Mac 19 set-up

6 posts / 0 new

Thu, 01/10/2020 - 5:15pm

quentin.sands

Mac 19 set-up

These questions come from new 19 owner Peter Wilcox who although an experienced sailor freely admits to not being over technical. As a new 19 owner myself I too will be interested in any ideas - and you don't have to be a 19 owner to answer the questions. Peter has taken his 19, Orca, out on the sea from Conway in North wales on three occasions this Summer. he asks the following questions and would be grateful for any advice:

1) Does anyone have a solution for controlling the rudders from the cockpit? On all three trips I've managed to shear off the pins and I feel certain there must be a solution.

2) There are 2 batteries, one for the engine and one for everything else. The engine battery is fine and I've charged up the other but none of the instruments or lights work. All the wiring looks to be in place but I'm no electrician. Any ideas?

3) There is a bracket on the transom for an auxiliary engine. I've just bought a Mercury 3.5hp but when attached to the bracket there is a lot of play on the transom. Presumably this needs reinforcement from the inside. Any advice on how to do this would be appreciated.

4) There are no stanchions or life lines (safety wires) running along the sides of the deck which makes it uninviting to go forwards when things get lumpy. Again, any advice on how to fit stanchions (presumably they would need reinforcements on the inside), wires, hand rails etc. would be great.

5) The sails are originals and don't appear to have had much use. The main seems ok but I would like to swap the jib (which is hanked on) for a furling Genoa. Any advice on fitting a furling system greatly appreciated.

Thanks everyone.

—

Quentin Sands, past owner

1991 26C Mrs MacGregor

1993 Mac19, Margarita

Thu, 01/10/2020 - 7:45pm

rick.jones

Hi Quentin & Peter

Here's a few of my thoughts ...

The rudder design is a bit of a pain. My first suggestion is don't use the bronze bolts, use 10mm nylon instead. The bolts are too strong, and the rudder can break before a bolt does. You can easily find nylon bolts on eBay (or I can post you some as I don't use them any more!). I've managed to convert mine to pull up/down like other Macs. I fed a 6mm line down through the rudder tube, and drilled into the step of the rudder directly below the tube. This hole comes out at the leading edge, so the rope can be secured by a knot. I had my local yard drill holes in the tops of the rudder tube caps, large enough for a strong grommet that will allow 6mm line to pass through. Make sure the holes are not in the centre, so the line doesn't foul on the bolt securing the cap. You need to carefully measure and mark where the hole is to go.
The line runs over the rigid cross-bar, then back down to the bottom aft corner of the rudder, secured into a hole drilled horizontally through the rudder. I then fitted a small cam-cleat on the aft wall of the cockpit, this is used to lock the rudder either up or down, depending which half of the line you clip into it. I need to take some photos and post them!
Impossible to guess without tracing out the wiring. All boats end up wired differently, you need an electrician, or someone with equivalent skills.
The transom itself is quite thick and should be strong enough, provided the fitting is securely bolted through. Reaching the inside of the transom (e.g. for the lower main motor bolts) is quite awkward, you need to reach under the aft berth floor and upwards behind it.
I've got used to going forward without lifelines, and I have places I can hook onto at the mast foot. I've seen a few 19s with low profile handrails along the outer edges of the coach roof. These are standard components, and look smart when fitted. I'm not sure I'd want to fit conventional stanchions.
I've fitted a Plastimo 408 furler system. I think it's far superior to the CDI system widely used on Macs. It's also more easily obtainable in the UK. One option with it is to fit sliders in the channel instead of running in the bolt-rope. These are actually intended to be sewn into the sail, but I found that you can attach hanks to the sliders. My boat came with hank-on jib & genoa, so my furler is set up with the sliders permanently in the channel, and I can hank-on either sail. It may be the only boat with a hank-on furler!
I can give you more details on setting up the Plastimo if you're interested.

—

Rick Jones (Treasurer), former 26X & 19 owner, Isle of Wight

Fri, 02/10/2020 - 3:21pm

quentin.sands

Hi Rick

Thanks for these tips and yes, pics would be helpful of both the rudder system and the 'hank-on furler'. Am I right to think that you use your existing forestay when fitting a furling system? And, presumably, your existing head sail? I looked up the Plastimo 408 that you recommend and presume it has been replaced by the 406 - see link https://www.plastimo.com/en/deck-equipment-rigging-hardware/plastimo-jib-reefing.html Chainplate or swivel?

Incidentally, when I searched google for 408 a picture of White Lightening's bow appeared from somewhere deep in this website - very neat.

Cheers

—

Quentin Sands, past owner

1991 26C Mrs MacGregor

1993 Mac19, Margarita

Fri, 02/10/2020 - 4:52pm

rick.jones

Hi Quentin

That was my mistake writing 408 from memory, you're right it's 406, Plastimo's model numbers can be confusing! I think I needed one extra section to make the full length - is yours a full rig to the masthead? Some earlier ones were fractional.

I had to replace the forestay, firstly because the Plastimo needs a minimum 4mm diameter (existing is nearer 3mm), and also it needs a roller-swaged eye at the bottom to fit through the furler and pin to the chain plate. You need the chain-plate version, it has 8mm holes but the tang on the deck is 6mm (or actually 1/4"). So you also need an adaptor with 6mm fork and 8mm tang to join the end of the Plastimo to the deck. The fitting on the bottom of the forestay needs to be 8mm, it sits between the plates and is secured by a pin. You get forestay adjustment by choosing which hole to pin it to. It takes some careful measurement to determine the exact length for the new forestay!

I've hardly done any sailing this year, and barely looked at the boat. :-(
I need to at least check it over again and sort a few bits out, so I'll take some pics when I do.

—

Rick Jones (Treasurer), former 26X & 19 owner, Isle of Wight

Sun, 04/10/2020 - 5:39pm

peter.wilcox

Hi Quentin and Rick,

Many thanks for taking the time to respond to my queries.

Rick - as Quentin mentioned I'm a technical dunce so any pictures of your rudder system would be really useful. I already use the nylon pins to avoid damaging the rudders but it still seems an obvious thing to do to be able to raise and lower the rudders from the cockpit.

I've found a local marine electrician and will be calling them tomorrow.

I'm doing a Marine Engineering course at my local college so I'm hoping I can use some of the tutors' expert knowledge to strengthen the transom if required. There has been mention of 'buffalo board' and 'epoxy' but, as you say, access is tight to say the least.

I've found something called 'Henry and Enid's MacGregor 19 Powersailer Site' which has a very neat combination of rails and wire rope. I think I might try to copy that. I agree with you that 'normal' stanchions wouldn't be good.

I've taken the plunge and ordered a Profurl C260. Finger crossed!

Kind regards,

Pete

Tue, 13/10/2020 - 5:10pm

rick.jones

I've posted some photos in

I've posted some photos in the gallery of my lifting rudders and roller furler. Hope they help!

—

Rick Jones (Treasurer), former 26X & 19 owner, Isle of Wight

Search form

User login