in the market for "bluewater" liveaboard cruiser

[Catigale]

Yeeks...here is a clip from the ship's log...imagine this....this is a place I sail a lot in the summer...(not that far off shore of course)

About 100 miles out of Newport I encountered very dense sea fog and unfortunatley no wind for a day and a half. I was caught in something called teh Great South Ship's Channel just south of Nantucket. Every hour or so I could hear a ship's fog horn going past. I was replying on my foghorn, but it sounded very puny in relation to the ships' blasts. Still I think my two radar reflectors are fairly effective [A Dutch ship, the NV Power, passed me one evening and told me they had had me on radar for an hour].

[eric3a]

..

[Divecoz]

36 hours of making mud balls in his Jockey Shorts !!!!!

[Catigale]

Something about having to go to bed at night placing complete faith in the freighters radar operator and crew alertness being between you and boat chum doesnt sit too well with me....

[Divecoz]

No Problem Cat they would hear me . . .no need for radar !
I would be screaming like 8 year old little girl!

[baldbaby2000]

i have been looking at the nor'seas. while a bit above my price range they look to be a good consideration too, would you guys say so?

There's a Nor'sea that sails at Granby and it looks like a very seaworthy boat and the draft isn't that much; something like 3 feet. The owner has taken it to Sea of Cortez.

[Catigale]

Imagine its 3 am in the morning, pitch black, and all you can hear is

THRUM THRUM THRUM THRUM getting louder and louder....

[eric3a]

..

[jaguar496]

ARGO take a look at the SEAWARD. www.seawardyachts.com. a bit pricey, but bluewater for the 32'. can go into 18", also. stay with your dreams, because, "THE OLDER YOU GET, THE FASTER YOU GET OLDER" I know, yesterday I was 16, and overnight a half century went by Alice and Stew,"THE RESTLESS TWO"

[kmclemore]

www.seawardyachts. com.

Correction on address: http://www.seawardyachts.com/

[Andy26M]

Argo -

I think your plan to use the Mac26M as a learning boat and live aboard, and then move up in a few years is a good one.

Once you are real comfortable sailing the M, you want to tow it down to Florida for a vacation and join one of the groups on a week's sail to the Tortugas or out to the Bahamas - travel with other folks who've done it before to get a real idea of the concerns involved. You may find afterwards that you'll be totally pumped up for the idea of crossing the Atlantic in a sailboat, or you may realize that you'd really rather island-hop and never spend more than a day outside the view of land... The "dream" and the reality may be very different for reasons you cannot conceive without more experience.

AS far as "blue water", one concern not made clear above is the rigging situation. The Macgregor rig is designed for you to be able to raise and lower it easily with just one or two people, in under an hour. To allow this, the rigging (wire ropes) is very light, and the mast is deck-stepped (i.e. it sits on top of the boat in a bracket, not in a socket even, let alone being solidly planted on the keel). It would be just too easy to lose your entire rig in a relatively small storm, and trying to get halfway across the Atlantic on an outboard engine and 24 gallons of gas is simply not a viable plan.

Regarding uncertainty of employment locations and the trailerability of the Mac vs. a heavier boat, there ARE professionals out there who specialize in moving boats over land or water as freight, so it is possible to ship a boat overland from the east coast to the west, which may be more cost effective than buying a boat, selling it, and then buying another one.

Please do not think that we on this board are trying to be negative or discouraging to you - we are trying to help you be realistic and not get disappointed, as well as stay safe and healthy!

Weatherfaxes, SSB radios, NOAA, GPS, and all the wonderful conveniences of our technological world would make it seem that crossing an ocean should be safe and simple, but at the end of the day you MUST be ready to complete your voyage without ANY of that, relying only on your own knowledge, the solid boat underneath you, and the expertise of your companions. How confident are you of your navigational skills if your GPS is dead?

I think when I retire from the Navy I may well be trading my house for a live-aboard, Blue Water Cruiser and spending at least a year or two on it - I love my Mac26M, but it is not even under consideration to be used thus

- Andy

[Boblee]

Crikey there's some great info here and very well summed up by Andy.
I/we will be heading North for at three months this year and will be living on the Mac exclusively but as for getting into real blue water there is no chance for me let alone the wife who starts to panic a couple of k's off shore.
The mac is probably more versatile than any other boat but even attempting our Bass straight leaves me cold, although with company of other Macs and lots of thought would certainly give it a go.
Any Aussies up to it or what about from say Karrumba to Darwin during the winter this year.

[Catigale]

Reading that helo pilot who, at 100 feet radar altimeter, watched a wave go under the helo at 10 foot clearance, will keep me off the Bass St. for a long time....1998 Hobart race of course...

[Night Sailor]

One consideration not mentioned is beam. Most states require permits to trailer anything over 8' 6" wide. If easy trailerability is important be sure to check beam width as well as draft and gross weight.

Several people on this forum live aboard their Mac 26s full time, however they are single, with occasional guests or crew.

Very compatible people can live together is small places if both like it. Otherwise there is the cockpit, which I suspect is named not for an animal but for the open air fights which can take place there.....

[Moe]

Only 8 states have limits less than the 102" (8-1/2') federal one and even in them you need no permit to tow 8-1/2' on interstates. Like most Airstreams built in the last 10 years, ours is 8-1/2' wide. So are most of the larger motorhomes, not including their awning, which is exempted. One of the 8-foot states, I think it may've been NJ, quickly passed exemption for boaters and RVers when they found out they were losing tourism because of it. I've never heard of an RVer being cited overwidth at 8-1/2 feet.