Tour of Eclipse - MacGregor 26S that went to Montreal on a 105 day trip from Boston

[@alexshyshkov8585]

Love what you done to the interior.

[@sailingaccidentalgybe]

Thank You. She taught us much before we bought our 44' ketch!

[@SandDownSouth]

Love the boat. Like y'all. Ya funny!

[@goneswimming5636]

Nice! My son has a MacGregor 26S and we have enjoyed many great adventures as a family. You have done a beautiful job refitting the cabin.

[@sailingaccidentalgybe]

Thank you. We really enjoyed working on it!

[@artsmith103]

I have 26S. Amazing transformation.

[@sailingaccidentalgybe]

Thank you We chronicled many of her adventures as videos on our channel!

[@ggfox13]

Great job on the interior work. I have a Mac 26S and love it. Curious as to the "heavily modified" mention in the description. I noticed benches and walls missing and new ones in different places inside but my big question is the two skegs on the aft of the hull at the transom. I have had similar ideas in order to counter extreme weather helm in heavy weather. Did you add them or was this done before you acquired the boat? If you did install them what was the result? Did you notice any change in weather performance? Would love to discuss more if you can. Fair winds!

[@sailingaccidentalgybe]

We too were plagued by weather helm, especially when out in the ocean. So I trimmed the rigging to bring the mast forward a bit, and added the pair of skegs. For the first trial manifestation I made them out of vinyl board (azak) and glued them on. It worked! But one of them fell off and is somewhere floating around the piscataqua estuary. So I re built them from two thicknesses of the same vinyl board, carved and planed to a 12:1 airfoil, with several layers of fiberglass tabbed onto the hull. Much better balance even in Gusty conditions.

[@ggfox13]

@@sailingaccidentalgybe Sweet! It is so good of you to reply and let me know. I have thought of that type of modification for a few years now. After your input, I may venture down that same path and build a pair that can be glassed and epoxied to the aft hull. One of my other ideas was a center skeg that would run down the hull center after the cross beam of the trailer so there was no interference. That would also lead the rudder. Not sure which is the better idea. Either way, I really want to thank you for your input. Do you still sail the Macgregor? If so where abouts do you usually like to sail?

[@flyingpigforge]

Did I miss something or are those skegs in another video? Just curious as I’m looking at a MacG 26s for my first sailboat.

[@liamstone3437]

I have thought many times that a 26s or 26d would be a great intermediate boat for me. I like your upgrades. You think big.

[@williamirwin9622]

Wow, we had a Mac 25 back in the 1980s. Great boat, but totally primitive compared to yours. Great job, fair winds ✌️

[@davidsweetzer3016]

Nice

[@harveyg845]

The 26s didn't come with all that woodwork. NICE touch!

[@sailingaccidentalgybe]

It was a fun project rebuilding her

[@JohnBraman413]

thinking of getting a 26x for my first sailboat then move to bigger once i gain some experience.

[@sailingaccidentalgybe]

Highly recommend that approach. After the MacGregor 26's we moved up to a 34' Irwin Citation and then to our current 44'. It's all documented here on our channel too

[@PyeGuySailing]

Thanks for the tour, you did a great job. Two small safety suggestions. First either move the propane tank outside or switch to alcohol. Secondly, I would switch to a lifepo4 battery. Propane and hydrogen sulphide are both dangerous to breathe and explosive.

[@sailingaccidentalgybe]

Both are very good points. Thank you. When is video is done in 2018 lithium iron phosphate batteries were quite new and very expensive. Things have changed a lot since then and we would definitely replace two 100 Ah lead acid batteries for one 100 Ah LiFePo4. The propane needs to be routed from outside and set up with a solenoid valve at the tank with a switch inside at the galley. We learned a LOT in the intervening years since 2018!

[@reginanjus]

Did you get rid of the 44ft?

[@sailingaccidentalgybe]

We actually have two boats! The 26s sits on a trailer in the yard in New England and costs nothing to keep. So we have Athena and we have Eclipse. Mind you, one of the perks of the McGregor 26s is that she will fit neatly inside of a container in New Jersey and magically, we can meet her in France as she takes us up the French canals. Oh yes. Our retirement boat will likely be Eclipse again one day.

[@reginanjus]

@sailingaccidentalgybe how do you know if your Retired? Me i know! Lol!

[@alexshyshkov8585]

@@sailingaccidentalgybe Wow. Did you actually shipped it to France? 😲

[@200dollarretirement]

Sweet!