Well here I go

[jpsage]

Well here goes...

I am a 65yo guy who took some sailing lessons a couple of years ago. It was in a 14' capri. I really enjoyed it except at my age falling all over a dinky little boat seems a little extreme. I really like the idea of the MacGregor but I need to decide if it will be too much for me. I live on Whidbey Island WA and like the idea of being able to take it to the local launch into Puget Sound, being able to to motor away from other boaters where I can hone my sailing skills and then being able to motor back.

I read about MacGregor on some other sailing sites and they seem to like to bad mouth the boat. I figured that users of the boat would be more objective. MacGregor certainly sells a lot of them.

Any comments good and bad will gratefully accepted

Thanks john.

[bjmeunier]

Love my ...I read about it not sailing great and not motoring great, but, it seems to do both well enough for me not to notice. It truly is the best of both worlds. I have launched, and recovered it by myself. The light weight makes it rather easy to do. I'm 44 with a cantankerous back. A little story...I was out on Narragansett Bay, had an awesome 2 hour sail down the bay in light winds. After toodling around Newport harbor, decided we needed to get going for the Admirals parents BBQ. With winds dying off to less than 5 mph, I fired up the motor and were back on the dock in twenty minutes, packed up and on the road 30 after that...just can't beat a Mac...next year I'm going to take it on a RV/SAIL week. Using it as both a boat, and camper, and hit some out of the way areas...

I've sailed little boats and personal yachts(windsurfers) most of my life, this boat is still exciting enough to get me fired up every time I take her out. As far as the other sites, some are a little extreme, and frankly, childish. It's too bad that some sailors feel the need to bash other boats. Some of them should take a lesson from motorcycle riders...you ride, you're one of us, doesn't matter who made the two(three) wheels you're on, as long as you ride!

I know I rambled a bit, but, I was in the exact same spot you are a year ago....very concerned about dropping that kind of money on something that may be a dud. It has turned out to be one of the best buys I've made. I've enjoyed most every second with my boat(re wiring was not fun ) and I hope to have her for many years to come.

[waternwaves]

As one of sailings worlds and sailing anarchy's most hated............

Who just sold his mac and is still regretting it. I think I can summarize some elements of the ownership process. I own and service multiple sailboats. mostly keelboats now. But many of my friends still have their macs and occasionally are silly enough to invite to continue sailing on their macs. (Thanks to all of you)

1) Most guys love the boat.
2) Some very opinionated non owners who sail other peoples boats and adopt others opinions cant stand the boat.
3) Some opinionate owners of keelboats don't like macs
4) most sailboat racers do not care for macs.
5) most admirals/spouses/partners love to start in macs. But it seems that their preference for creature comforts when cruising often initiates a larger or additional vessel. This process is accelerated if the admiral/partners spouses are tall, or enjoy cruising with other boat owners with larger boats.
6) A mac is a great second or third boat.
7) a mac is very easy to single hand, Something I cannot quite say with my 40 hunter. bringing in a 17 ft gin pole in 20 kts with no auto pilot and a broken mid pole hoist is not easy on a 40 ft boat single handed.
A mac will take you to more of the beautiful places in america quicker easier than most any other sailboat.
9) a mac does not belong in a gale, at night, in close to shore.
10) They are a blast to sail unloaded with no ballast. (I do not recommend this for anyone else, But it is fun and wet. However, the righting moment seems to be non existant after about 65 degrees with no ballast. (don't ask me how I know. I am sure some one took pics to embarass me........)
11) A mac requires a lot of .......... mods to be comfortable. Searching through used boats is productive. Others can chime in here, but everyone needs mods. and unless you plan on keeping it slipped, you need a good reliable tow vehicle.
12) after falling off the deck of a mac several times, I find it much more comfortable to raise the mast on the water now, than when on concrete. JMHO
13) MAc sailors tend to be friendlier in helping others.




9) I miss my mac. But I will get another someday.

[Terry]

Well here goes...

I am a 65yo guy who took some sailing lessons a couple of years ago. It was in a 14' capri. I really enjoyed it except at my age falling all over a dinky little boat seems a little extreme. I really like the idea of the MacGregor but I need to decide if it will be too much for me. I live on Whidbey Island WA and like the idea of being able to take it to the local launch into Puget Sound, being able to to motor away from other boaters where I can hone my sailing skills and then being able to motor back.

I read about MacGregor on some other sailing sites and they seem to like to bad mouth the boat. I figured that users of the boat would be more objective. MacGregor certainly sells a lot of them.

Any comments good and bad will gratefully accepted

Thanks john.

I would think users to be even less objective because we really like our boats.
You have one major element in your favour, the venue. The PNW, Puget Sound, Georgia Strait area is spectacular sailing grounds and the MacGregor is ideally suited for it, protected coastal waters, what more could you ask for. For me & my wife the mac works well for 4 nights five days then it starts to get small. We mostly day sail and in July we explore the San Juans & Gulf Islands, Puget Sound is on our wish list. The mac is the ideal boat for these waters and there is no shortage of them here, we see many others in our travels and we have a Mac Club here in B.C. You will not be the only Mac owners in these parts, there are many more of us. Join the fun.

[Hardcrab]

I say dat der bote suck
It a reel POS
I wouldt let my worse emanee sale on won
It be butt ugly frum front to bak en side ta side
It a deaf trap waitin to hapen
Loaded with reel lightwait and cheep stan in rigging winches and all de udder stuf I hear talk bout wiff my frens.
Anywon who gots one is a beg stoopid ediot
Anywon who want to got one needs sum beg help an doan be sew stoopid

Least dats wha I hear wiff my frens tellin me en I gess it be trew cause day say sew

I gots good crebidity cause I be 14 years old dis Decemer
En I crew on my Dad bote witch is da bes and fasest salebote in da worl, and I pose on SA all de time wif my udder frens
So dare, I toll ya
Member now, I 100# crebidle
I no everthang
Jus ask me.

Gotta go Mom is callin me 4 diner

Member doan by won cause I toll ya.

[SkiDeep2001]

Hardcrab, LMAO Rob

[Doug91mac26s]

Hardcrab, tooo funny

Jpsage, I agree, don't believe all the nay sayers. Better to listen to those that own Mac's, we love em!

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

jpsage...dont listen to Hardcrab, he's off his meds, and apparently was allowed a keyboard for a moment...just kidding.

I've owned a '95 Mac 26-S (8 h.p. merc), and now a '99 26-X (50 h.p. Nissan). The "S" was a little cramped, but I like both boats. Personally, I like the versitality of the water ballast trailerable 26 ft. MacGregor boat over and above anything comparable -- it wont cost you an arm and a leg either.

If you enjoy fishing, camping, protected water cruising, overnighting on the hook, or slipped in a Marina, along with other options...you'll discover the Mac functions real well.

We keep our Mac-X in a slip full time for convenience.

If you thumb through some of these thread sites, commentaries, and modifications done to our Mac Boats, you'll find it very interesting.

Good Luck...

[Wind Chime]

Hi John,

We have a great MacGregor Yacht Club just north of you in Vancouver Canada. We have 48 boats in the club and a few of them are from down in your area.

I am the Commodore of the club, and my wife and I can tell you first hand just how enjoyable the MacGregor boating lifstyle can be.

I created a video of the club to give people an idea of how much fun we have.
You can check it out on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeqZzSYbTSY or use the search word "MYCBC".

You can also check out our website at http://www.MYCBC.ca

[Chinook]

And on top of all of the above, how many other sailboats can sit in 12 inches of water, motor in 2 feet, and even let the tide go out and sit upright on a soft beach? The shallow draft capability of a Mac is one of its nicest features. We can almost always enter a crowded anchorage and find a nice spot to anchor, well inside all the other deep draft boats.

[carriacou]

Wind Chime, that is an AWESOME youtube video. Makes a Yank want to join and come up north for the wondrous adventure.

GO GO MYCBC

don

[Rick Westlake]

John,

If you're looking for an unbiased opinion of the Mac, you've come to the wrong place. I think I can speak for all of us (except for Bart Simpson Hardcrab - I too am ROTFLMAO!!) when I say we are heavily biased IN FAVOR of our MacGregors.

All boats are compromises. The MacGregor's targets are "easy to afford," "simple," "trailerable," and "lightweight".

What does it miss, with those compromises? It's not as fast as a racer like the J-Boats. It's not as "seakindly" as a purpose-built ocean rover like the Island Packets. And it's not as sumptuous as, say, a Cabo Rico.

So what? Those boats include compromises that make them unable to do some things a Mac does - for instance, it would take me about two days on I-95 to get Bossa Nova down to the Florida Keys. Scheherezade, a Cabo Rico 38 (and a gorgeous boat!) that spent last winter on the hard in my home marina, would need about two or three weeks, maybe more, to get there down the Intracoastal Waterway. I can pull up the engine, rudders and keel and beach Bossa Nova on an outgoing tide, or get out in waist-deep water and hand-haul her upwind to a preferable anchorage (I've done this). And if I get in a hurry I can pull up the boards, firewall the oversized outboard, and hustle.

The MacGregor fits my needs and my budget. She's a good boat for day-sailing, she can take weekending in stride, and people have done much more lengthy (in time) journeys in their MacGregors ... plus, you can park her at the KOA and stay overnight, on your way to someplace special that you simply could not reach in a "real yacht".

The most important question is one you have to ask yourself: "Does this boat do what i want to do with a boat?" The best way I can see for you to answer that is to meet up with Terry, Wind Chime, Chinook, or anyone in your near vicinity who has a Mac. Go out sailing; help your host launch and re-trailer the boat; try it on for size. I personally believe you'll be pleased with the Mac, even if her cabin looks more like a Chevy Van than a Rolls Royce....

[Québec 1]

Low maintenance is great. My yearly costs are:
Oil change and tune up twice a year.
This year I had to replace my GPS antennae 85$
I bought a screen for the main hatch 79.$
A ladder for beaching 40$
John gave me a grab bar for 0$ I bought 2 SS nuts and bolts for the install...5$ or so
Thats it!

Next year I guess I'll have to put a coat of anti fouling.....maybe ...and buy a new piece for my furler 200$

Main thing, I seem to be able to afford this baby on my limited revenues and still spend a month in Florida in the winter!
Q1

[pokerrick1]

Start looking for a Mac 26 anything to buy and call me in the morning. I sent you a PM.

Rick

[bjmeunier]

Hardcrab...someone should post that on SA that's classic