M or x from bare or salvaged hull

[Divecoz]

If money isn't an issue then here's The Boat .. in our size range...The Trailer Sailboat...http://www.seawardyachts.com/26rk.html

I'm not talking about modding a Mac in this thread, I'm talking about a wish list for the next generation 26 from MacGregor.

Price was not my primary consideration when I bought the Mac, although I absolutely agree that price is why it's the best selling boat series ever. My primary consideration was trailer-ability, because in San Diego, that's what REALLY saves you money. Slips here start at $500/mo. and go up to $1100 to accommodate a boat the size of a Mac. That's so much more over time than the cost of the hull that its astonishing.

I like the fact that there are a lot of different voices and experience here. I like considering all these different ideas, even though 99% of them will never amount to anything. Still fun!

[mastreb]

If money isn't an issue then here's The Boat .. in our size range...The Trailer Sailboat...http://www.seawardyachts.com/26rk.html

Yep, that's the other boat I was considering. I had Tim at Hake quote me out one, and my decision really came down to logistics: They're in Florida, and I'm in So Cal. Hake has no dealer network, so you have to arrange for shipping at your cost and there was no opportunity to sail or even see the boat without flying to Florida.

Tim was very accommodating and offered to sell me the demo boat they were shipping to the LA boat show, but we had plans we wanted to have a boat for in shorter order and he needed a commitment to buy before seeing the boat. I'm 6'5", and just can't commit to buying anything without a "fit test". The MacGregor has three berths I can sleep in, but most boats this size don't have any, and looking at the shallow V berth and split aft-berth (with inboard diesel engine between) on the Hake it just didn't look like I was going to fit. With three kids plus me and the admiral, it was clear that the Hake's floorplan was not going to accommodate us. We've already spent about 24 days living in the Mac out of the 100 odd days we've owned it, and it's very comfortable.

The Hake is almost certainly a better sailboat with higher quality fittings, but in all other respects the Mac was superior and much easier to acquire. The Hake came out to $54K plus $10K in shipping. The Mac came out to $38K the way we had it fit out.

Half the reason I'm casting around for mods to improve the sailing performance of the boat is that I _want_ to have a better performing sailboat, but I _have_ to have the open floorplan and easy trailering of the Mac if I want to own a boat.

Roger did a fantastic job designing these boats. Everything else are mere tweaks to his brilliant design.

[Bransher]

I have also been attracted to the Seaward 26RK. The boat appears to be substantially built and I like the many features found on the exterior. Considerably more expensive than the Mac. However, I still think the Mac wins for interior design. I have climbed aboard at a couple of boat shows and somehow the Mac layout just seems roomier to me given the same amount of space.

If money were no object (which it is), I probably would go with the Seaward because it appears to be more sea-worthy.

[Ixneigh]

The 26 rk was one of my choices BUT they draw more and have a heavy vertical keel with electric winch. They will sail much better though and are light years better constructed. But i myself only venture out into blue water once in a while. The rest is spent in water less then 20 feet deep. And a great part of that in water less then three feet deep. And unless it can actuslly SAIL in shallow water, it dont count. For the substancial price difference, i am betting i can fix or beef up the marginal stuff on the M and tweak the sails, reefing, and hardware to improve performance.


Ixneigh

[FinallySailing]

Looks like an interesting boat, the 26 rk. Given it's weight, here in Europe where cars are smaller, at 6000 lbs you can't really call this an easily trailerable boat anymore. The ad talks about its offshore capabilities, is it actually a Category A or B vessel ? If I could spend that amount of money, I'd forget about trailering and get a bigger second hand craft - like a Southerly with swingkeel