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

walt

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Jun 1, 2007
3,532
Macgregor 26S Hobie TI Ridgway Colorado
This is still a work in progress.. the 26S does not have an anchor locker or any place to store the rode at the bow (anchors often get stored in the Laz - not real convenient for a bow used anchor and also not a good place for weight). You could probably cut up the bow and add something but thats cutting the boat up more than I like (if you have to modify that much, you might have picked the wrong boat to begin with). Anyhow, I have had various "bucket" arrangements over the years that allow the rode to be removed from the bow and stored in the Laz.. which is nice.

This first picture shows my very stylish orange bucket that held the rode a few years back

The picture below shows the next iteration in the rode bucket.. It worked fine and the bucket is easy to store in the laz but it looks like Im getting ready to do laundry with it up there.
rode_box1.JPG

the picture below shows the new rode bucket. This is just a prototype to see how its going to work. Under the frame is a piece of Lexan plastic with holes drilled in it to drain any water. In the picture there is a bungee that is strapped over the cleats and I will add a lexan cover that is held captive to the bungee only with small ss straps.
rode_box2.JPG
Below - some improvement over the "laundry basket" look, lower profile. This rode box will also be easily removed and stored in the Laz. The white bucket in a few pictures back will hold the second backup rode set I keep in the Laz.
rode_box3.JPG
 
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RussC

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Sep 11, 2015
1,595
Merit 22- Oregon lakes
The box does look a lot better than the laundry basket and I suspect it's less in the way when messing with the jib.
I keep thinking of setting up a 12" or so diameter spool, set vertically on the foredeck. it could be on a post so it would feed out line when dropping anchor, but to store line you'd just stand above it and twirl the anchor line around the spool. should keep it neater with less tangles as well. just a thought wile I'm wishing I was somewhere warm. ;)

Russ
 

Sumner

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Jan 31, 2009
5,254
Macgregor & Endeavour 26S and 37 Utah's Canyon Country
The box does look a lot better than the laundry basket and I suspect it's less in the way when messing with the jib.
I keep thinking of setting up a 12" or so diameter spool, set vertically on the foredeck. it could be on a post so it would feed out line when dropping anchor, but to store line you'd just stand above it and twirl the anchor line around the spool. should keep it neater with less tangles as well. just a thought wile I'm wishing I was somewhere warm. ;)

Russ
Either something like what Walt showed or....




...like what I use above works great. I just stuff the rode into the cooler as fast as I can pull the boat to the anchor. You don't have to put it in there neatly, just stuff it in and it comes out every time without getting tangled on itself. I anchor every night with either the one anchor or both and have never once had a problem with the line coming out of the bag as you drift or motor back on the anchor.
More here...
http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor2/rigging-18.html
and here...
http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor2/rigging-20.html
I like the hard sided coolers as they don't collapse inward like the soft sided ones I tried at first and they are easy to secure to keep the rode in when the going gets rough.

I also have shore lines for places like...

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/MacgregorTrips-3-Powell09/09-10-9-Powell-09.html
Lake Powell and just stuff those lines also into...


http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor-canvas/canvas-6.html
.... bags Ruth made.
I mark the anchor rodes...

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor/rigging-4.html
... with tape woven into the lines every 25 feet, 1 tape for 25, 2 for 50 feet, 3 for 75 and 4 for 100 and then start again with 1 for 125 feet and so on. I have 25-30 feet of chain also before the line. The pieces of tape are easy to replace if they wear out, but seem to last forever and I just use black elect. tape now. As the rode goes out you can see the number of pieces of tape trail past you and don't have to stop to know how much is out. Quick and easy and cheap,
Sumner
========================================
1300 miles to The Bahamas and Back in the Mac...
Endeavour 37 Mods...
MacGregor 26-S Mods...
Mac Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida, Bahamas
 

RussC

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Sep 11, 2015
1,595
Merit 22- Oregon lakes
Today I finished up building all new standing rigging for the 25. this was my first time doing nicopress myself, so I was slow and cautious to get the crimps placed properly etc. I was happy to discover that it's really quite easy to do and the fact that I inadvertently reversed one of the upper shroud tangs, and decided to make another shroud to replace it, allowed me to dissect two of my previous sleeves and add to my confidence that doing it myself was the way to go. As you can see, the inside of the tin plated copper sleeves do show a very good imprint of the cable. The tool I purchased to do this has 26" handles, and the pressures placed into the sleeve must be pretty impressive! my confidence level on this is now very high. total cost, including the tool, was about $240.00 . well worth the effort in my book.

 
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Dec 11, 2015
52
Venture 21 Florida
Today.. I fired up the wet vac , and sucked water out of the cabin... Lol.

Anyone have a venture 21 with a bilge pump? If so where did you place it( or them). There's no drain hole on a 1973... Even if there was too many stringers form compartments and hold water.. Any advice?
 
Nov 8, 2014
151
MacGregor 26S Chateauguay
Replaced all shrouds and spreaders on Egret. Seeing that winter is dilly dallying and may not show up at all (vain hope) I decided that the weather was nice enough to do some work on our boat. Too bad I can't raise the mast because of our maple trees otherwise I would improve the lazy jack.
I have one question to anyone who owns a 26S, the manual specifies the length of the upper shroud from the mast bolt to the spreader to be 11 ft, my old shroud is 11'6", all other measurement being the same. Any suggestions? Split the difference ?
 
Feb 20, 2011
8,029
Island Packet 35 Tucson, AZ/San Carlos, MX
Any suggestions?
Without stepping the mast, you'll just be guessing about exactly where you want the spreaders. Conventionally, you want to bisect the angle produced by the shroud's intersection with the spreader tip.

DSC01397 - Copy.JPG
 

RussC

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Sep 11, 2015
1,595
Merit 22- Oregon lakes
A crew came out and installed the new "boatport" last Thursday in a drenching rain. dedication at it's utmost ;) .


I wasn't inclined to go out in the pouring rain to drop the mast and park the boat in it throughout Friday, and then Saturday we had a house full of friends for a get together. I figured "no hurry" on getting the boat under cover anyway. it was just a little rain afterall. well……….. we woke up Sunday to 6" of snow and no power for the next 30 hours or so. I guess winter must be here eh? :)


It's ok. we sure need the moisture and snowpack in the mountains now if we plan to go sailing next spring :dancing:

Putting another log on the wood stove,
Russ
 
Jun 1, 2015
217
Macgregor 26d Trailer Estates, Fl
Thanks for giving me some motivation Russ! Over the weekend I scrubbed the topsides and deck in a sleeveless shirt, shorts, and bare feet in preparation for putting the winter cover on. We're supposed to get snow this weekend and then will have had all four seasons in one week.
 

RussC

.
Sep 11, 2015
1,595
Merit 22- Oregon lakes
Thanks for giving me some motivation Russ! Over the weekend I scrubbed the topsides and deck in a sleeveless shirt, shorts, and bare feet in preparation for putting the winter cover on. We're supposed to get snow this weekend and then will have had all four seasons in one week.
Glad to help williamtl ;) . I was really amazed at how difficult it was to get snow off the exterior. it was mid 30s today. way above freezing, and the snow was quite wet and heavy. still stuck to the fiberglass like crazy. I had to build a wooden scraper/shovel to get it off without fear of damaging the fiberglass.
After cleaning off the snow and dropping the mast, it slipped into it's new home like a glove. I'm pretty sure I heard her let out a sigh of relief as she went under the cover ;)
Could not be happier with the new port. it's 12' wide by 31' long and I had them use 7' legs, which go to about where the roofing ends on the sides. it's low enough to keep weather from blowing in, but still high enough to be able to easily get in the boat to work on it etc.


Cheerio,
Russ
 
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Likes: williamtl
Jun 24, 2010
189
Macgregor 25 Northeast, MD
Russ could you send me a PM with info on where you bought the "boatport" and the price. It looks like it is perfect size for your boat.
 

walt

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Jun 1, 2007
3,532
Macgregor 26S Hobie TI Ridgway Colorado
I sure do like that boat shed.. Unfortunately I dont have enough side to side room for one of those and have to deal wth a 5 foot keep out from the neighbors property for the shed support legs. The picture below is NOT my place but this is the sort of thing I will have to do. This type shed is supported on only one side and likely always custom. Sometimes these have a third leg in the back since you only need to get the boat in from the front.


boat_shed.JPG
 
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walt

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Jun 1, 2007
3,532
Macgregor 26S Hobie TI Ridgway Colorado
Today in Arizona trying out the new anchor rode box..

anchor_locker_1.JPG
anchor_locker_2.JPG
anchor_locker_4.JPG
anchor_locker_5.JPG
 

walt

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Jun 1, 2007
3,532
Macgregor 26S Hobie TI Ridgway Colorado
Lake Havasu today.. very windy. We didnt take the boat out but took a hike
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walt

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Jun 1, 2007
3,532
Macgregor 26S Hobie TI Ridgway Colorado
Son is visiting and we took the 26S out today. A little chilly but it ended up a really nice day sailing. I recently put a new jib/ furler on the boat that seems to be working very well. This furler has an external halyard and I just put a new Spinlock XAS power clutch for the halyard control. The "clutch" feature is nice as you can still tighten the halyard even with the clutch "closed" so it makes it easy to get whatever tension you want. Where I liked things was with the jib halyard pulled as tight as I could by hand then an extra "click" or two using the winch.

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