MacGregor 26 not good? Water-ballast in general??

[mydauphin]

Originally Posted by rwatson

so you say !!!

I say it does both jobs better than specialist boats. It sails better than any motor boat you own, and motors much better than any yacht you own - so it does both jobs very well.

Now lets compare sailing ability - say over a 2 hour race your specialist trailer sailer yacht of a comparable length comes in 20 minutes before the Mac. Not a devastatingly huge margin in the scheme of things, especially under handicapping rules.

Now lets say the launching ramp is 2 miles from the finish line - I will be there in under 10 minutes at 15 mph - but you wont be waiting while I get the boat onto the trailer, because you will be 25 minutes ( at 5 mph under power) later, and will be jostling with the rest of the slow fleet in the ramp jetty, while I am parked in the car park, and have a drink in my hand at the bar. I also wont have had to winch 120 kilos of steel centreboard up before winching the boat and ballast onto my expensive 2.5 ton capacity trailer with $1200 of breakaway gear attached to it.

You will probably need a V8 to tow your trailer sailer home with its 500 kilo of ballast. I will be towing the ballastless Mac home with a family sedan - on a much less expensive trailer.

Lets say the Mac and your similar yacht go for a weeks cruise around the bay - I have nearly twice the living room at night than you do- and I won't have to bark my shins on that centerboard case during the night.

Lets say the two boats are wintering up in the backyard. Yours will sit totally unused over 4 months, while mine will be big enough and comfortable enough for the teenagers to sleep out in every weekend with their rowdy mates and loud music, and I wont hear a thing in the house.

Because the Mac is lighter to handle, roomier and pleasant enough to use as a pointy caravan in bad weather, I will be able to coax my sexy girlfiend out every other weekend, while you will get the 'I cant this weekend - I pulled my back with the centrboard last time out"

Doesnt do either job well ???? Heck - it does about four other jobs better than similar class boats.

Interesting point of view. Beauty is in eye of beholder.

[rwatson]

Originally Posted by mydauphin

Interesting point of view. Beauty is in eye of beholder.

Ya got me there ! The Mac is not eye candy- I had to get it redesigned to build my own version ( real soon now )

schoolroad.weebly.com/project-2.html

[Vulkyn]

Originally Posted by mydauphin

The problem is... It doesn't do either job very well.

Well regardless of the it does both better or less, the fact stays the same, it can DO both ! ....
Now because of this thread, i really REALLY wanna try it out!
Any one own one in Egypt that can take me for a spin ?

[Raggi_Thor]

Looking good, Watson!
When will you have more details?

Or after looking at,
http://schoolroad.weebly.com/uploads..._shape_rev.pdf
It looks much better than the McGregor, but I would prefer a smaller cabin top..

[mydauphin]

Something could be build like a Mac Plus that would a better powerboat, better sailboat and prettier too. It is not a bad concept. The Mac26 is just a cheap version, that was part of its design. May be that is the niche boat to be built in Egypt....

[Vulkyn]

Wind sailing is a much small segment in boats in Egypt maybe 80 power 20 sail or so ....
But yah ... might be a nice idea
maybe in the future ...

[rwatson]

Originally Posted by Raggi_Thor

Looking good, Watson!
When will you have more details?

Or after looking at,
http://schoolroad.weebly.com/uploads..._shape_rev.pdf
It looks much better than the McGregor, but I would prefer a smaller cabin top..

The cabin swize is a result of the design criteria, I want to be able to navigate from inside as well as outside - that way I get in out of really bad weather like a true cabin cruiser.

The hull shape is finalised, and I am get organised and financialised to have the layup schedule completed. Doing a boat design is a long process.

[Raggi_Thor]

I see.
And you go for an inboard diesel?
Maybe ability to keep a reasonable speed in a bad sea is more important than top speed on flat water?

[rwatson]

Originally Posted by Raggi_Thor

I see.
And you go for an inboard diesel?
Maybe ability to keep a reasonable speed in a bad sea is more important than top speed on flat water?

I thought about someting like a mercruiser, inboard etc, but you really cant go past an outboard for this type and size of boat. The interior room saving, ease of maintenance and lightness are all important considerations.

I expect to get good top speed in flat water, and just throttle back the outboard in bad weather.

One thing that doesnt get a big mention in this thread is the ability to have a sail as a backup to a failed motor, and a motor to backup a failed or inoperative rig.

I have seen a lot of motor boats being towed in after breaking down, and in no wind or too much wind, sails can be a real liability ( especially if you have to helm in high wind, and have inexperienced family members trying to take a reef in )

[Wavewacker]

I like the interior and looks of the 26X, but when the factory engineer tells me it's for protected waters and that there are trade offs in serving two purposes, I have to listen to him. I also asked about "beefing it up", add more supports, improve deck connections, etc. his response was, you'd be better off starting with another boat. Now, this conversation took place years ago, things may have improved, I don't know.

I know the new one has a promo video off shore in heavy weather and it did just fine, but I bet the guys on that boat had a little more time under the sheets than I do. Since skill and experience has much to do with a successful voyage, maybe that is where more considerations may be considered.

I posted a couple of things here in the design form, probably the wrong part of this site for me to be in, but the 26X could still meet most of my requirements, a motorsailor for the ICW, lakes and rivers. For the purposes to be served it's a nice boat, but I'm sure I have been on better sailing and motoring boats.

I would go down stream in a 26X on the Mississippi, I doubt I would want to go up stream without a vehicle and trailer chasing me, too many underwater dangers running down river to be hulled.

[Willallison]

I've never really understood the disdain with which people hold Macs. Sure - they're not the best powerboats in the world. They're not the best sail boats in the world either. And they are most certainly built to a price. But does that make them bad boats? Of course not.
They are designed to serve a purpose and their continued market success would certainly suggest that they are doing something right. So too the fact that other manufacturers have tried to emulate that success.

I spent the weekend at a small local boatshow, standing next to a colleague who was displaying his 3 year old Mac. He is an experienced boater and has spent the last 3 years cruising the boat up and down the East coast of Australia. He has made considerable improvements to the base boat in terms of the rig and other accessories, but the vessel is otherwise as he bought it. They did a variety of cruising that is unknown to many and had a fabulous time doing it. The boat performed without fault throughout.
He's selling the boat now as he has bought a larger sail boat - a Catalina 31. Better sailboat... yes. Better built... yes. More comfortable... yes.
But I couldn't help but wonder whether he'll use or enjoy it as much.....

[Steve W]

While i havnt read through every page of this thread i have not seen any mention of the safety feature that all Macs share up to and including the 65 and that is full floatation, the things will not sink, believe me this is a very comforting feature and Roger Macgregor has been commited to this for many years.
Steve.

[Capt Erich]

I am 65 years old and have sailed since age 7 on Chesapeake Bay. I own a '77 Catalina 22, a '91 MacGregor 26S and a '93 Hunter 23.5. The Catalina is built the strongest, The Hunter is innovative and has the most luxury features, and the MacGregor sails by far the best. I've had the 26S in Chesapeake Bay, the Gulf of Mexico, Pamlico Sound, Lakes Ontario and Erie, and in the Pacific. She sails faster than the others, points higher and has the lowest freeboard. I had her in Tenacatita Bay, south of Puerto Vallarta, during the tsunami that followed the quake in Japan, and with the keel and rudder up she went gracefully upright to high and dry, then re-floated as the water returned. I enjoy all three boats for different reasons. I would NOT own a 26X or M. They are not good motorboats, nor do they have good sailing characteristics. Standing headroom in the cabin is at the expense of very high freeboard. FYI the old MacGregor 25 has a heavy swing keel instead of water ballast, sails very well, but does not make good use of cabin space. The 26D, S and C improved the cabin layout greatly. Roger is one cheap hombre, but he has put a lot of people on the water who may not have been able to afford it otherwise. Just my humble opinion.