Just within the last couple of months I have heard a creaking noise comming from the fiber glass around the mast base. Their seems to be a small crack a couple of inches from the mast base. It creaks when I'm heeling. Does anyone else's 26s do that? I'm not sure wether or not to worry. Or evenif their is a fix? I took some foam out from where the mast base bolts to and took a look around it doesn't seem well put together under there. I would have expected some sort of metal bracket or du hicky but nothing but a couple of bolts and some plywood. Any way let me know if I should be freaking out. Ryan
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Compression Post
Hi Ryan I asked a similar question some time ago and unfortunately got no response. The problem as I see it is that the only thing supporting the mast is the wooden pillar at the end of the bulkhead that separates the galley and head, this wodden post is not exactly under the mast fitting but set aft a few inches. As I race my boat I tend to load up the tension on the rig and it has always worried me that one day I might pull the mast straight through the deck. I recently bought some aluminium tube 2" that I am planning to make a compression post out of, this will support the forces coming through the base of the mast without taking up too much room in the entrance to the head. Cheers Mike
Hi Ryan I asked a similar question some time ago and unfortunately got no response. The problem as I see it is that the only thing supporting the mast is the wooden pillar at the end of the bulkhead that separates the galley and head, this wodden post is not exactly under the mast fitting but set aft a few inches. As I race my boat I tend to load up the tension on the rig and it has always worried me that one day I might pull the mast straight through the deck. I recently bought some aluminium tube 2" that I am planning to make a compression post out of, this will support the forces coming through the base of the mast without taking up too much room in the entrance to the head. Cheers Mike
Not qualified
Guys, I think most of us on the forum recognize that thought there is plenty of smarts to go around, none of us or at least very few are qualified to answer this question fully. I believe it's a question for a naval architect and should be directed to MacGregor corp. They may choose not to answer the question as it may introduce them to re-call or warranty issues if the strength of the compression post area has been compromized to accomodate the head door or otherwise. Seems to me one would want to improve the strength of the area under the mast. This might mean doing what you're doing or adding a steel plate or some other means. I suspect tuning of the rig may also have direct impact as the boat will stress and change shape under load. this may be what's happening here and I for one don't feel comfortable guessing. Please keep us informed of any progress. Steve
Guys, I think most of us on the forum recognize that thought there is plenty of smarts to go around, none of us or at least very few are qualified to answer this question fully. I believe it's a question for a naval architect and should be directed to MacGregor corp. They may choose not to answer the question as it may introduce them to re-call or warranty issues if the strength of the compression post area has been compromized to accomodate the head door or otherwise. Seems to me one would want to improve the strength of the area under the mast. This might mean doing what you're doing or adding a steel plate or some other means. I suspect tuning of the rig may also have direct impact as the boat will stress and change shape under load. this may be what's happening here and I for one don't feel comfortable guessing. Please keep us informed of any progress. Steve
I Agree
It would be great if Macgregor would answer the question however I think that realistically they wont, the boat was engineered for ease of use and nothing on it was designed to do anything more than the task at hand and to that end it is a great design. Unfortunately I want to do more so I replaced the adjustable plates on the shrouds that prevent your putting too much tension on the rig with bottlescrews and made other rigging modifications to improve the performance when racing however all of these changes must come at a cost and the most obvious areas of concern are the chainplates and forestay fittings along with the mast base. The fittings are basically secure and to be honest there is little you can do to beef them up without pulling the hull and deck apart so that leaves me with the mast base. If you look into the locker above the galley that is full of polystyrene you can see that there is some additional strength in the way of additional thickness of plywood laminated into the deck beneath the mast foot whilst this is probably good enough in the majority of cases it concerns me as there are very few boats that you see with a mast mounted on deck without a compression post transferring the loads through to the keel. On a mac you can't transfer the loads to the keel or hull as there is a water ballast tank in the way but by fitting a compression post I will be transferring some of the loads to the floor of the cabin which is quite strong in this area. At the end of the day this is just a solution that I have chosen which gives me some comfort, it is not fully engineered but it does have basis in good nautical practice. Each to their own! Cheers Mike
It would be great if Macgregor would answer the question however I think that realistically they wont, the boat was engineered for ease of use and nothing on it was designed to do anything more than the task at hand and to that end it is a great design. Unfortunately I want to do more so I replaced the adjustable plates on the shrouds that prevent your putting too much tension on the rig with bottlescrews and made other rigging modifications to improve the performance when racing however all of these changes must come at a cost and the most obvious areas of concern are the chainplates and forestay fittings along with the mast base. The fittings are basically secure and to be honest there is little you can do to beef them up without pulling the hull and deck apart so that leaves me with the mast base. If you look into the locker above the galley that is full of polystyrene you can see that there is some additional strength in the way of additional thickness of plywood laminated into the deck beneath the mast foot whilst this is probably good enough in the majority of cases it concerns me as there are very few boats that you see with a mast mounted on deck without a compression post transferring the loads through to the keel. On a mac you can't transfer the loads to the keel or hull as there is a water ballast tank in the way but by fitting a compression post I will be transferring some of the loads to the floor of the cabin which is quite strong in this area. At the end of the day this is just a solution that I have chosen which gives me some comfort, it is not fully engineered but it does have basis in good nautical practice. Each to their own! Cheers Mike
Different for a 26D
It doesn't help the 26S people, but I'm wondering if the 26D is better off in this area. The daggerboard trunk is in this area. Not DIRECTLY below the mast, but very close. I wonder if this increases the strength significantly.
It doesn't help the 26S people, but I'm wondering if the 26D is better off in this area. The daggerboard trunk is in this area. Not DIRECTLY below the mast, but very close. I wonder if this increases the strength significantly.
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