What is so bad about these boats???

[Russ]

I've never experienced the snobs or Mac bashers. In fact, I've gotten many many compliments. However, where we boat there aren't many experienced boaters and they haven't been exposed to snobs.

The Mac doesn't sail as well as a keelboat and doesn't power as well as a powerboat. Therefore it's a compromise boat that get little respect in the purebred group. The fact that there is a big honkin' motor on the back seems to irk many pure sailors.

Much of the Mac bashing that I've seen comes from the SA web site. However there are some there who admit their real motives for bashing.

Some comments -----------------------------------------------
The first step is just being honest with your emotions ... Mac 26 is the piece of crap boat that will make us feel like a kids again instead of the uptight, fat-ass, half-accountants, "yachtsmen" that we have become. And that's why we hate the Mac 26, because it represents the glue-huffing, TG&Y-shoplifting, hard-ass hooligan that we can't ever become again.

Why do any of us care what kind of quality (or lack of it) boat someone else wants to buy? I have a toolbox full of aircraft-grade Snap-On tools but the $5 vice grips in my kitchen drawer get far more use. Who cares what the quality is of a Mac ... if the owners enjoy the boat, isn't that good enough?


This quote seems to fit many Mac owners:
Our unofficial motto of our sailing club is that we are a 'eating club with a sailing disorder' Sailing fast is not the top order of the day - having fun is! After a few drinks at Happy Hour..we forget how slow we are

[iredrider1177]

i believe the last post from russmt summed it up for my future plans very well........

[NiceAft]

Jamie,

I should have told you my story.

I sailed a Phantom for 25 years.


When I was finally given permission from the Admiral to get a bigger boat, I went a hunting. Somewhere I came across the Mac. In doing my very thorough research, I too noticed all of the negative remarks. I came to the realization that the only bad remarks about the boat were from people who never owned one The people who did own one had buckets full of praise We bought one, and have never looked back. I went from a 14' board with a cockpit, to a 26' boat that sleeps six. I had a steep learning curve, but also a fun one. Before I ever took Nice Aft out, I took a Coast Guard Sailing and Seamanship course.

Do your due diligence, and go forward

Ray

P.S. I still own the Phantom. The Admiral did not let me get rid of it, and I'm glad. I love that boat. Pure fuuunnnnnnnn In 1979 it was only $700.

[Highlander]

Because you can modify & customize these boats to no end if you are very handy like me !!

And then you get to Peeve off some guy with his 250.000.00$ Yacht !!
http://s844.photobucket.com/albums/ab1/ ... 010090.flv

who said they dont sail good
http://s844.photobucket.com/albums/ab1/ ... 010091.flv

Try to get out on any kind of sail boat & see if you & Admiral are into sailing if so . you could look around for an power sailor they are a great little boat & for 19ft they have more room in them than most 23ft sail boats ! I knew I liked sailing but was not sure I'd like the Mac . so I bought a used & sailed it for 4yrs then I bought a & sold my fishing boat

J

[Jamie79]

Thanks everyone for so much input I think these are excellent boats, and hope to get my hands on one one day. i would love to see one in person all i have seen has been online. i think the nearest dealer to me (in columbia s.c.) is in atlanta. Maybe i will try to find a smaller boat at a small price. any opinions on hobie cats? guess i could learn to sail on one but probably won't get me use to the heeling. thanks again everyone.

[March]

[Maybe i will try to find a smaller boat at a small price. any opinions on hobie cats?

No no no! You don't want to go that way As soon as you get into Hobie cats, you will feel compelled to bash the Macs and/or hate those who are ready to do so from the high lectern of this board. The best way is to take the plunge. The learning curve is not all that steep, if you do it at your leisure--and this boat is anchored in leisure. You could do the Hobie in parallel, but why not do the real thing instead? You'll gain experience and log fun time on a Mac. You'll get the mod virus and learn the boat by modifying it to suit your fancy.

[delevi]

Comparing a Hobie Cat to a Mac is like comparing a motorcycle to a minivan. The Hobie: Quite fast, wet ride, need to hike out to keep from capsize in a good breeze, no motor, no cabin.... etc, etc. Mac: It's a real boat vs a water toy, much slower sailing, however, but you can take multi-day trips or longer i.e. it can be a camper on the water, can be enjoyed with friends or family, and you can still get home if the wind dies, etc, etc. Don't get me wrong. A Hobie Cat can be a lot of fun. I actually considered getting one. It's just a whole different type of vessel. On San Francisco Bay, people who sail Hobies wear wet suits. People who sail other types of boats wear foul weather gear.

Good luck in your quest.
Leon

[Rick Westlake]

Jamie,

As you can see, we all think you'd do well to buy a MacGregor. (Ask the man who owns one!) But it's not quite sailing season, even in South Carolina - and the first thing you need to do before buying a sailboat is to try out sailing and see how you like it.

And even earlier - right now, in fact - start saving up for your future Mac.
(Saving up "for a boat" is as good a reason for saving as any!)

Unless you're wedded to the idea of a motorsailer, you may be able to afford an older Mac or Venture even sooner. For example, I checked another online resource and found a MacGregor 25 offered for $4400 in North Carolina. (And - though perhaps I shouldn't be talking about other makes, you could pick up a smaller trailer-sailer for even less. I've seen older Catalina 22's out there for under $3000, and after a couple of summers you could sell it for just about as much. By then you'd see a Mac 26 as being quite palatial!)

Have fun!

[NiceAft]

"palatial!"

I like that

From now on, Nice Aft no longer has a head It now has a throne room Thanks Rick

Ray

[FLembo18]

Jamie,

Through the 1980's I had a Hobie Cat, sailing down at the Jersey Shore (Ocean City, NJ.), I loved it !! Now, I have my , I can't begin to tell you how great this boat is for me & what a BLAST

Frank L.

[Starscream]

I got hooked on sailing by trying a Hobie Cat on a Caribbean vacation, but I wouldn't buy one. They're a fun toy, not a boat.

Four years ago, I couldn't even think of affording a Mac, so I bought a Siren 17 trailer-sailer out of a farmer's field near my house for $2,200. I bought a copy of Sailing for Dummies and went sailing for four years and had a blast. Last fall, I sold the Siren for $2,200 and bought an 02 MacX for about ten times as much. (CDN$)

I considered all the other makes, Hunter 26's, Catalina 22's and 25's, O'day 222's and so on, but since I'll never be a racer (I'm barely a sailor, actually) the Mac just made the most sense and I love the ability to get places at 18mph. It opens up so many more possibilities: remote beaches, new places to explore, watersports, etc. There's just nothing out there like it (that normal people can afford).

Sure it's kind of cheaply made, but it seems to be relatively easy to upgrade or repair.

Heeling is great fun. Scary at first, but once you get used to it you want MORE! If it gets too much, drop the sails and motor-boat home. With the Siren, my brother and I took everything off the boat, donned lifejackets and went out to see if we could get it to round up. We dipped the rail in water a few times, scary-laughing all the time, but never got it to round-up. After that, "normal" sailing with the family seemed so routine.

[The Mutt]

I own a hobie and a , I have also owned other boats, before getting married I raced on cats, to say they are fun is an understatement. I have been clocked doing a mile in 7 minutes.

Learning to sail on a basic wet boat, be it a Hobie cat, pram dinghy with sail or kayak with sail is a good way to learn how to sail, if you do the wrong thing and take a dip, right the boat and start again.

We have been bagged for having a Mac, the type that makes comments like this seem to have a mentality that if you don't have what they have you are wrong, your choice is wrong, yadda, yadda. If they were talking about people instead of boats they would probably be wearing white sheets with pointy bits on their heads, strange that almost every one of them holds a position of authority in a race or sailing club!

Glenn

[jschrade]

Having a boat is better than not having a boat. There is no such thing as a perfect boat but there is always a boat that is right for you.

One man's toy is another man's Yacht!



Jim

[Terry]

Q1

p.s. The best thing about the MacGregor is that it is inexpensive to maintain. My dock buddies have to roll out thousands of dollars everytime they have to do something I haul out hundreds. Thats a big difference. They just didn't believe me when I said that my new main sail cost me 250$.

Wow! $250.00 and to think I paid $850.00 for my new main from KH, albeit, it is a higher quality sail.
What I like about the Mac is its' versatility, what I I don't like is that it is a build it yourself Hobby Starter Kit.
I would not suggest it is inexpensive to maintain unless you compare it to a larger 36' or more offshore sailboat, everything being relative. I have invested quite a few thousand dollars into mine since I bought it in 2003 and I am still not finished. Take a look at the Kelly Hanson sight and see what goodies you can buy, I see there is still several thousand more dollars I will be spending over the next few years after looking there. The boat may be inexpensive on first purchase but it sure doesn't stop there, take a look at what some owners have done to their boats to get an idea on what the aftermarket maintainence cost is.
Buy one used that someone has already outfitted for you.

[Highlander]

Starscream Quote (that normal people can afford).

Whow I'm Normal " man thats nice to know "

J