Tuning the 26X

Fore and aft trim

Power boat and sailboat hull are different shapes.

A hull that is designed for speeds under six mph are shaped so that the water will leave the stern smoothly. This is accomplished by curving the underside of the hull so the water will rise smoothly and exit the hull with as little turbulence as possible.

A hull that is designed for higher speeds is shaped with flat surfaces near the stern so the boat will plane. The stern of these boats has high drag when going slower than planing speeds.

The 26X is designed with a power boat stern. This causes a lot of drag when sailing. It has been found that the boat will sail faster if the stern is lightened by moving weight forward. The heavy things in the rear of the boat are the motor, the gas cans and the crew. The fuel, water tanks and the batteries can be moved forward in order to lighten the stern. This results in the stern not being as low in the water and therefore causing less drag.

Mast Rake

Another improvement is reducing the rake of the mast. The way Macgregor sells the boat is with it set up for a 4 degree rake. This results in to much weatherhelm and this slows the boat. It has been found that reducing the rake to 2 degrees still gives enough weatherhelm. In order to do this it is necessary to lengthen the backstay 6 inches and shorten the jib stay 3 inches.

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