yacht club and people begin to gather on the pier and river bank for a good laugh. I peek over and theyre pointing and shaking their heads. Theres a pole sticking up out of the water between us and them that means, stay the hull away from here. Funny, didnt see that last night.

I get the mate up on deck to cook up a delicious smelling breakfast to make it appear we know what we're doing.

Tide is coming in. I can see the water ripple around the outlying fish trap buoys to assure me we shall soon rise.

Wind begins to pick up. Getting fresher, over my starboard quarter. Were pointed up river angled toward the channel. Boat begins to rock a little (still aground).

Mate says, "Why don't we sail off this mud hump?"

Hmm. Let's see. I wrap the port sheet and crank out the genny and it fills beautifully. I take a range bearing on a picnic table and a cabin behind it. We're moving! Yes, toward the channel.

Out we slide. The sounder comes to life. 3 feet, 4 feet, 5 feet. I lower the motor and she cranks right over. I circle around wide past the pier and the big assed boats down the flooding river toward the open sea.

The mate furls the genny as I no wake zone ooze past the cheering masses. I give them a subtle two finger salute with a yes, we come here every year smirk.

Sloop John B wrote: ... Mate says, "Why don't we sail off this mud hump?"

Hmm. Let's see. I wrap the port sheet and crank out the genny and it fills beautifully. I take a range bearing on a picnic table and a cabin behind it. We're moving! Yes, toward the channel ...

Pretty amusing, Sloop. Three cheers for your filling of the Genny to elegantly slip away like that ... and three more for a Mate knowledgeable enough to even have that thought ... !

Good story Sloop, what kind of anchor were you using?

Don T wrote:It draws more fast than slow.

Hmm, that may explain what happened to me a couple weeks ago...After a four hour journey, I wasn't paying enough attention in my homestretch channel and I wandered over a sandbar running along on a fast cruise, probably 90% throttle. I would say I was in about 2 feet of water when I felt the vibration of the motor skeg running through the mud.

Reflexively after decades of powerboating, I did not reduce throttle immediately because in a normal powerboat, thats how you get stuck since you usually have a lot less draft when planing. I steered towards the channel and tried to tilt the motor up. It wouldn't tilt though..not sure if it was because I was dragging through the dirt or because the throttle was too high. But at that point, I had no choice but to cut throttle and when I did, I stopped hitting the bottom. I sorta figured I was simultaneously back in the channel too...but now that you mention it, the other explanation has merit due to the pretty bow-high angle of attack that the Mac has when motoring fast. Guess I need to change my way of thinking and cut power immediately if that happens again.

Too bad too, I put a new prop on my boat last August and I had not even taken a speck of paint off of it (and I use my boat almost every weekend), now the whole outer edge of the prop blades is bare aluminum Guess I was lucky there were no rocks there.

I think there have been times when we had a full load on board, and if you gun her off the start, it probably pulls down the prop 5 feet below the surface for the first several yards. Not sure if that's "max", but it's probably somwhere near there.
Can't tell SLOOP JOHN B how much I enjoyed his story. I am going to use "Ooze past the cheering masses" first chance I get. A real pleasure to read John B... keep it up.
Thanks, Randy
2001 Sea's N Ticket