Mac 22' restoration in 4 weeks!

[TrueColors]

Hello all Mac owners and Connoisseurs!

I recently inherited a 22 foot 1975 MacGregor that had been sitting in the woods for the past 8 years. I am going to be launching the boat in a month and I desperately need your help! The boat itself is not in rough condition, but I feel that the biggest problem is below the surface. The boat is currently sitting on its trailer, and the keel is resting on the trailer. I have no idea how to view the keel, and I have no idea what the mechanics look like inside. How long will it take me to take a look at the keel and fix whatever needs to be fixed? The launch date for my marina is May 14th, so this needs to be done asap!
Besides the keel, the inside only needs minor work, all of the sails are in good condition (besides a small little hole in the jib - whats the best way to fix a 2 inch hole?).
The rudder and tiller are in great condition, the boom and mast are in good condition as well.

The only things that need to be done are;
keel checked,
jib fixed
need all new sheets (what are the lengths I am going to need for the main sail and jib?)
Port hole on bow deck needs to be replaced (best way to approach this?)
I need to buy a new motor (is a 9 horsepower strong enough?)
Teak handrails need to be replaced.

the final question is - do I have enough time to do this? I can post pictures if this will help!

Thanks for any advice or help

 

[ChockFullOnuts222]

Congrats on the boat! Glad to hear about another 22 getting back out on the water!

4 weeks is ambitious, but it can be done.

The keel. I think the keel on all boats after 1974 were cast iron. The good news here is that you don't have to worry about fiberglass delamination. However, you still need to check the pivot bolt hole. The only way to properly check it is to remove the pivot bolt and lower the top of the keel out of the bottom of the boat. If it's not badly worn or rusted to the point of breaking, simply treat the rust with a converter, seal it, paint it, and reinstall. Much quicker than a fiberglass job.

The sail can probably be mended with sail repair tape, using a piece of tape on each side of the hole with a good overlap around the hole's edge.

9 - 9.9 horsepower is plenty. Anything over that is overkill.

 

[chuckcg2]

Mac restore

Yep, the keel should be cast iron, mine is. The folks on this website can fix you up with sheets, just supply the correct year and make/model. 9 HP is plenty, I use a 6 and while I can hardly ski behind my Mac 22, it works just fine, plus I very rarely fill the tank. Back to the keel, you either have to have the boat up on a crib or on a sling but make sure all is secure before you mess with the keel in any way, it's 500 #'s of weight!

 

[Freedom77]

1971 V-222 Penny Sue Too was our second Venture. Kept her for five years and upgraded to Freedom. You're going to love her. Fun to sail, easy to launch. We used to spend a week at a time on Catalina every year. We had a Merc 4 hp long shaft which was plenty of power. Fair Winds and Full Sails

 

[Faris]

I may be coming to this conversation late, but I have some advice: Take pictures of every detail as it stands. This will help you figure things out later. Then, remove everything that comes off, carefully labeling every tiny piece. This whole effort will take about a day if you have a friend to help.

Then, clean and inspect everything, making a list of each item that needs to be replaced. If you have half a mind to do any painting or fiberglass repair, it won't get any easier than it is right now.

The whole disassembly/inspection could be done in a weekend if you have everything on hand that you need. This will be time well spent - believe me. Aside from the keel or any fiberglass work, if you are not going to do gelcoat repairs or paint, almost everything else is a trivial job ... lots and lots of trivial jobs.

As you restore and put things back together, start with the hull, keel, motor mount (if necessary), and the rudder. Then do standing rigging, then all other deck hardware. This is the best way, in my opinion, to get to where you want to be in short order. It will also help you identify projects that either need to be done immediately, or which you will want to come back to at the end of the season.

With boats of unknown condition, this is really the best way I know of: strip it down, inspect, and put it back together starting with the big stuff and working down to the small stuff. It doesn't mean you have to necessarily fix everything you find along the way, but you will at least know about it and avoid surprises.

I think this is also faster than working on projects one at a time if the boat's not currently in the water anyway.

 

[Freedom77]

I may be coming to this conversation late, but I have some advice: Take pictures of every detail as it stands. This will help you figure things out later. Then, remove everything that comes off, carefully labeling every tiny piece. This whole effort will take about a day if you have a friend to help.

Then, clean and inspect everything, making a list of each item that needs to be replaced. If you have half a mind to do any painting or fiberglass repair, it won't get any easier than it is right now.

The whole disassembly/inspection could be done in a weekend if you have everything on hand that you need. This will be time well spent - believe me. Aside from the keel or any fiberglass work, if you are not going to do gelcoat repairs or paint, almost everything else is a trivial job ... lots and lots of trivial jobs.

As you restore and put things back together, start with the hull, keel, motor mount (if necessary), and the rudder. Then do standing rigging, then all other deck hardware. This is the best way, in my opinion, to get to where you want to be in short order. It will also help you identify projects that either need to be done immediately, or which you will want to come back to at the end of the season.

With boats of unknown condition, this is really the best way I know of: strip it down, inspect, and put it back together starting with the big stuff and working down to the small stuff. It doesn't mean you have to necessarily fix everything you find along the way, but you will at least know about it and avoid surprises.

I think this is also faster than working on projects one at a time if the boat's not currently in the water anyway.

Ditto to what Faris said. It's better than looking at a part later and asking, "Where the hell did that come from?" Also I kept a meticulous log including dates and install/repair and any problems when I was fitting out my "Yachts" It's fun to look back later and see all the work you did. A boat is a hole in the water into which you pour endless amounts of money. Fair winds and Full Sails...