Will a Merc 75 fit under the M seat???

[beene]

Hmmmmm.......

WELL


WITH THE SEAT UP



G

[beene]

Forgot the pics.....




G

[deja_vu]

Looks like its time to raise the seat or make a new one that fits that beast!

[beene]

Hi Jeff

Ya, for now I just put my hand behind the seat when raising her so I know when to stop. When my fingers are good and crushed, that's about right

Thanks for your post on your motor install, it inspired me to do my own, and the information was quite useful. I mounted my Uflex on the starboard side. Bit of a PITA getting it in, around and over there, but it did fit. Another thing I did was mount the shift cable inverted so I pull back to go forward. This enables me to sit comfortably in the seat while the control is not at all a stretch to reach.

Cheers

G

[deja_vu]

Thanks for the compliment.

That's a great idea about the shift cable. I'm kind of wishing I had done that myself, it's quite a strech to get to full throttle. Maybe I'll have to switch mine around.

Now to find out how much speed you can get out of that thing....

[deja_vu]

Just saw your other post......30 MPH...now I'm jealous.....up here at 6000-8000' where I sail I'm lucky to hit 16 with a 14x11. And that'll only get to 4800 rpm full throttle. A 14x9 will get me to the right RPM at 8000 feet but I didnt' hav my GPS on me to check top speed.

[beene]

That altitude thing is a bummer.

You might get closer to 22 mph at sea level.

Do you have transom wedges? I am sure I would not be planing off so fast and getting that good of a top speed without them. If I trim up at all, the bow comes up and she starts pushing water and slows down.

G

[Mac Ziggy]

beene,

I have only hit 30 mph one time and that was with a strong tailwind. The rest of the time the bow is up and I plough the water. It was kind of like magic, the bow went down, everything was very soothe and I could see where I was going!!!

I'm going to have to get the transom wedges. I would like to get the bow down when motoring but I'm not sure these boats need to go 30 mph unless it is very good conditions. I've been 60 mph in a bass boat going up river and I probably didn't need to do that either but it was fun.

[deja_vu]

I don't have a wedge because the dealer didn't think I'd need one and the manual semmed to indicate I wouldn't as well.

But after your experience and then doing some research, it's seems I ought to put one on and raise my enigne up, even though that will make it so I'll have to lift the seat to raise and lower the engine.

My problem is I'm still torn between do I care if I have speed or not...When I put the motor on last year it my thinking was "it's just a sailboat, I don't need to go fast." But now I'm leaning more towards I want fast and sailing ability.

[beene]

Hi guys

All I can say is " Get the wedges"

When I am trimmed all the way in, the motor is at quite an angle inward to the transom. I start off with it like that when I am going to punch it, instead of the bow lifting and then coming down once on plane, with all that power back there the boat just lifts out of the water while lunging forward with very little if any change to the bow line on the horizon. I will take a video when I get a chance to show you what I mean. I have the boat stopped, make sure everybody is sitting down, then roll on the power nice and smooth, we are planing in seconds and the bow never comes up. It's amazing to experience.

Jeff,

As far as raising your engine, I mounted mine, with Highlanders help, in the top holes. The top of the engine bracket clears the motor well by 1/8 inch only. We looked at the anti cav plate and she lined up with the center of the bottom of the boat, but below the bottom of the transom. In Johns opinion it was perfect and I trust his opinion, so we left her right there.

When I bought the M I was interested in getting the best performance I could out of her both motoring and sailing. I could not have lived with 16 mph knowing I could have had 28-30 and cruise on plane at 20-22 with ease.

Mac Ziggy,

Sounds to me like you would most likely benefit from those wedges. As I said earlier, when I am on a plane and trim up at all, the bow comes up, rpm drops, speed drops, and spray pattern out front increases dramatically.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Cheers

G

[Bobby T.-26X #4767]

These???





i suggest that you be very careful installing reverse wedges for the purpose of gaining "bow down". the following is a paragraph from a lawsuit which talks about the dangers of transom wedges:

Michael Davis' attorneys, Chris Roy Sr. and John Bennett suggested the engine (200HP) was too large for the 20 foot boat. They said the transom wedges dig into the water, making the bow go down, creating sudden turns. An additional passenger was ejected with Michael Davis. Michael Davis was struck in the head and neck by the propeller and remains totally paralyzed. Various accounts differ on when and where he was struck. One report has him struck in the arm, another in the head and neck. One report has him struck "when the boat came back around", another has him struck when he entered the water.

http://www.rbbi.com/invent/guard/propg/ ... keeter.htm

Transom wedges are for "high performance" and racing use.
IMHO, a Mac is not the type of boat where transom wedges are necessary or should be used. but if installed, be careful.

Bob T.
"DāBob"
'02X w/ '04 90-TLDI (14" x 11 pitch)
Dinghy Motor: '06 2.5-Suzuki

[Mac Ziggy]

I don't want to do anything to make the boat unsafe but something is not right. Between 19 and 22 MPH I get what I call the M Splash. Water comes up through the dagger board slot and sprays the cockpit (and interior if the hatch is open). At about 15 to 16 mph the boat cruises fine but when I add more power the bow starts to come up. At 19 to 22 the M splash. If you can get past that you can get to about 25 mph.

I spent 5 hours on the river yesterday trying different approaches but always got the same results. I also developed another problem. After plowing water for a while, I switched tanks and the engine would not start. The starter would not engage. Cooled down while I was trying to figure out the problem and started right up. Ran for about an hour, turned the engine off and it would not start. The starter spins but the bendix does not engage. Waited a while longer to cool down. Started right up. Never got any engine warnings from the command system. I will call my dealer tomorrow. I think all that plowing put a lot of stress on the engine. It could be an electrical problem.

It seems like the bow on an M has a higher profile than an X. I will add some weight to the bow and do some check rides before I change anything.

Beginning of M Splash



After M Splash



This thing is like a fountain. Sorry I missed that shot but cold water in my face blurs my glasses. I have also reduced speed so bow may not be as high.

[Frank C]

FWIW, Gene Arena was the Mac dealer from whom I purchased in August of 1999. At that time he had already been selling Macgregor trailerables for 25 years, ever since Roger's first models. Gene was also half of the Arena hydroplane racing team in the earliest days of that sport.

Gene always was more of a motor guy than a sailor. In the quest to maximize the benefits of the earliest powersailers, he was first to mount the Merc Bigfoot, recognizing the benefits of larger, pontoon style props. When I offered to buy a 26X, but only if he would install a bigger EFI motor, Gene agreed with one proviso. He refused to sell me an oversized outboard ... I had to go out and buy the motor myself.

And, he insisted on installing it, his way! That, of course, was fine with me. I was convinced of his qualifications by seeing his work and just by listening to his logic. Gene insisted that a wedge, larger at top, was needed on the 26X transom, to take advantage of the outboard. He had a custom aluminum wedge fabricated at a machine shop ... I'm not sure if they were available then at retail, or if he just wanted his own design. He also insisted on installing interior transom reinforcement. (My interior transom pix are long lost, but I'll snap some new ones later this week.)

I'm sure that Bob's advice is valid too, allowing for the scales of comparison. That article discusses 200 horsepower on a 20 ft boat. We're mounting 100 hp, or less, on a hull that's probably twice the weight of the runabout.

Of course, my Suzi-60 never gets out of the hole so there's zero potential of burying the bow. She is eminently stable in straight-line or a hard-lock turn. Geoff's boat seems to be on top of the water ... caution is appropriate. If I was thinking of upsizing beyond 100 hp, I'd take the time & the trans-cont flight to North Carolina, and beg a ride in Billy's 140hp Mac 26X.

[deja_vu]

Mac Ziggy, You are the first person I've seen running an M without the mast. I know the X was designed to do that, but haven't ever heard one way or another that an M was. I know in the manual and brochure and dvd it's never shown or mentioned. I wonder if the fact that you are missing all that topside weight has something to do with the splash you are getting?

[Mac Ziggy]

When I got my M, a couple of months ago, it was missing an important part of the rigging - the boom. Had to wait for a shipment, so I took the mast off the boat. In the mean time, I wanted to check out the motor. I was on the river for these pictures and I wouldn't take the mast there anyway. There are too many trees overhanging and if you loose power you are bound to drift into them. The same splash happens on the lake. Even more often going into the wind.

I have had lots more weight in the boat and even put some up front (more than the mast and rigging would weigh) and the same thing happens. David Mellon experienced the splash returning from Catalina but he did not say if the mast was up or on board.

I do not consider it a safety issue, except for the sudden blur of vision, and the loss of breath if the water is cold. Since so many people motor Xs without the mast, I would expect the M to be the same unless there was some warning about it’s handling.