[Rick Thompson]

Hi Gordon and welcome to the club. You have asked a question that has been discussed over and over in a lot of different forums. Here are my 2 thoughts.
1. The Macgregor is a very simple boat and a survey is sometimes considered overkill. there are 2 possible negatives to a survey. One is the surveyor may be overzealous and identify a bunch of possible deficiencies that may or may not matter to you but the insurance company will make you fix all of them before they will insure you. The second is the cost. A member found a surveyor in the Vancouver area this spring and it cost them about $500. However a possible benefit of the boat survey might be the identification of changes that the previous owner has made that may not have been wise. I just saw a post that showed a picture of one new owners boat that had a “Quick Release Snap shackle” connecting the forestay to the bow. If this had quick released – which is what they are designed to do- the mast would fall into the cockpit breaking and injuring or killing anybody there. I would hope a surveyor would identify an issue like that but if they aren’t familiar with a MacGregor sailboat they might not.
My 2nd thought is that not all insurance companies require a survey. Another member just insured his boat with Dolphin Marine insurance Brokers. They found a policy underwritten by Lloyds of London that does not require a survey for boats under 27 feet. He is very particular about his insurance coverage and found the Lloyds policy to be even better than his previous underwriter that he had been with for many years.
The choice is yours. My guess is that many of our members have opted to not do a survey and been able to find insurance that fits their needs. I recommend you contact your insurance agent and ask them to research the different Brokers ( there are only about 4 or 5) for the best deal for you. They should also be able to provide you with a list of Surveyors in your area. Call around and find a surveyor that will work for you and your boat.
You should also check out our Club resources under the MacLEARNING TAB for a presentation on insuring your boat in the Safety section.
Good Luck
Sail Safe and Leave No Wake

[Rick Thompson]

Hi Dave,
Glad to hear you are on the mend and wish you all the best in your plans to get on the water soon. It is interesting to note many of your mods seem to be about cooling your boat down while many of the folks in the Pacific Northwest are looking to install diesel or propane heaters. Sailing in Ohio must be different than sailing here. April 1st is optimistic for many of us. We like to wait until the weather warms up a bit.
Take care and sail safe.
Rick

[Rick Thompson]

Hi Brian,
Sealing the stanchions should not be done with silicon sealant. You need a stronger and more permanent sealant like 3M 5200.
My favourite wax is Meguires #50 cleaner wax. Wax on wax off and keeps boat looking great. I use it twice a year.
Blue Water Yachts recommends a 3M product for removing oxidation to restore the original shine and then a 3M wax. Check out their website for details
http://shop.bwyachts.com/category-s/241.htm

[Rick Thompson]

Hi Vlad
Boat insurance has become a bit of an issue over the last few years as the insurance industry in general struggles. I have not yet heard of a MacGregor being refused insurance but other boats are running into that problem. Group discounts seem to be a thing of the past. Some members with older boats have been required to get a marine survey done on their boat before it can be insured. You can find a list of surveyors and an old copy of policy wording under downloads/reference documents.
We insured Gemini through our agent who also handles house and car insurance. She found Premier Marine and we are insured for about $450 a year. You need to be a bit careful about the wording of the policy and what is covered. You should check out the MYCBC presentation on Boat Insurance
I believe you can still get insurance with your membership to the Canadian Power Squadron, so you might want to investigate that.

[Rick Thompson]

Hi Gerry, Excellent idea. LaConner was perfect a couple years ago with the campground right beside the marina. It would be great to come up with a list of marinas that had campgrounds close by to aid in our selection of future Cruise locations. Maybe we can include that information in the posts for each event.
As regular events, MacRendezvous on Bowen Island has no camping but offers cottages for rent. I’m not sure what kind of camping might exist close to Blaine for our regatta. Sucia raft up has a campground but it is not vehicle accessible.
This year’s events (if they happen) include Ganges and Bellingham and I’m not sure how close camping might be found.

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