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

[justsomeguy]

Glorious sail today, and I just found the problem with our recent genoa furling issues. Seems that the spin halyard's been getting hung up and twisted on the top of the CDI.

Have to watch that.

Today, the need for familiarization with basic boat handling procedure was reiterated to my wife by a respected dockmate.

Stupid stuff, I know.

 

[Bfranchini]

I measured 24-7/8" from the bottom of the mast to the center of the goose-neck on my 26d.

thanks Bud, D should be the same as S, I'll check it out as soon as I finish my morning coffee.

 

[Bfranchini]

I measured 24-7/8" from the bottom of the mast to the center of the goose-neck on my 26d.

strange... The boom is set at 27 1/2" and the second set of holes is centered at 30" respectively from the base of the mast.

 

[BudGates]

strange... The boom is set at 27 1/2" and the second set of holes is centered at 30" respectively from the base of the mast.

Raising the boom 2-1/2" would have negligible influence on performance. It will increase heeling slightly but it's not likely that you would even notice. Interesting that there would be a 5" difference. As far as I know my mast is original.

I considered raising my gooseneck but didn't find it necessary. In order to clear my bimini I run my mainsail loose footed and raise it to the top of the mast. Then I tension it with a Cunningham.

 

[Bfranchini]

Hi Bud
I checked out the drawings of the D s found on Sailboat Data.com and there is a small difference between the D and the S, doing the same calculations the clearance seems to be 26.5", but then, though the drawings appear original, they may have been distorted somewhat in the rendering.
The difference is indeed quite large for two boats that should be the same, but then one never knows what he POs did with them.
It would be interesting to get other measurements.

One small question from a very novice sailor, exactly how would the cunningham help clear the bimini, doesn't it in fact pull the boom down?

 

[BudGates]

Hi Bud

One small question from a very novice sailor, exactly how would the cunningham help clear the bimini, doesn't it in fact pull the boom down?

I guess I wasn't clear. Often the tack of the sail is mounted stationary to the mast or the boom and the luff is initially tensioned with the halyard. Instead I raise the sail to the top of the mast which in turn raises the foot. Since the foot is loose it raises the end of the boom enough to clear the bimini. Then I tension the luff with the a Cunningham.

 

[Bfranchini]

I guess I wasn't clear. Often the tack of the sail is mounted stationary to the mast or the boom and the luff is initially tensioned with the halyard. Instead I raise the sail to the top of the mast which in turn raises the foot. Since the foot is loose it raises the end of the boom enough to clear the bimini. Then I tension the luff with the a Cunningham.

it's starting to make sense! correct me if I'm wrong... The Cunningham is used to tension the luff directly by attaching it to the tack and not to the boom. The only point where the sail is attached to the boom is at the clew, and the foot is loose. Thanks I think I'll try it your way rather than moving the boom up. I really appreciate the advice.

 

[BudGates]

it's starting to make sense! correct me if I'm wrong... The Cunningham is used to tension the luff directly by attaching it to the tack and not to the boom. The only point where the sail is attached to the boom is at the clew, and the foot is loose. Thanks I think I'll try it your way rather than moving the boom up. I really appreciate the advice.

you got it.

no problem.

 

[walt]

Schaefer Snapfurl 500 arrives (and looks very nice..). 26S is 875 miles and two weeks away so the furler wont get assembled yet.. The pinning stick is looking like it will work fine so far.

 

[BudGates]

Schaefer Snapfurl 500 arrives (and looks very nice..). 26S is 875 miles and two weeks away so the furler wont get assembled yet.. The pinning stick is looking like it will work fine so far.

Hey Walt, I'm assuming the "pinning stick" that you mentioned is something to create mechanical advantage to tension the forestay when you pin it. Is this correct?

 

[walt]

Yep.. It does the same thing as a Johnson lever. The larger Johnson lever (to get the 5/16 pins) extends the base of the furler up by 10 3/4 inch (includes a toggle at the bottom). The pinning stick extends the base of the fulrer up by only 2 inches and also has about twice the extension length. I.e., with the Johnson lever, you have to get the furler within about 2.5 inches from the final position before using the leverage. With the pinning stick, you only need to get the bottom of the furler about 5 inches from the final position - then use the leverage.

What I’m hoping for is to get good tension of the forestay but also very easy pinning without raising the furler drum and jib so much (the jib is a 110). Its still not done or tested (I will install everything in Lake Havasu in two weeks).. but the initial stuff is in the link below

http://analogengineering.com/sail/mac/pinning_stick.html

 

[BudGates]

That's a good solution Walt. Thanks for the link. I always like to see how other people do things. So would I be correct to assume that your jib will stay permanently attached? I've seen a 26c done that way.

My boat came with a furler and a hank on genoa which made it easy for me to simply attach a Johnson lever above the furler. It's set up similar to my Hobie-18 so I didn't know any difference until I did a little research. This furler is made for furling only so it doesn't reef very well in strong winds. Consequently I still have to switch between the hank-on foresails.

 

[walt]

Your H18 furler maybe is like the one I have on my small boat - does the sail have a wire luft?

I dont see changing the jib on the furler much at all - it will probably spend most of its life attached to the furler (sail has the UV strip sewn on). Its a 110 so a little on the smaller side but Ive been using this size 99% of the time Ive owned the boat - what Im used to and overall like.

The johnson lever "above" the drum is interesting. The furler I just bought wont allow that (unless I put it at the top.. but then I couldnt close it after the mast is up). But.. if you can put it above the furler drum, that would have solved my issue of it raising the sail/furler so high. I think a lot of people with the larger Genoas like the sail high so they can see under it but I shouldnt have this issue with the 110 so want to keep the sail (and sail center of effort) fairly low.

One of the pictures here shows the top of the Schaefer 500 (not fully assembled, I have not snapped the two peices together yet - waiting until I get to the boat). This furler still has an external halyard so you can adjust the jib tension but probably not much. The main reason I liked it is that it has the "backup" to keep the mast from falling if the wire breaks at the top (I have a toggle so hopefully that doesnt happen).. But the halyard makes the install just a little more complicated.

 

[BudGates]

Looks like a good system Walt. Let us know how it works out.

No, the Hobie-18 didn't have a wire luff. It had a sleeve that zipped around the forestay.

My 26d foresails both have wire luffs but, even with the sun fabric along the foot and leach, I'm not anxious to leave it out in the weather.

 

[willsnow]

The Ms. and I spent the entire day on the water yesterday. It was perfect sailing weather here! We covered 18 miles in 5 hours, 3.1kts avg and top speed of 5.7kts. The real eye opener, though, was the minimal distance we actually made up the lake: 5.4miles from launch to furthest point up the lake. Now, we were just out to have fun and were steering for fun/speed, not to get to a destination, but I think I need to seriously reconsider how much distance we can cover in a day when we do our first real cruise in the San Juans later this summer
Mt. Rainier is always looming - 55 miles away - on the horizon...

 

[justsomeguy]

snip-...but I think I need to seriously reconsider how much distance we can cover in a day when we do our first real cruise in the San Juans later this summer...
-snip

Well said. A small 36 NM hop on our boats can easily run into a 10+ hour voyage, not including time spent at the destination.

This little jaunt for me down in Mexico is looking to be an overnight experience, replete with tides, currents and coral reefs.

 

[willsnow]

Well said. A small 36 NM hop on our boats can easily run into a 10+ hour voyage, not including time spent at the destination.

This little jaunt for me down in Mexico is looking to be an overnight experience, replete with tides, currents and coral reefs.

Right, I was planning on making destinations 15nm apart for our week up in the San Juans... That's doable, depending on tides and wind, but leaves no time to explore the different islands. And running the iron jib for hours on end just to get to the anchorage I had in mind would get old real fast. I'm thinking now, maybe 5-10nm between anchorages based on the weather/wind forecast each morning so there is time left over to go ashore and hike and explore towns... And making sure we are going north when the tide is filling, south when its receding...
That looser plan sounds like more fun anyways

What Navigation App is that? ... I run Navionics on my iPad

 

[walt]

That steady wind in the NW must just be horible to deal with.. lol

On this thread, ( http://forums.macgregor.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=165707 in the destination forum on this site) it was suggested to get these docs

Cruising is more enjoyable when you can "go with the flow." To this end, be sure to get a copy of the "Current Atlas" and, AND, it's companion booklet, "Washburne's Tables YYYY

I need to get a copy of this myself (I think we will be in the San Juans maybe about a week after labor day - do day sailing out of Friday Harbor). If I were going to be up there all the time, I might get some sort of more permanent data based/internet connected solution.. but for just the week + Ill be there, the book will do fine.

 

[justsomeguy]

snip-
What Navigation App is that? ... I run Navionics on my iPad

That's my currently unusable iSailor app, until Apple fixes the little problem between their location services and external GPS units. :cussing:

iPad 2, wi-fi only.

 

[Doc_holiday]

I'm glad you pointed that out. I like that app and use it. I also have a wifi only iPad and was going to buy an external GPS. I now have a 6 plus so it sort of trumps carrying the heavy iPad. All that said I also have the navionics app. Sometimes I just can't see the garmin 441s from the helm clearly. That is to say I can see the speed, heading, and that info but struggle to see the chart depths from back there. So I use the iStuff on my lap.