The Official "What Did You Do To Your Mac Today" Thread!

Jul 27, 2014
84
MacGregor Venture 224 Trailer Sailor
That's AWESOME! I've been wanting to install one on ours and you've given me a bit of motivation to go ahead and do it. :)
 
Nov 23, 2011
2,023
MacGregor 26D London Ontario Canada
I pulled the Siren out yesterday for the winter. Still have to unload it of it's contents and get some baking soda to put in it for the winter.
Today I pulled the dock out and stored it t the club. Heidi and Jasmine helped me. It went smoothly.
I was talking to some of the other club members and I think I have a new idea for keeping the dock from floating off it's poles when the lake floods! I'll post drawings another time.
Yacht Club clean up is tomorrow... That means it's over for this year. The conservation area even closes for the winter. (Kind of. They open M-F from 8-4. But you can't drive back to the club because it's blocked off.)
We will be out in the winter to snow shoe and cross country ski.
 

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Nov 19, 2011
1,489
MacGregor 26S Hampton, VA
Since 'Ohana is home, I will take my time and clean her up inside and out but not today....

Today the admiral and I celebrate 30 years so I decided to cook dinner. I started last night by halving a chicken and marinating it overnight I started the fire early to let the smoker get settled. I put some extra rub on the chicken and threw it on about 11:00 and let it smoke all day.

At about 4;30, the meat temp was 165 so I took it off and let it rest. Had a great meal!
 

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walt

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Jun 1, 2007
3,532
Macgregor 26S Hobie TI Ridgway Colorado
Very cool bbq!! Where are you going to mount it on the boat?:D

Huge congratulations on 30 years!!!!!
 
Nov 23, 2011
2,023
MacGregor 26D London Ontario Canada
Nice cooker Doc! You have both worlds there. The Hank Hill side and the BBQ Pit Boys side.
I have a charcoal / wood one that I love! (I breaded and BBQ'd chicken legs last night. Yes breaded. On a tray offset from the flames. Mmmm) I haven't gone back to the dark side and installed a gas burner. Some days I think about it though.
Thanksgiving turkey was amazing again this year! I'm looking forward to smoking the jack O lanterns after Halloween for smoked pumpkin curry soup.
I use it all year too! (It's the first thing I clean out a path to with the snow blower.)
I blogged about the turkey. Link below.
Smoked turkey pot pie.... Oh yea!
 

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prob

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Aug 27, 2010
54
Macgregor 26D N.E. AL
Today the admiral and I celebrate 30 years ....
Congrats on 30! Angie and I hit 27 next month. When folks ask what it takes to stay married that long, I tell them "Patience, tolerance, and compromise .... and she has some good qualities too!"
 
Nov 23, 2011
2,023
MacGregor 26D London Ontario Canada
I looked at another Mac 26D today. Just looked. Well I touched too... But I didn't tow.
Never on the first date. Well sometimes on the first date... Not today though. I didn't have protection... I mean a trailer.
It needs a trailer, tiller, rudder, rudder castle and a bottom job. Of course a good cleaning too. That's a start anyway.
It doesn't leak from the deck/ windows like the other 26D's I have used to... Odd. I expected it to be full of water or at least have a bath tub ring inside. It doesn't even have the telltale drip run lines inside the hull... Well 1 on the Starboard side and about 5 gal of water in the Laz. But that's it for the past winter and the last season.
I need to find a cheap Mac 26 D/S trailer or take one of mine off it's trailer and use it. That's allot of work that I don't want to do.
Have a old cheap trailer sitting around anyone?
I'm going to transfer the $ for the boat tomorrow and want to get it out of there and to my storage soon.
The trailer in the picture comes with the boat. If I want it. (I don't) It will not adjust to fit the boat... It also has a bent tongue and is too small. The bunks will crush the hull if I tow it on that trailer. I have a 200 km trip to make.
 

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Aug 8, 2012
36
MacGregor 26s Brighton
Marty
So the fleet is growing, you will have one for every one in the family. Is this the one I gave you the heads up on ??

good luck, Chapster5
 
Nov 23, 2011
2,023
MacGregor 26D London Ontario Canada
Marty
So the fleet is growing, you will have one for every one in the family. Is this the one I gave you the heads up on ??

good luck, Chapster5
Yes it is. Thanks!
It's in great shape other than the bottom. The companion way top part that slides is hardly worn! Not even cracked in the usual spots on the sides. I think it may have been a backyard trailer queen. The part of the hull that isn't scratched is like new. Never had bottom paint on it.
 

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Jul 7, 2004
8,463
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
Replaced my trailer winch strap yesterday and removed the sails for winter storage. We're having an Indian summer - the sailing would be great but the ramp is too shallow :(

I'll be dropping the mast soon. I want to install an anchor light and wire in a new switch - we have a steaming light. I also want to change my topping lift. Right now I have the BWY system that is on the aft end of the boom. I want to run a lead down the mast to the cockpit. It's cleaner, easier and safer to use that way.
 
Nov 19, 2011
1,489
MacGregor 26S Hampton, VA
I ran a separate wire for the anchor light and just use the "mast light" switch. Then I plug whichever I want into the cabin top plug. You won't ever use both. Just mark the wires coming out of the mast so you know which to plug in.

Ours stay disconnected and tucked until the time comes we need the light.

Food for thought and thrifty too.
 
Jul 7, 2004
8,463
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
I ran a separate wire for the anchor light and just use the "mast light" switch. Then I plug whichever I want into the cabin top plug. You won't ever use both. Just mark the wires coming out of the mast so you know which to plug in.

Ours stay disconnected and tucked until the time comes we need the light.

Food for thought and thrifty too.
I appreciate that Doc. I was an avionics tech in a previous life so overkill is my theme :)
I would like to replace my old deck plug anyway, so I can add a couple more pins. It would be nice to find a rocker switch that could switch from anchor to steaming.
 

Sumner

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Jan 31, 2009
5,254
Macgregor & Endeavour 26S and 37 Utah's Canyon Country
...I would like to replace my old deck plug anyway, so I can add a couple more pins. It would be nice to find a rocker switch that could switch from anchor to steaming.
I left the old ...



...2 pin plug in place and added a 4 pin next to it for what you want to do. You can also do it with just the 2 pin if you use LED lights for the running and the anchor light and a diode and a switch to switch polarity. Russ did that on the X/M board.

I'm getting real interested in doing the Erie and maybe the Trent Severn Waterway where the mast would be down. For that before I leave home I'm going to make a small mount that will mount ....



.... just above the middle mast support that also holds the pop-top up. It will mount a second LED anchor light like the one in the link below that we bought for the Endeavour and for another VHF antenna to use while the mast is down. That anchor light might use that old 2 prong plug that I'll wire to from the anchor light switch. Info on all of that ...

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor2/outside-42.html

About the switch, not sure what size rocker you need but finding a DPDT center off or SPDT center off should not be too hard...

https://www.google.com/search?q=dpd...la:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=sb

I used toggles and not rockers but either will work.




There is a separate anchor light switch (top left). The DPDT below it is used to change between running under power or under sail at night as the lighting requirements are different. I'm hoping to to do some nighttime sails.

We spent a little more than most will on the 2 watt anchor light...


http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor/outside-23.html

... but liked the fact that it was coast guard approved and have been very happy with it. I look at things like this as marina nights. This cost about one night in a marina that we spent instead on the hook :),

Sumner

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Jul 7, 2004
8,463
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
You da man Sum. I could change bias on LED lights but I also like the redundancy that individually wired lights would give me.
Still haven't decided which light fixture to use. It will be LED though.
 

Sumner

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Jan 31, 2009
5,254
Macgregor & Endeavour 26S and 37 Utah's Canyon Country
You da man Sum. I could change bias on LED lights but I also like the redundancy that individually wired lights would give me....
I hear that and the plug and wiring isn't that much. If you are pulling new wiring and don't have it .....


http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor2/outside-41.html

...the above or another method sure is nice to keep the wire slapping noise down on anchor or in the marina,

Sumner

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Mac-Venture Links
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chp

.
Sep 13, 2010
431
Hunter 280 hamilton
I looked at another Mac 26D today. Just looked. Well I touched too... But I didn't tow.
Never on the first date. Well sometimes on the first date... Not today though. I didn't have protection... I mean a trailer.
It needs a trailer, tiller, rudder, rudder castle and a bottom job. Of course a good cleaning too. That's a start anyway.
It doesn't leak from the deck/ windows like the other 26D's I have used to... Odd. I expected it to be full of water or at least have a bath tub ring inside. It doesn't even have the telltale drip run lines inside the hull... Well 1 on the Starboard side and about 5 gal of water in the Laz. But that's it for the past winter and the last season.
I need to find a cheap Mac 26 D/S trailer or take one of mine off it's trailer and use it. That's allot of work that I don't want to do.
Have a old cheap trailer sitting around anyone?
I'm going to transfer the $ for the boat tomorrow and want to get it out of there and to my storage soon.
The trailer in the picture comes with the boat. If I want it. (I don't) It will not adjust to fit the boat... It also has a bent tongue and is too small. The bunks will crush the hull if I tow it on that trailer. I have a 200 km trip to make.
Hey Marty, is that boat's name "frayed knot". There used to be a 26D with that name parked where I used to park my boat in Hamilton. It had a large hole in the ballast tank in the bottom. Also the motor well was in rough shape and crushed where the motor mount screws where. Be cautious.
 

chp

.
Sep 13, 2010
431
Hunter 280 hamilton
Hi Sumner. If you're up this way doing the Trent of Erie keep us updated. Maybe I'll be able to meet up with you next year.

Anyway for my today thread, boat is now away for the winter. Last Friday was the last sail and was great. 14knt wind. Waves only about a foot. Too bad the marina is getting pretty shallow.
 

Sumner

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Jan 31, 2009
5,254
Macgregor & Endeavour 26S and 37 Utah's Canyon Country
Hi Sumner. If you're up this way doing the Trent of Erie keep us updated. Maybe I'll be able to meet up with you next year...
Thanks, once I start moving around with the Mac I'll post on here so that maybe I can meet some of you guys that I haven't so far :).

I've read nothing but good about the Trent-Severn. The only problem is if I do the Erie then I would probably want to go the whole way across and that puts me over at Buffalo and on the wrong lake for the Trent-Severn. I wonder what it would be like to drop down to Lake Ontario via the Welland Canal. I wonder if they even let a small boat use it? But from there over to Trent might be a good trip if the prevailing winds are out of the west. (I just checked and it is $30 per lock---8 locks = $240 total---ouch, might have to look at other options like maybe someone could meet me with a trailer ;))

I need to finish work on the Endeavour and put her up for sale and will probably hang around the west coast of Florida for a while to see if I can find a buyer, but then hope to move on to new places. I'll just have to see how all that works out,

Sumner

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Our Endeavour 37

Our MacGregor 26-S Pages

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links
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