Hello one and all,
I just noticed my PayPal renewal debit go through and I was amazed to realise that had been a member for a year without saying hello, so hello!
Joining the MOA was very much of a step of faith as we don't own a boat (never have) and the only prospect in that direction was the hope of retiring and moving to Cornwall sometime.
Anyway, when we were on our annual summer pilgrimage to Cornwall (Restronguet, near Falmouth) this year we found our ideal retirement property and we hope to be moving in in around 3 weeks. We presently live (me, the wife and the whippet) in Kings Langley, just north of Watford in Hertfordshire so this is definitely an exciting move as I've always lived in the North West London area.
Part of the plan, when we retired, apart from moving to Cornwall, was to "get a boat". Having thoroughly researched, after getting to understand our needs and wants, the Mac 26M was the only remaining candidate.
My daughter lives with her family in Mission Viejo, Southern California. We were over there visiting about 18 months ago and I was amazed to find that Roger MacGregors factory was just 20 minutes from her house. We contacted Captain Mike there and we're treated, very generously to a tour of the factory, where they are now building 65's or are they 70's. Anyway, they then took me outside and left me to explore a brand new Mac 26M that was just sitting there in the yard. My face in the pics my wife took is something to behold.
Ok, I'm starting to witter, I do have lots of questions but they can wait, for now I just wanted to say hello.
MacGregor 26M 2009 - Sky's the Limit - Suzuki DF50
Hi there Mike , its good to here from you. I hope your move goes through and you eventually find your boat. I have certainly had a nice trip with Macgregors down at Falmouth. We sailed over to the Helford and moored off that cafe with the great seafood....mmmm. Then explored up river till the mud met us!
Remember you dont have to wait to get on a Mac. Quite often they are owners who are happy for crew either on a day out or a rally (now called "events").
Why not join us if you can at tthe AGM. As usual I shall have my photos running at lunch (unless anyone else wants to show theirs)and you have see what fun we get up to.
Roly Simpson
Hi Mike,
As a former resident of Cornwall and Devon, and currently of Bristol, I'd like to welcome you to the West Country, and of course to the MOA. This year I hope to do a few weeks' sailing out of Plymouth and maybe down as far as Falmouth on our 26X, so perhaps you might want to join us for a day on the boat in the summer months? That is , if you don't have a boat of your own by that time!
Hope to meet you at the AGM on Saturday if you can make it. Take care,
John
Hi John & Roly, Many thanks for the welcome. I shan't make the AGM this year unfortunately as we're knee-deep in house-moving, not to mention getting my business ready to transfer to the new owner; whilst still running it. John, I do appreciate your offer of a ride in your Mac, the attached pic shows you the nearest I've been to the water in one. Ok, I guess I'll ask my first question, I've been looking forward to this for at least two years: "I'm planning my driveway area in my new house and was wondering how easy (or not) it is to man-handle the Mac on it's trailer on level ground - one strongish man and maybe his wife :D ?"
IMG_1503a
MacGregor 26M 2009 - Sky's the Limit - Suzuki DF50
Mike,
For manoevring a trailer with a Mac aboard, a lot depends on whether you have an industrial strength jockey wheel and what sort of surface you're on. My trailer is now equipped with a heavy duty jockey wheel with a ribbed clamp to hold it in position (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00HAA4DKG?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=o...), and this has made a lot of difference.
However, mine is also a twin axle, 4-wheel trailer, and as the all-up weight is over 2 tons laden it takes a mighty effort to move it, especially if you're on a soft or loose surface. It has even taken me some effort to manoevre the trailer on its own, to be honest. You really need at least 2 or more big blokes to attempt moving the whole rig, and don't try it if there is any sort of slope - you'll do yourself an injury!
Thanks John, that answers my question.
I've got some options in how I configure the driveway area in my new house, eg. How wide a gateway, which side I hang the gate, whether there's a slope to the boat area, what sort of surface.
But it sounds like the primary design consideration is the ability to use the car to manouveur the boat into its storage position. I guess it may be possible to spin the boat on its trailer by hand in order to facilitate this.
If you don't mind, I'd like to post a drawing of the driveway area, with dimensions, to help me understand whether it's going to work, and if so how.
MacGregor 26M 2009 - Sky's the Limit - Suzuki DF50
Mike,
Of course I don't mind, but not sure how much help I can be. FYI, the footprint of my combined boat (26X) and trailer is 20 sq. metres - 9 metres long x 2.2 metres wide. it's about as big an outfit as can be towed by a large car; it is really a job for a good 4 x 4, preferably with low gear, to enable low-speed manoeuvring.
Regards
John.
Thanks John, here is a pic of the driveway layout with the Mac superimposed in it's preferred resting place. Having thought this through overnight, I don't see it working using the existing gateway for access and attempting to manouveur the boat once it's pulled or pushed through the gateway as there's not nearly enough room for the entire rig and, as you say, manouveuring without the power of the car would be troublesome. I did think that maybe the best route would be to demolish the wall off the starboard quarter and install a substantial gate/fence in it's place. Then I could just open the new gate/fence and reverse the boat straight onto it's home.
Mac on Drive pic_small
MacGregor 26M 2009 - Sky's the Limit - Suzuki DF50
Have you thought of using a 'front push tow bar' to facilitate the final positioning?
Or
Embed a winch into the drive so as to be able to haul the rig up.
Mind you, I don' t/can't tow so am not an expert.
Simon Armitage
Sowenna (26M)
Nice drawing Mike! Simon's suggestions are worth considering, but there's another alternative that might work for you: a 12v motorised jockey wheel. These vary quite a lot in price depending on the loads required, but I have seen one or two for about £130 on Ebay. I don't think they are waterproof so they would have to be removed before launching and recovery, and whether these cheaper ones would be substantial enough for the nose weight of a Mac and trailer I'm not sure. Anyway, check out this link for starters:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MOTORISED-JOCKEY-WHEEL-Solid-Wheel-12v-Electri...
This would allow you to get your trailer in position without too much effort I would think. We have motor movers on our single-axle caravan, one operating on each wheel, and we don't know where we'd be without them. It makes hitching up and unhitching so much easier!
Many thanks guys, some great ideas!
MacGregor 26M 2009 - Sky's the Limit - Suzuki DF50
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