150 Genoa Usage

[Abby Normal]

Well, I've had my M25 out three times now, last Sunday, this Sat. and this Sun. The first time out, so we could putter around and learn, we reefed the main and borrowed a buddies storm jib, then put up the working jib heading back in.First let me say, I absolutely love the boat, it has pretty nice manners for such a flat bottom and a swing keel, and it is easy to learn on. I had a lot of time on a Sunfish back when I was younger, I'm finding quite a bit of that experience to be relevant, but having a head sail adds a different dynamic and to me, does make a boat more "sailable". The one thing that impresses me is how well the Mac sails close-hauled. Saturday, we had winds of about 5 knots or so, I put up the 150 Genoa, no reefs in the main.Sunday, we had about 10 kt winds, with some white capping, but not blustery. Went out with the 150 Genoa again, no reefs in the main.Yesterday, we got it to heel pretty good, (maybe 15 deg or so), but forward speed didn't seem like it should have been with the winds whether we were heeled very far or not. I'm wondering if we would have gone faster with the working jib instead? I did also manage to get it to goose-wing downwind without a whisker pole, though I have not seemed to find the proper sail combination or trim for good downwind speed as of yet.What range of wind speeds do most of you use your larger Genoa's on your M25's? I'm just wondering if I had too much drag from such a large head sail. I don't have roller furling, so I can't make instant adjustments on the head sail.

 

[Bob]

wind speed

Im with you....I would love to know what you all are using and at what speed winds. My wife and I are first time sailors with no real experience. And BTW,staying at a Holiday Inn Express doesnt work with sailing! We have had our Mac out twice now and like you we really like it. We are learning fast and I directly attribute that to the simplicity of the Macregor. When we went out for the very first time, we used the std. jib and a reefed main the winds were 15kts or so with a few gusts. we would heel well past 30 and that was quite enough for us! we do have a 150 Genoa but have yet to put it to work. The Std jib seemed plenty big enough for me right now.yesterday (2nd time out) the wind was 10kts steady with a puff now and then to 20. we used the std. jib and a non-reefed main and achieved good speed and a steady heel in the 15-30 degree range. we did get a heel going well past 30 in a gust to 21 once, didnt see how far it went....(panic causes tunnel vision you know!) But we stuck with it rather than let out the main boom immediatley like last time! The boat seemed happy as a clam and came back up just before it appeared that we would round up.I look forward to getting on with this boat. all opinions are appreciated. This sailing stuff is a ball!

 

[J. Barrett]

Macs and wind

Mac 25's are great learning boats as they are forgiving. I, too, spent a fair amount of time with sunfishes when I was a kid and am re-learning alot with this boat. We had her over to the rubrail Saturday in winds that picked up to around 20kts by the time we decided to head in. We didn't clear the table as we did last time since we stowed most of what would move. I'm not sure of the heel angle for the tunnel vision reason as well as the fact that apparently, my guage is stuck at 10 degrees. And I just thought that the boat was that stable. We did get a round of "thumbs up" from the experienced looking crew of another boat that was going the other way. At the time we were under a full main and jib. We haven't played with our 150 genoa yet. We also need to learn how to reef as I have no idea. Any comments and suggestions on that would be great. -John

 

[Steve Paul]

Here's some info

J. Barrett,Reefing is an important skill to have. I suggest you look at your main sail. Towards the bottom above the boom you should have at least one and perhaps two rows of eyelets spaced equally above the foot of the sail. These are reefing points. A line is used from the boom to each of these to effectively shorten the sail. The sail is loosened at the top halyard and pulled down to the first reef point. When you do this you'll find in heavy winds the heel is reduced and the boat will actuall go faster, really !I've included a link that I like, hope you enjoy it and that it helps you. There should be enough material on small boat reefing to keep you busy for months reading.Steve P.

 

[J. Barrett]

Thanks Steve

Thanks, that link should make for some interesting study. I'm trying to picture my sail and I don't think that there are any reef points on it. It is, as far as I know, the original main. Did they come from the factory with reef points already installed or is this something I should add? I hate to sound ignorant, but in some areas I know I am. I love sailing and the more I can learn the more fun it will be, especially as I earn my nervous crew's (wife and son) confidence. -John

 

[Abby Normal]

Reefing

Hi J,I'm assuming I have the original main that came with my boat since it's got "M25" on the sail. It's an '85 (not an '84) as I've mentioned previously. It does have one set of reef points on it about two or three feet up from the bottom of the sail. There are four eyelets- a tack on one end, a clue on the other and two in the middle with ropes through them.I have a second main that came with the boat that has a "V25" on it, so I'm assuming that came from a Venture, and it does not have any reef points that I remember seeing when I got it out to inspect and clean it.According to what I've been able to read up on the Mac 25, and what I've seen from rigging it is that you can "roller furl" with your boom. Essentially, loosen the thumb screw at the gooseneck, rotate your boom as you lower the main halyard, run the thumbscrew back in and then tie off the halyard once you've removed as much sail surface as you want.The only problem I have with doing it that way is that one of the previous owners installed two bails under the mast, one for the boom vang and the other for the main sheet. I wouldn't be able to reconnect to my sheet or vang.Now if I go back to the factory sheet position at the transom, wouldn't be a problem other than re-attaching the vang.IOW, if you are still using the original main sheet system on your boat, you should be able to reef, but I cannot honestly answer how you would hook your boom vang back up to the boom.

 

[Chris3720]

roller boom

Abby, J., from what I have read, most of us that have a Mac25 have come to the conclusion that the roller boom is not worth the hassle, especially if you have a book kicker or vang. I have one and have never used it other than in the back yard. I would not want to try to hold up the boom, lower the sail, and deal with keeping the boat pointed into the wind all while trying to roll the boom. I installed some reef points on my sail instead and got a CDI FF2.It is also worth noting that most sailors say to reef before you need to.ChrisM25 Chara

 

[Steve Paul]

abnormal has it right

John,I hadn't thought about the lack of reefing points. If that is true then I'd add them. You can handsew some sailcloth (get from Sailrite) and then add the rivet eyes yourself. It's very easy. Sailrite will rent you the eyelet tool and sell you everything you need, including those slugs and plastic shackles and eyelets for the shackles too. I have a photo somewhere of my slug addition, it's very simple even I could do it. I'll find it and forward it to this string.I personally don't care for rolling the main on the boom. I had a Southcoast 22 that had that system and it's just not a very good one. I'd add the reefing eyes is my suggestion. However, you could always drop the main or the jib if you can't reef. That would power down the boat a little but you'd lose some control. Have fun.Steve P.

 

[Abby Normal]

Making Sure I'm Doing This Right

We went out again Saturday in almost dead calm when we left the dock. We motored a good three or four miles before the wind picked up.Same set-up, 150 Genoa and main. I've been running my jib sheets outside the shrouds and over the top of the life lines with the 150 to let it get really out there when reaching.However, I read somewhere that MacGregor recommends on the 26 series to run the jib sheets between the shrouds with the 150 up so you can sail even closer hauled.I've got jib sheets on both my head sails, I took one of them and put a carbiner ring on the end so I could change out the sails quickly. I hadn't thought about it though, that I would still need to re-route my jib sheets when changing from Genoa to jib.Where do most of you run your jib sheet with Genoa (inside, middle, or outside shrouds), above or below the lifeline?Where do most of you run your jib sheet with the working jib or storm jib? (same relationship to the shrouds and lifeline, please)Thanks,Colin

 

[Chris3720]

sheets

Abby, I run the sheets on my Mac25, 150 genoa outside the shrouds and over the top of the lifelines. The few times I used my jib, before getting a FF2 for the 150 sail, I tried running the sheets both inside and outside the shrouds. I really didn't notice any difference. I believe I read somewhere, maybe on this site, that a jib is supposed to be inside the shrouds and a genoa outside them for "best" performance.ChrisM25 Chara