I just acquired a MacGregor-25. Before I face strong winds, could an experienced (in McG-25) sailor tell me how this boat reacts just after water starts entering the cockpit when reaching through strong winds and no correction is applied -on time- to the boat?. Thank you in advance.
MacG-25 tends to sink or float after swallowing water
- Thread starter Fernando A. Guerra
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keep the companionway hatchboard in and the slider closed and sail until either you or the boat cant stand it anymore.....
if waves splash in, it will drain out of the cockpit thru the rear scupper/bailer hole....
this is providing that the hose on the bailer hole is not rotten and letting the water dump into the hull, or plugged up so that it doesnt drain at all.....
but if you start taking on water into the hull, then you are going to have serious problems real soon....
we cant sure what kind of condition your boat and rigging is in, or what you carry for safety equipment..... or how physically able you are to handle the conditions you are speaking of, but if you can keep the water out of the inside of the boat, it will float forever, but a breakdown of boat, equipment, or personnel may allow things to happen that would be better if they didnt....
and in the original plan, the macgregor boats all had foam flotation in all the inner compartments to create positive buoyancy in the event of the hull filling with water. this is a safety feature that I wouldnt want to test, but according to the manufacture, it will keep the hull afloat enough for you to have something to hang onto while your waiting..... some people have removed the foam from their boat to create more storage space, so check yours to see if the foam is still in place. happy sailing..........
if waves splash in, it will drain out of the cockpit thru the rear scupper/bailer hole....
this is providing that the hose on the bailer hole is not rotten and letting the water dump into the hull, or plugged up so that it doesnt drain at all.....
but if you start taking on water into the hull, then you are going to have serious problems real soon....
we cant sure what kind of condition your boat and rigging is in, or what you carry for safety equipment..... or how physically able you are to handle the conditions you are speaking of, but if you can keep the water out of the inside of the boat, it will float forever, but a breakdown of boat, equipment, or personnel may allow things to happen that would be better if they didnt....
and in the original plan, the macgregor boats all had foam flotation in all the inner compartments to create positive buoyancy in the event of the hull filling with water. this is a safety feature that I wouldnt want to test, but according to the manufacture, it will keep the hull afloat enough for you to have something to hang onto while your waiting..... some people have removed the foam from their boat to create more storage space, so check yours to see if the foam is still in place. happy sailing..........
Lock your keel down. Then good luck trying to get it on it's side. It will head up into the wind.
Have all the safety gear the CG calls for. Maintain your boat properly.
Here are the manuals for your boat. http://sbo.sailboatowners.com/downloads/Macgregor_25_77746886.pdf
and. http://sbo.sailboatowners.com/downloads/Macgregor_25_34916161.pdf
Have all the safety gear the CG calls for. Maintain your boat properly.
Here are the manuals for your boat. http://sbo.sailboatowners.com/downloads/Macgregor_25_77746886.pdf
and. http://sbo.sailboatowners.com/downloads/Macgregor_25_34916161.pdf
About 3 min. and 30 secs. into this yhou can see how it is that a sail boat is designed Not to take on water when it is on it's side.
The video is of the 26 serries boats but the the fact is that the boats just don't take on water unless a large wave helps them.
Just to be safe in bad weather or big seas be sure to keep the pop top locked down, the hatch boards in, the foward hatch locked down and do not forget the lazzerette hatch.
Keep the water out and you will understand why they call our boats "Bleach Bottles"!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFP3QA9-5GI
The video is of the 26 serries boats but the the fact is that the boats just don't take on water unless a large wave helps them.
Just to be safe in bad weather or big seas be sure to keep the pop top locked down, the hatch boards in, the foward hatch locked down and do not forget the lazzerette hatch.
Keep the water out and you will understand why they call our boats "Bleach Bottles"!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFP3QA9-5GI
I've never had any water come over the side. I don't know if anyone has ever had a knockdown with this boat. I've never read of any. Some have tried. The boat will simply head up once the rudder is out of the water. The closest I've been is 50 degrees. I've been out in 4-5' white caps with 20 knts of wind, beating up wind and never got wet. I've never seen a wave come over the bow. Usually just a splash. I guess the boat is so light it just rides on top of the waves instead of plowing through them.
the easiest way to get a knock down if you want one, is to run hard with a good wind on a very broad reach with too much sail up and trimmed in a little too much.... then quickly turn the boat to a beam reach and trim the sail in at the same time..... this is kind of a mix between a broach and a knockdown...... but it usually all happens so fast that the boat will lay over and scoop water over the coaming before it has a chance to fully round up.
but this is better instruction for what NOT to do while sailing....
My '79 V25, when I bought it, 10 years ago, it came with flotation. Many bundles of oversized plate like pieces. It didn't seem like very much. Does anyone know how much flotation the boats shipped with? Mine has the bilge completely filled (with Lots of air/water space, but little storage space) plus a few bundles under the cockpit.
If memory serves me, there was 27 cubic feet of foam in the boat. That equates to 1680# (ish) of flotation. The boat weighs 2100# out of the water, but submerged it effective weight is much less, due to the buoyancy of all its components. I believe with that foam, there is something like 400# of positive buoyancy in reserve.
That should be helpful if/when I decide to measure all of the chunks i added, which I'll probably do before/while re-building the galley. Since I like to point out the flotation when re-assuring the admiral, I feel I ought to know if I'm being accurate or not.
Newport/Ensenada race 1976. Rounding Palos Verdes at LA Harbor aka Hurricane Gulch under full 525 sq ft chute. KNOCKED down with masthead touching water. Keel Locked, hatches closed. cockpit fill with water. Had to cut spinnaker sheet. Boat righted and water drained out of cockpit in a few minutes. A little water inside but no biggie. Lesson, in high winds batten the hatches, ease the main and drive on. We also ended up with a couple of fish in the cockpit. Didn't have fishing license so we tossed them back.
P.S. You can never have enough foam floatation.
P.S. You can never have enough foam floatation.
If you are asking me it was flatout giant gust knockdown, no other vessels involved. There is a condition around Palos Verdes and San Pedro which meets with the wind down the slot between Catalina and the mainland. Result, white knuckles!! Also I have taken water over the bow in a blow between Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz Island. Another V-25 was crossing with us. The waves were so high that when we went down in one trough and they in the other we couldn't see the top of their mast. Sailing is defined as "hours or sheer boredom interspersed with moments of pure panic." There is no boat that can't be knocked down or sunk under the right conditions. l
That sounds like quite a ride!
I did not mean to infer that another boat was involved in your knockdown. I was wondering if the knockdown was Freedom77. My thoughts were that it had to have been quite new at that time. Either way it would have been quite an exiting ride. Sounds like you knew exactly what to do, and it worked out well. Good to hear that they will right themselves, given a chance.
I did not mean to infer that another boat was involved in your knockdown. I was wondering if the knockdown was Freedom77. My thoughts were that it had to have been quite new at that time. Either way it would have been quite an exiting ride. Sounds like you knew exactly what to do, and it worked out well. Good to hear that they will right themselves, given a chance.
Correction to my post. It was Cinco de Mayo 1977, not '76. Freedom was christened/launched Jan 1, 1977. That same year we had a southerly wind and a big following sea. Would surf down the front of the waves with the tiller pulled all the back into my chest. Pegged the knotmeter at 12. Don't know actual speed. Finished the 120 mile race in just over 25 hours. What a rush!!!
I stuff every spare space with extra flotation. My two favorites are swimming pool noodle toys and heavy plastic one gallon bottles with screw tops. The noodles are usually 3 inches wide and 4 or 5 feet long and can be easily bent and stuffed anywhere. the bottles are not thin milk jugs with snap on tops but heavy screw top ones. My local health food store gets bulk soap in them and gives away when they are empty. They can be used for extra water too.
Sounds like you needed to turn the boat quickly to move the chute forward. It is a heavy weather tactic that I have found really, really useful on white knuckle rides...and it has to be done quickly before steerage is lost.
Jeff
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