The story of moving our MacGregor 26S from Lake Watauga to Lake Hartwell and a tour of the boat! 

That's awesome!! We've had ours for about a year and are loving it. Sail on!!

Too cool, we just bought a ‘95 26S and are learning to sail as well. Had it out twice now.

Thanks for this kind word, as well! Yes, our boat came "super stock" from what we can tell. The prior owner was a tinkerer, but mostly with velcro, and for that we're grateful. We've kept the velcro tradition going (see our "cup holder" video haha). We love our 26S, and it sounds like you do, too! Thanks again for watching!

Why what happened?

Great point, Paul! I should have said silicone, as that's what I actually used. I haven't epoxied anything on the boat... yet. Thanks for the insights on the chain plates. If we need to reseal them we'll certainly look into that. Thanks for watching!

​@@headoverheelssailing8962 you're gonna get sick of people yelling "No silicone on a boat!", but it ends up being true. It's really hard to get silicone to stick to anything. We've all had experiences where it pulls away from a window frame or something like that. The problem becomes that the silicone "oils" (for lack of a better term) get down in the gelcoat, and other, better sealants won't stick in that area anymore. I've heard of guys having to sand through some of the gelcoat while washing the area with acetone, and still having a hard time getting rid of it. There are some notable exceptions- Beckson says polyurethane caulks will degrade their plastic portlights, for example. Silicone is really for places where it will act like a gasket, set up, and then be mechanically compressed by fasteners. I've heard of people having good luck with Dow 795, but that's not solid enough info for me (yet). Once, before a big sailling trip to florida, I had to hurry up and seal my chainplates. I didn't have any 4200 or 5200, so I grabbed what I had- polyurethane household painter's caulk. Fine, I'll said, surely it will last a week, then I'll dig it out and use real stuff. Well, 6 years later, they still haven't leaked a drop! I guess cross that bridge when I come to it! Best of luck. Love your boat, and how much fun you guys are obviously having. I've got a 26D, BTW.

That's a good tip, thank you! I had just used it around the top of the chainplates where they meet the hull to try and stop the leaking.. so far it's worked (6 months later). I hadn't known that about silicone on boats but will keep it in mind for the future, for sure. The prior owner was using a bathroom caulk to patch areas on the boat and I found the tube in the tool box he left behind, still pliable. It's been good so far to cover up knicks and bumps, and based on what he had done previously it seems to hold very well (and also matches the white of the boat well). I haven't used 4200 or 5200 yet, but plan to pick up some tubes soon, as soon as I have a new need for them. We've never worked on boats before, so we're learning as we go. Tips are always welcomed and much appreciated. Thanks for the kind words on channel, and we hope you enjoy your 26D as much as we do our 26S! Sail on!!

At 5'11" there's enough room to stand comfortably under the pop top, but it's s limited space. Everything else is sitting in the boat. We have considered a Catalina 30 for the next step, but we love the versatility and trailerability of the Mac, which we'd lose with the Cat30. As with all things in life, everything is a trade off. The Mac works great for our uses, but we only sleep on it at the dock. A big selling point of the Mac is the king-sized bed under the cockpit.. on any comparable boats you'll be sleeping in the v-berth, on settees, or converting your table space to a double bed.

Congrats!

Orion. Alcohol stove.