Cool new technology for Galactica!!!

1...Two new LED kits.

I followed suggestions from the MacgregorSailors blog. I replaced the two primary light fixtures' incandescent bulbs with LED circuits from superbright's website.

2...The factory incandescent light fixture lit up.


I really like them! They use only a trickle of battery power and are cool to the touch which will help in the dog days of Missouri summers!

3...The LED board and original light bulb.

4...The new LED light without cover.


This was a simple mod. Remove cover, unplug old lightbulb. plug in new LED board. I used two sided tape to center the board in the fixture. Replace cover!

5...the new LED light with cover.

Planning next sailventure! Truman Lake!

Although this weekend would have been perfect sailing, my honey-doo list is long. Having to stay home and work around the farm.

Hopefully, the weather will hold and stay great for next weekend. I want to put in at Sterett Creek Access on Harry S. Truman reservoir and sail up to the Tebo islands to gunkhole there.

Truman lake is one of my favorite Missouri lakes!

Mark Twain Lake, gunkholed in Happy Cove

The weather was great this weekend. Mid to upper 70's and sunny. Damon had ACT testing so I took care of farm chores and took a heifer to auction which should pay for the next round of improvements to Galactica. Friends of the Family came out and their kids fed some of the animals.

While waiting for Angie to be ready, I set up the mast...twice and put the genoa sail onto the furler. Afterwards, I put the new jib sock on! This should make it much faster during rigging time! As it was, we didn't pull away from home until after 4pm with a 100 mile trip to Mark Twain Lake.

We put in at Ramp 107 again. Figure that it's best to have a successful outing from the ramp I failed at the week before. Here is a picture of me taking Galactica across Florida Pool at Mark Twain lake during twilight.

We anchored in a small inlet in Happy Cove. While I shut down the outside, Angie set up house inside and made dinner! Chicken Fajitas, iced tea and a nice dry white Missouri wine from StoneHill Winery.

The next morning, we took our time getting up and taking stock of our setup. We drew up lists of what we need, don't need or wish we had. Here is a view out the starboard windows at Breakfast!

Angie piloted Galactica out of Happy Cove while I removed the Genny sock and rigged the sheets.


We sailed around for a while in extremely light winds. I hadn't put on the main sail yet so we sailed with just the Genoa.

I got a chuckle. I had Angie pull the furler sheet to release the Genoa foresail so that I could pull the Genny sheet to deploy the sail on a port tack.

She looked at the array of sheets and lines around her and said 'Huh!?' I pointed to the furler sheet which was cleated and she told me that I should have just said, "pull the Christmas line"... sigh, it's a white line with green and red stripes. So now, the official name for the furler sheet on Galactica is the "Christmas Line". lol

We needed to get home fairly soon and the winds were very light and fitful so I decided to switch to the motor. I wanted to cruise over to BlackJack Marina. We furled the Genoa and spun up the Etec. We cruised to BlackJack at various speeds as we broke in the motor.

There was a Beniteau attempting to sail in the light winds but they gave up as we were rocketing past. Another sailboat from the MTLSA (Mark Twain Lake Sailing Association) left the marina as we pulled up. We spun around and followed them until we hit the main channel. Then we opened Galactica back up again. We had to get to the ramp ASAP in order to get home for Sunday Family Dinner. All in all, we probably motored 3 1/2 to 4 hours! :)

Here is our camp stove we used. Worked great. I do not think that I'll waste money on a built in stove now. It was really neat on this trip. Heading up the highway from our place, a farm truck passed us and the driver gave us two thumbs up. Either he liked the Macgregor or just the huge pretty blue and white beast behind our old silverado. Later, while driving up highway 63, a car passed us with two younger men who honked, waved and gave us a thumbs up! That was cool!

Bimini on the horizon

I still have the old bimini top from my old Marquis Freeport. I ordered the genny track trucks today!

"Engine problem" fixed

Okay, I was hoping that it was something embarrassingly simple. Folks on the macgregorsailors.com blog said to check the linkage. I called Super Sport where I bought the boat and they also said to check the linkage to ensure it did not come off of one end or the other.

Putting the throttle in forward or reverse with the engine off yielded a free spin on the prop. This meant to me that either the linkage was off, the cable broke or something hideous internal to the lower unit.

I pulled the hood off the engine and quickly located two linkages. My son moved the throttle from neutral to forward to reverse. Only the throttle linkage moved (red arrow) This was encouraging. I pulled the pedestal apart.

The first thing I found was that the tilt switch wires had slipped off again. This must have happened on the trip back from the lake. I located the linkage inside the pedestal and moved it from forward to reverse. no change on the motor side of the linkage.


That meant to me that perhaps the issue was with the trottle lever. I started messing around with it and my wife said that both linkages were moving!!!

Turns out that it was idiotic user error. My old (1979) power boat had a very different throttle. With the old one, you pulled the throttle out from the housing and then moved it forward and reverse. If you wanted a neutral bypass to rev the engine out of gear, there was a small lever to flip.

It didn't dawn on me that the new fangled throttle was different. I had been pulling it out and moving it forward/reverse. This effectively is a neutral bypass.

Had I looked that the throttle handle, it shows an arrow to pull up. Do that and the engine goes into gear as it should! lol I'd rather be embarrassed by idiocy than have to have my new motor serviced! I hooked up my water muffs and started the motor to ensure I was right. The red circle shows water splashing from the spinning prop! Hard to believe I have many years experience with power boats!

So all is well that ends well. A learning experience for me. My wife decided that she will indeed continue to make payments... WHEW!!!

Now I've put Galactica to bed in her barn and am waiting for the next trip to a lake!

Mark Twain Lake, Early Spring!

Got up early today to load the boat. We weren't sure if the trip was going to continue or not with all the severe storms on Friday. They blew over and Though chilly, today looked great. Here's Angie laughing at some of my antics.


I still haven't gotten the depth finder fully hooked up but got the wires fished into the boat! We loaded up and were out of the house by noon, heading up towards Mark Twain Lake. We stopped at Kingdom City to top off Galactica's fuel and pick up Subway sandwiches.

Angie and I decided on trying a particular public ramp near the state park which we never used with our runabout. We usually put in at the free ramp at the silo near Indian Creek campground; however, we wanted a ramp with docks this time. This turned out to be a wise decision.

Mark Twain Lake is a lake that we all like. It's a relatively new 18,000 acre lake which is about 40 miles long and built at Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain)boyhood home.

This is the first time Angie was getting to ride in Galactica and the first time we're using it since my introductory sail in it back in November when I picked her up from the Marina.

Being a clutz, I cut my hand twice while setting things up... there is a no-see-em sharp spot at the companionway. Angie has decided the two first aid kits are not enough--she'll have to replentish the one on the truck.

We rigged her up and put her into the water. While Angie was tending the docklines, I started the Evinrude Etec 60. It fired right up!!! Angie tossed in the line and I put the throttle into a light reverse to bring the aft end close to the dock.

Nothing. The motor stumbled and revved. Some bubbles appeared. nothing. I put it in forward...nothing. I checked the water stream to ensure the water pump was functioning. Lifted the motor some to see if the prop turned. Trottle up in reverse but nothing. It looked as though the prop spun slightly but not in sync with the RPM. It was like I had a Sheared Pin.


We decided that we needed to fix the motor. I intend to sail 80% of the time but don't want to be out without a motor. I pulled the trailer back to the ramp and we loaded her on.

After de-rigging her, I had drowned my pain in a very good bottle of Dos Equis! :) Angie got valuable time inside the cabin rearranging things and setting up house. I pulled the prop off but the shaft spins freely in neutral; however there are some unsettling clicking sounds as I turned it. I noticed that when it was running, it vibrated a lot more than when I used it the first time. Very Odd. Very dissappointing to say the least.

We bought a new boat because I always have had beat up old equipment and wanted reliability for a change. Time to see if the new motor is under warranty and get it fixed. So much for our first gunkholing mission at Mark Twain Lake.

Basic Galley mods

Fitting Galactica's Galley area. This is the Galley in the middle position. Angie bought some racks and gear for the Galley area when she was at Ikia in Pheonix.

I've been hanging gear, hooks for emergency whistle, keys, dock lines, sail ties etc. Finally mounted the fire extinguisher.

Here is the Galley in the forward position which makes it much easier to access the rear berth on the port side.

I mounted towell racks in the head and in the forward V-berth this evening too! At this time, we are planning on either putting in at the Lake of the Ozarks for Saturday...or, put in at Mark Twain Lake for an over nighter. I'll have to check lake levels with all the rain we've had.

Mast Support to reduce flex while trailering

Sunday Afternoon, 28 March, 2010
This was a quick one I did Sunday afternoon. I noticed that the long mast, bolted to the bow pulpit and supported by a mast crutch in the aft, had a LOT of flex as the trailer bounced down the road. I took a leftover piece of PVC from when I built the house and cut a cradle to support the mast. I made the bottom fit over the bracket to which the mast is bolted while rigged. I use a bungie cord to hold it all together. This is one of those inexpensive but very useful mods!

Hopefully, we'll put Galactica in next saturday and spend a day/night exploring a local lake!! I'll post then.

Work and Weather

Weekend: 27 & 28 March, 2010

Last week, I had to bring in 40 ton of 2" gravel to rebuild the base to our driveway. I had to cancel my plans of putting Galactica into the Gravois arm of the Lake of the Ozarks.

The weather hasn't been cooperating with getting the boat onto the water and there are a lot of chores in running a small hobby farm. Hopefully, next weekend will see Galactica swim again!

In an effort to make it easier to load the boat onto the trailer at ramps, I'm building guide lines. Originally, I was just going to run a line from the winch post to the aft goal posts. The winch configuration on the 2009/2010 trailer is slightly different than what I've seen on similar mods on the MacGregorSailors web site. There isn't a good place to just tie the line. I decided to use what I have on hand. I started by welding a bracket made from 2" angle iron, 1" box tubing and a used horseshoe from one of my horses.

I heated up the horseshoe and beat it into a new shape. Even softened and using a 2 pound hammer, it took a surprising amount of persuasion. Next, I welded the components together. 2 of the 5 welds are pretty. 3 of them are humbling--but I know that all 5 welds are strong.

I mounted the bracket using the top winch bolt but immediately saw that I'd need a brace. I fashioned the brace from a leftover piece of stanchion and bolted it to the lower winch bolt.

I spent quite a bit of time attaching a braided line to the port goal post, threading it through a 3/4" pex water pipe, knotting it to the bracket on the winch post, threading it back through a pex pipe on the starboard side and attaching it to the starboard goal post. The port side is pretty good even though the pipe touches the boat--which I really don't want.

I rebuilt the starboard guide line 5 times but never got it to my satisfaction. Pulling on it pulls the pex off of the starboard side of the bracket. The port stays on. Additionally, the pex piping is too flexible. I think that it would whip up and down against Galactica's pretty blue hull while trailering.

This has been a learning experience; but I'll get tubing that is more rigid and perhaps use a steel cable instead of 1/2" braided line. I can tie the line temporarily at the ramp's staging area until I can get the components to try again with the guide lines.

She's officially named and Registered!

It was warm enough today for me to finally apply the Registration numbers and her name to Galactica! Angie came out and helped smooth out bubbles and hold the decals while I measured and marked!

I also added a safety chain so that I'm not relying on just the winch strap to hold the bow onto the Trailer!

Prepping her for the coming season!

It's starting to look like spring will be here soon! I've been working on many basic modifications prior to the season. At this rate, I'll take her out in two to three weeks on a shakedown sail down the Gravois arm of the Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri. The ramp is only 45 miles away! :)

20 November 2009: Johnson Lake, Nebraska

40.69821,-99.858427
I picked up the boat at Super Sport's workshop and followed Gary down to the ramp at Johnson Lake. We rigged her for the first time while Gary explained the steps and answered the questions I had.

We broke for lunch while John brought the keys down to the lake. We had sandwiches from the gas station at the NE corner of the lake. Upon returning, Lyman, who had been Angie and my sail instructor months before, was up on Galactica tying cassette tape onto the shrouds to aid in determining the wind direction.

I backed Galactica into the water for the first time; Gary received her and tied her to the dock as I parked the Silverado and trailer.

After final checks, we opened the ballast and I started the Evinrude Etec 60 for the first time. She started right up. We backed out and idled out of the harbor. There is a channel leaving that shallow end of the lake. I varied the speed and waggled the boat getting a feel for her. Without a depth guage I was cautious. After we were out in the main lake, I opened her up some and played around seeing how tender or steady she would be. The first time I opened the throttle up to nearly wide open throttle (WOT), she stumbled slightly and then took off. It's amazing to me to see a sailboat hauling A at more than 15 mph. But she's a hybrid boat, a mix of both worlds. After playing around, doing figure 8's and both tight or wide circles, I could not wait anymore. The sails needed to go up!


Galactica has a 150% Genoa fore sail and a large main sail. The wind was low at that point. I powered down and turned her into the wind. We raised both sails and I let her fall off to starboard. For the first time, Galactica was harnessing the wind!

We spent a few hours sailing around. Manning the helm, I worked her through all points of sail, tested her handling and then tacked to the east end of the lake. I switched with Gary. He took the helm so that I could work the sheets through all points of sail again. Near the end, I manned both helm and sheets so that I could practice single handing her.

The wind slowly picked up thoughout the afternoon. I did not have an inclinometer yet but we pulled the Jenny sheets tight and the main sheets tight and I pointed Galactica as close into the wind as she'd go. I meant to pay attention to any crabbing but was too thrilled with piloting her heeled over. We were heeled on a port tack at least 30 to 35 degrees!!! This is a lot of fun!

On the way back to the harbor, we lowered the sails and opened the ballast. I started the Etec and got her fast enough to empty the ballast tank. She's definitely more tender without the water ballast full. I made a mistake while bringing her in. I did not fully close the ballast port and she slowly filled with ballast water as we idled though the cove to the ramp. Not a big mistake but the tank was nearly full when I put her onto the trailer. It's a learning experience I'll probably not repeat.

The Macgregor 26M does not handle the same as my old runabout when approaching the dock and trailer. It took me 3 tries to brind her gently next to the dock. I'm glad that the wind and current wasn't too bad in cove. I will be practicing a lot of docking and ramp work this first season with her.

Primarily, I'll be sailing her but Angie is trained and can at least sail the boat herself should I accidently jibe myself into the water. :)

It was sunset as we brought Galactica back in. Gary and I quickly de-rigged her and secured her for the 600 mile journey home! By twilight, I was ready to head out. I thanked Gary and headed East. A subway sandwich, several large coffees and a lot of miles later, I pulled into a truck stop near the Iowa border. It was cold that night as the temperature had dropped with a heavy fog as the unseasonable mild day ended and winter returned. I camped in the boat at the truck stop.

I'm used to camping with my sons' old scout troop every month in any condition. This was positively luxurious! :) We returned home the next day and I put Galactica into the barn for the first time!


Angie and Damon met me and I think that Damon opened every hatch and storage locker in the boat! :)