Sorry to leave

[KayakDan]

... The Admiral and I are already pondering the possibility of life on a catamaran in the future. She asked me if we should drive to the Annapolis boat show!

Annapolis boat show is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED~! (especially for shopping the catamaran).

I'm going again this year (Oct 9-13). I schedule April every year to attend Strictly Sail, held at Jack London Square in Oakland, CAlif. But I also like going to the Fall Show in Annapolis. Nearly every manufacturer will display there, versus maybe two-thirds represented out here. Just as interesting, the Vendor booths show every manner of marine widgets. I'll usually spend only a couple hundred 'impulse dollars.' But you get the opportunity to SEE all the widgets that could consume many boatbucks.

Perhaps the greatest OTHER advantage of Annapolis are the "Multihull Demo Days." Numerous of the multihull builders take reservations during the show, then schedule test rides for the few days after the show. This idea originated with Performance Cruising Inc. (PCI), a family-owned builder right in Annapolis. Tony Smith builds the Gemini and Telstar multihulls. He started offering test rides because his facility was just a mile away. Now, most of the multi-builders collaborate with PCI.

IMO, their Gemini catamaran is the most affordable and 'livable' boat on the market as a live-aboard (about $150,000?), and their Telstar trimaran is absolutely the best trailerable Waterbago on the market (about $100,000). So those are the special benefits I find at the Annapolis Show. Granted though, you'd need to schedule almost a whole week to take advantage of all above. Then too, you'd have a few days to also see some of Washington DC.

The Gemini 105Mc is the boat I'm thinking about,but I would buy used,if the right one becomes available. We're still a couple of years away from doing this,as we'll try the 26M in Exuma for a year or two,and decide if we want to go for it. We have friends who recently bought a Gemini 3200,and base it in FL to do the Bahamas run.
We're going throught the process slowly,to decide if liveaboard is for us. Nice thing is that the Admiral and I are both "on the same page".
Since I will only have the weekend to go to Annapolis,we may pass this year. Probably just as well,as climbing all over a new 105Mc would just make me crazy!

But since we missed the Newport show.....

[dthomas]

Congrats on the Beneteau!!! We made a similar move in January of last year to a 2001 Beneteau 361 and have loved every minute of it! And I do recommend continuing to hang around here - you won't find a more resourceful lot than a bunch of Mac sailors!

Dean Thomas
Dutch Harbor Boat Yard, Jamestown, RI
Formerly Lion's Paw, 1999 MacGregor 26X
Now Second Wind, 2001 Beneteau 361

[Frank C]

Congrats on the Beneteau!!! We made a similar move in January of last year to a 2001 Beneteau 361 and have loved every minute of it! And I do recommend continuing to hang around here - you won't find a more resourceful lot than a bunch of Mac sailors!

While browsing the boat shows, I long-ago pegged the Beneteau 361 as my favorite monohull (in size-range) ...
it has absolutely the best salon & accomodations ... and very large, comfortable head & shower.
It would make an ideal live-aboard, methinks.

I'm sure that Mike's Beneteau 35 is just as nice, but the 361 caught my fancy. Congrats to you both on your boating choice!

[dthomas]

Congrats on the Beneteau!!! We made a similar move in January of last year to a 2001 Beneteau 361 and have loved every minute of it! And I do recommend continuing to hang around here - you won't find a more resourceful lot than a bunch of Mac sailors!

While browsing the boat shows, I long-ago pegged the Beneteau 361 as my favorite monohull (in size-range) ...
it has absolutely the best salon & accomodations ... and very large, comfortable head & shower.
It would make an ideal live-aboard, methinks.

I'm sure that Mike's Beneteau 35 is just as nice, but the 361 caught my fancy. Congrats to you both on your boating choice!

Thank you! It is a joy to sail, yet has room to entertain our frequent guests (which was the MacGregor's chief limitation for us - where do you put 6 more people comfortably for a long day-sail?). It must have hit the sweet spot, since Beneteau built a LOT of 361's! The 35ft-ish range seems to be a good compromise - big enough for a family and friends, but small enough for a couple to sail and dock without stress. I hope Mike enjoys his as much as we've loved ours!

Dean Thomas
Dutch Harbor Boat Yard, Jamestown, RI
Formerly Lion's Paw, 1999 MacGregor 26X
Now Second Wind, 2001 Beneteau 361

[Kelly Hanson East]

Dean - I race with a friend out of the Roundhouse on Jamestown - cant be too far from you (we just hauled for the season of course)

Must be nice having that keel when those 8 footers kick up....

[delevi]

Question on the Beneteau: I'm considering the Beneteau 37 vs. the Catalina 37/387. The Bene seems to be a much nicer looking boat, but I do have one concern. The ballast in the Bene, not just this one but seems like all models is around 29% vs. Catalina which is over 40% several thousand pounds more on the Cat. The Bene dealer told me that the hull has more stability/resistance to heel so it can use less ballast and go faster, though I'm not sure I buy that. Would love to hear some feedback on this with either theories or actual performance. I sail a lot in heavy air, so a boat with heavy ballast is high on my list... but, I'm not sure if I put too much emphasis on that. Perhaps I should start another thread???

Leon

[pokerrick1]

Must be nice having that keel when those 8 footers kick up....

Eight Footers

BACK TO THE DOCK MAN

Rick

[dthomas]

Question on the Beneteau: I'm considering the Beneteau 37 vs. the Catalina 37/387. The Bene seems to be a much nicer looking boat, but I do have one concern. The ballast in the Bene, not just this one but seems like all models is around 29% vs. Catalina which is over 40% several thousand pounds more on the Cat. The Bene dealer told me that the hull has more stability/resistance to heel so it can use less ballast and go faster, though I'm not sure I buy that. Would love to hear some feedback on this with either theories or actual performance. I sail a lot in heavy air, so a boat with heavy ballast is high on my list... but, I'm not sure if I put too much emphasis on that. Perhaps I should start another thread???

Leon

That is an interesting comment and validates some of my experience over the last two seasons. My wife and I have been out in some pretty heavy air and we have deliberately tried to "bury the rail" and can't get the boat to do it - she will round up every time! The first time this happened, it scared the heck out of me - 15k lbs of boat suddenly turning without your control! I've learned to roll in some genoa or main is when the wheel starts to get heavy. After reefing, the wheel goes back to "finger steering" and full control, even though the heel angle is about the same.

One thing I have learned about is the concept of "pounding" into the bigger waves. The boat seems to have a shallow-ish underbody shape, as can be seen in the picture I took last spring http://photos.tigpresto.com/images/A_6/ ... _63bc0.JPG. Our boat seems to have a lot less "belly" than many similar sized boats around us. When going directly across those big rollers, the boat sort of "crashes" over them, making for a wet, but exhilarating ride. It is fun, but I can't imagine doing that for days on end - that is one of the differences between a coastal cruiser like ours and a true blue-water boat. I don't know if the 37 has the same shape, but it might be something to consider.

Good luck!

Dean Thomas
Dutch Harbor Boat Yard, Jamestown, RI
Formerly Lion's Paw, 1999 MacGregor 26X
Now Second Wind, 2001 Beneteau 361

[dthomas]

Dean - I race with a friend out of the Roundhouse on Jamestown - cant be too far from you (we just hauled for the season of course)

Must be nice having that keel when those 8 footers kick up....

I think you are on the Newport side of Conanicut Island - we are on the other side in the West Passage. We LOVE the Narragansett! I'll never forget the first time I drove down the hill on RI 138 approaching the Verranzano Bridge and saw dozens and dozens of sailboats of all sizes. Coming from a central Texas lake, where my Mac was one of maybe half-a-dozen sailboats tops, it was an amazing sight! Narragansett Bay is a special place - at any given moment, you might see some million dollar race boat with 30 people all dressed in matching gear, or a weather-beaten center cockpit cruiser just arrived from Bermuda, or a family out for a day sail dodging lobster pots.

And for the record, I haven't run into any 8 footers *inside* the Bay - outside in RI Sound, however, is another story (the only time we've ever had a guest use a barf bag was riding some of those rollers).

(this is spinning way off topic - sorry about that)

Dean Thomas
Dutch Harbor Boat Yard, Jamestown, RI
Formerly Lion's Paw, 1999 MacGregor 26X
Now Second Wind, 2001 Beneteau 361

[delevi]

Dean,
Thanks for the feedback and picture. I was actually off on the numbers. Most Beneteaus are right around 25% ballast to displacement. Catalinas are right around 35%. I also confirmed the hull shape... Bene relatively flat bottom, Cat, more traditional wine glass shaped bottom. Seems the Bene would have an edge in ligth air and the Cat would be more stable in the heavy stuff. They're probably comparable in medium air. I went out to see both the Cat 375 & 387 as well as the Bene 37 (or 370.. not sure.) as well as the 40 & 42. At the end of the day, I think I will look for a more classic, heavy ballst boat like a Tartan 37 like 1995 ish or younger. Unlike the Mac purchase which was almost an impulse buy, I will make take my sweet time with this one. Besides, I need to save up some major boat bucks.

Enjoy your coastal cruising. The 365 is fine vessel and should be no comparison to sailing a Mac

Cheers,
Leon

[carriacou]

Congrats on the new ride........

PLEASE DO NOT have your Admiral talk to my Admiral cause I'm not yet ready to get fourfootites yet. I still have the Mac 22 from the last sickness that lead to the

[David Mellon]

I hope my next boat will have davits big enough to hang The Yam from. There's a dream for you!

[ALX357]

In the same vein of changing boats, it seems to me best to also change my sailing program, but in my situation, to step down into a smaller boat.

If this merits its own thread, I understand if it gets moved, but the main point is that needs and situations change.

The high price of gas and my own relative income made me reconsicer the Mac picture.
I love my MacX, its dual purpose nature resting on a balance of motor performance and sailing characteristics.
But the cost of motoring having become so/too high, it is now only feasible to sail.

Half of the boat revolves around the motoring function, and its compomises are at the cost of sailing performance. If I only plan to sail except for sub-sonic cruising, and harbor manouvering, a low hp motor is sufficient, but then, why have the water ballast, and the sailing compromises ? I have deciced awhile back that trailer sailing was impractical, and required the minimum rigging possible, at the cost of reefing options or more time spent rigging. Thus pulling the boat out and trailering has become a seasonal thing.

I am leaning toward getting into a Catalina Capri 18 with wing keel - as a replacement boat, and have been looking around.
As for my Mac, it has a note to pay off, and I would have to sell her first.
A sensibly and moderately modded boat, in excellent conditon, and hard to part with, for me.
Many of the ideas and mods inspired by Mac owners on this board, including myself, will be useful on ANY boat I get, so I will always have a respect and need to visit here, even if I do sell my boat. The only way I will able to part with it is if I get a good value for it, so it will not be given away or sold short.

PM me if you would like any specific details on the mods and impovements on my Mac, or search the threads here.