Maiden "Voyage?"

[Eberline]

I'm about a month away from launching my Macgregor 26D for the first time. I was told that it had sat in storage for about 11 years. Not inside storage, but outside on the trailer. It has cleaned up VERY well. There are things to work on but that's what I wanted with a project boat. My question to seasoned sailors is what must I ABSOLUTELY do prior to putting it in the water to avoid having a shipwreck instead of a sailboat. A friend recommended filling the "bladder" to make sure it is sound. I am pretty sure he meant the ballast because I can find nowhere in the owners manual or on sites I've researched where a bladder is mentioned in that model of boat. In addition, any suggestions from veterans would be greatly appreciated! I sail (edit: originally sale LOL) out of Oscoda, MI so hello to any other other Great Lakes boaters in the vicinity. Thank you all for your time and have a wonderful day!

Dave

 

[Justin_NSA]

"if anything is going to happen, it's going to happen out there".
I had a 26S for 10 years. Very simple to maintain unlike my Hunter. There shouldn't be any below water thru hulls to worry about. Do you have a good plug for the vent hole on the tank? Some people put food coloring in the tank if they suspect that it leaks. Colored water in the bilge will tell you the tank is leaking and not something else. Once you push it off the trailer, let it fill. It should stop about a finger's length below the vent hole. Make sure the motor runs smoothly before you leave the safety of the trailer. Make sure the sails raise okay too.

 

[Stan Breaux]

Here are a few thoughts (assuming you already know how to sail a bit)...
I used to have a 26S.
1. Make sure you know how to put the mast up carefully at the boat ramp.
2. Make sure your engine works.
3. When you launch your boat, make sure the ballast tank fills up before you seal it off. If yours is like mine was, then you have a screw device on top of the ballast tank that pulls the drain valve on the bottom of the boat tight to the hull to seal it. Push it down when you get in the water to fill the tank. When it's full, you ca feel the top of the water inside the tank with your finger -- seal it off and also put the extra plug in the top of the tank (if you have one).
3. You do not need to test the water ballast on the trailer. I'm not even sure how you would do this other than running a hose into the boat and into the tank, which would generally not be a good idea and probably wouldn't give you any useful information, anyway.
3. Once you're in the water, just putt around with the engine for a while until you get used to the tiller.
4. Then just use the mainsail for a while until you get used to it.
5. Then you can add the jib.
6. Don't go out in winds over 10 mph your first couple of times.
Sorry if this is too simple.

 

[walt]

My .02 hopefully to add the to good advice so far..

Its rare that the tank leaks at all, almost never is there a really big problem with the tank. If you dont see anything visually wrong (like a big crack or hole), I would not worry about the ballast tank before getting the boat to the water. Make sure you understand how the valve and the vent (and vent plug work) and once the tank is full, make sure the valve is closed tight and the vent plug is installed. Then check for water in the bilge fairly often the first time out.

I would mainly recommend to rig everything up in the driveway first before hitting the water on a day with no wind. These boats often come with a great mast raising system, figure out how to use it. Raise the sails, rig the sheets, you likely have some way to reef the main, try and figure that out. If the jib is hank on, can you drop the jib from the cabin. Important because you may be dropping the jib because of strong wind and having to go up on the foredeck adds risk.

If you are familiar with small outboards, you may already know this but they have water pump in the lower unit that must be in water for lubrication and burns up in less than a minute if the outboard is ran out of water. Several ways to make sure the water pump is lubricated such as running the outboard in a large water bucket. Make sure your outboard is running reliably before you go out, it ends up being an important safety item especially if you are new to sailing.

Look at the valve on the bottom side of the hull. On most D and S models, the valve is recessed a little so that even when the valve is open, you cant damage it when loading the boat on the trailer. But on some very early D models, the valve was not recessed. Probably not a big deal if the valve is flush with the bottom, I would just make sure the valve was closed (not sticking out past the bottom of the hull) when loading on the trailer.

The rudders on theses boats is long enough to drag on the ground if left down when you pull the boat up the ramp. You likely have some sort of method to raise the rudder from the boat.. raise the rudder once the boat is on the trailer and before you pull the boat out.

You also of course need to raise the dagger board to get the boat back on the trailer. But keep in mind that when the dagger board is raised, the boat does not steer as well. When going slow, the rudder may also not steer the boat very well but if you can vector the outboard thrust along with the rudder, the boat becomes very maneuverable.

Unless you have someone with you who knows the boat, first time go out in light winds.. Good luck, I think that is a great boat.

Some ideas also to review in a similar post from last year https://forums.sailboatowners.com/index.php?threads/checking-in.186003/

 

[Justin_NSA]

Have fun and watch out for icebergs up there!!