Mainsheet travelers

[Randy P]

I'm looking for a mainsheet traveler for my 1993 MacGregor 26. The 26M on display at the Pacific Sail Expo was fitted with a nice one, but the salesman was of no help whatsoever in getting me information on how to purchase on for my boat. I find this website chandlery to be woefully inadequate as well when looking for something of substance for my boat. You can buy wine glasses, and seat cushions, but anything of substance, forget it. maybe someone out there can direct me to a website where I can purchase gear to actually make the boat sail better.

 

[Tony Kriz]

Try Contacting Macgregor

Give the factory a call and see if you can order the same setup. The number is 949-642-6830. The real question is if you have space to mount it in the same location. If so, then you should be set.Good luck.

 

[Ral]

MacGregor 26S Traveller installation

Randy:I had a traveller track custom made through BoatUS by Harken. It is located mid-cockpit and is almost 5 feet in length. Installed a 210 Harken car and end stops for gear on the track. This installation moved the boom sheeting back about a foot and removed the main sheet tack point out of the middle of the companion way. The custom bend was established with a straight edge across the seats and cardboard stapled to the wood straight edge to determine the seat slope. I made a paper template from the wood/cardboard model and sent to BoatUS. First one was lost. Sent a second one direct to Harken. The over bent the track the first time, but made the adjustment and apologized.The traveller provides excellent main sail control and allows me to sail in 2 to 3 knots of additional wind before taking the first reef at about 12 or 13 knots. The main sail is a Sail Warehouse Powerhead Main with full battens in the upper half. Falttening the sail with near end boom sheeting makes this possible.I also routed the headsail sheets to winches on the cockpit coamings with swivel cam cleats about 15 inches behind the winches. Halyards are also run to the cockpit and CDI furling is installed. All of this allows easy single handing from the tiller as well as only going out of the cockpit to remove or put on sail ties for the main. Head sail is also Sail Warehouse 135 Offshore with a foam luff for furling. Reefing to about 50% without major loss of sail shape is possible.This boat is For Sale as we have purchased a Beneteua 311 after throughly enjoying the Mac 26S since 1995 as the second owner of a 1994. THe ad is available on the BoatUS site. I will probably also placed an ad on this site soon.The Miss BHaven has been extensively re-rigged for our use and with some applied engineering. I am a civil engineer and performed multiple calculations during the process of modifying the Mac. The re-rigging was at my wife's request as she was concerned about sail handling in rough water. Leech Lake in Minnesota is 139,000 acres with up to a 10 mile fetch in some wind directions.

 

[Phil Mc]

related question

I was looking at installing a stern pulpit, and it was suggested that a traveler could be installed on the pulpit, putting it out of the cockpit and at the end of the boom. Has anyone done this, and how well does it work?