What Is Up With The Gate Latches (Hasp) On Our Macs?

[GaryMayo]

Gary: Its a serviceable, decently made sailboat , and for the X's and M's a modest powerboat as well, all the while , for a very reasonable price.. It can as well be suitable for short term Live-Aboard..Ive done 5 weeks.. Sumner on a 26 S has done 3 months.. Many many others have done this as well.... With all that going for it . You can, depending on where you live .. tow it with a NONE Dedicated Tow Vehicle.. For what we pay New or Used for them , many of us own them .. These Boats are affordable..FOR MANY of us.. Often that's a huge issue.. Can I justify the original purchase price..??
So I don't see your points.. so show me. Show me what you have DONE to YOUR Boat.. Anyone can say they don't like this or that.. do it, and show us.. BUY One and Modify it to your hearts desire.. you may even exceed a few others here Like Captain Jack Sparrow....First Buy one $$$$ If on the other-hand , you find them soooo undesirable, Don't Buy One.. The Seaward is a Nice boat .. You might be able to pick up a nice Used 26 for $50K...
Soooooooooo a silly cheap hasp that serves its function is all we need.. I see mine for a few minutes a year.. Most the time the Companionway "door" is not in place.. or I am inside.. and I don't see it.. Ive Never been robbed in 7 years, and I personally spend more time and energy Sailing Mine... or just sitting and acknowledging all the compliments I get on it.. BTW you've Missed.. Much more Important issues that might deserve your/our attention..

I get it, your the hardware salesman that sold all the gate latches to Roger!

[Ixneigh]

3/16 aluminum in four slats isn't going to cut it. Bends to easily.
Even on only two slats. Maybe 1/4 inch diamond plate. But that's heavy and awkward.
3/4 inch oak or teak planks are about the only thing that might stand up to an average man kicking it.
The one piece fiberglass panel I thought was pretty stought but seemIngly it has failed one owner on this thread.
The advent of cordless tools makes many security measures useless at any rate.
My goal is to keep kids, peOple who assume if it's not locked its fair game and spur of the moment thieves out. I've had gas tanks lifted from the cockpit on the last boat but the cabin was always locked.
The boat looks scruffy and has no Obvious goodies on it.
My bet is Rodger decided he'd rather have them break the lock then break the hatch.
While the home style deadbolt might look neater and even centered in the hatch opening I doubt it will be any more secure.
I know a guy who can pick any household lock in about five seconds. I was amazed when he "broke into " one of the houses he was doing work on because no One could find the key that was supposed to have been left for the contractors.

Ixneigh

[Crikey]

I get it, your the hardware salesman that sold all the gate latches to Roger!

Operative word here: Don't shoot the messenger!
And if you read all these quotes properly, it's not the big deal it's being made out to be.

[K9Kampers]

I'd never have imagined that a $5 piece of metal could cause such a stir!

Anyone not want their gate latches... send 'em to me... I collect metal and make stuff!

[GaryMayo]

I'd never have imagined that a $5 piece of metal could cause such a stir!

Anyone not want their gate latches... send 'em to me... I collect metal and make stuff!

Great idea about sending it off in the mail, but I think I will send mine (if I can still find it, removed it last weekend and did not save it)

off to Roger. In the note to him, i will say only one word:

REALLY?

& I am afraid I have to politely disagree with a couple of posters here, that contend the Mac is build cheap to go out the door AS IS and if you want something nice on the boat, you do it yourself.

I have no axe to grind here. I am still looking for my first major sailboat purchase. I only consider my Mac 25 to be a class, reintroduction to sailing, boating 101.

I can purchase any pretty much sailboat I want that you would typically see on Midwest lakes. I am not rich, but I am not poor either. Own my own business, wife also works, we have no kids and we are living a life of long hours and hard work.

I am looking at MacGregors not because they are cheap, I am looking at them for all they offer. They offer stuff I do not see on other sailboats.

What other sailboat can I take up river and make good time?

What other sailboat can water ski? Or pull a tube?

What other 26' sailboat can I rince out with a garden hose, inside the cabin?

What other sailboat can so easily go down a highway to a distant lake?

What other sailboat can powerboat to meet friends, then sailboat with friends?

I also see a lot of quality in the build, and a lot of quality in the dealers chosen to sell the product.

[K9Kampers]

Turning to the aspect of hatch security as touched on here, I've always fancied the mechanism of the 4 dog latching system. I bet that this could be adapted to work for the Mac with a flush mount keyed lock.

[Fxwg80hd]

I am not rich, but I am not poor either. Own my own business, wife also works, we have no kids and we are living a life of long hours and hard work.

I am looking at MacGregors not because they are cheap, I am looking at them for all they offer. They offer stuff I do not see on other sailboats.

What other sailboat can I take up river and make good time?
What other sailboat can water ski? Or pull a tube?
What other 26' sailboat can I rince out with a garden hose, inside the cabin?
What other sailboat can so easily go down a highway to a distant lake?
What other sailboat can powerboat to meet friends, then sailboat with friends?

If you don't like the Mac then maybe you should be looking at the Hunter Edge. You said price really is not a big deal. There are a couple other brands that will meet your needs as well and, if I recall correctly, they all start at least double the list price of a Mac. Reading your post it really appears you do not like MacGregor sailboats. Not sure why you would want to keep looking at MacGregor sailboats since you believe the quality is so poor.

[Hamin' X]

You got it right, Gary: No other boat can offer what a Macgregor offers. It is second best at everything and not first best at anything, except being second best at everything. You can find a boat that has the finest hardware, the rarest wood, sails the fastest, points the highest, motors the fastest, has the most room, has the finest fit & finish, etc, etc. But you will never find a boat that offers all of the things that a Macgregor does.

Accept it for what it is, or look somewhere else.

~Rich

[seahouse]

I echo those last posts- no one else makes a vessel that does what a Mac can do at any price.

View it as a reasonably competent platform upon which you can build whatever you want.

Hamin'X - kinda' sounds like you're describing the WWII fighter Supermarine Spitfire. There were individual planes faster than it, more manoeverable than it, better-armed than it; but no plane at the time had all the good characteristics rolled into one single airframe.
- Brian.

[GaryMayo]

I am not rich, but I am not poor either. Own my own business, wife also works, we have no kids and we are living a life of long hours and hard work.

I am looking at MacGregors not because they are cheap, I am looking at them for all they offer. They offer stuff I do not see on other sailboats.

What other sailboat can I take up river and make good time?
What other sailboat can water ski? Or pull a tube?
What other 26' sailboat can I rince out with a garden hose, inside the cabin?
What other sailboat can so easily go down a highway to a distant lake?
What other sailboat can powerboat to meet friends, then sailboat with friends?

If you don't like the Mac then maybe you should be looking at the Hunter Edge. You said price really is not a big deal. There are a couple other brands that will meet your needs as well and, if I recall correctly, they all start at least double the list price of a Mac. Reading your post it really appears you do not like MacGregor sailboats. Not sure why you would want to keep looking at MacGregor sailboats since you believe the quality is so poor.

Have you read any of my posts? I love the Mac's

Have your wife lead you to an eye doctor!

I have just purchased one, and negotiating a deal on a second one.

I just do not understand a lock that looks like it belongs on a child's tree house, or guarding the trash can in an alley, on a 30,000 dollar sail boat?

That is a mystery to me. I go through life investigating mysteries. JFK, Hindenburg, Edmond Fitzgerald (also a hatch problem come to find out), Bigfoot, and now Gate Latches On Sail Boats.

[GaryMayo]

I have two vertical cabin doors. One on my Mac 25, and an evtra that came with the boat. My wife is going to bring in the extra one when she comes in to work tomorrow.

I will fabricate an affordable, non-embarissing, functional from both sides hatch lock and post pictures of it here in this thread. Give me about 24 hours.

I will also beef up the vertical door so kicking the door in will be a lot less likely. In addition to a improved lock, I will add a security system to that hatch door to deter predators from the cabin, cockpit, and the engine area. Look for this mod to cost less than a pair of shoes for your kids.

Suggestions of something you would like in the way of security for this project, let me know.

[GaryMayo]

Turning to the aspect of hatch security as touched on here, I've always fancied the mechanism of the 4 dog latching system. I bet that this could be adapted to work for the Mac with a flush mount keyed lock.

I like it!

[Fxwg80hd]

Have you read any of my posts? I love the Mac's

Yep, I've seen most if not all your post. Taken all together, your post have a theme of Mac bashing.

Have your wife lead you to an eye doctor!

I get it, your the hardware salesman that sold all the gate latches to Roger!

I also see that you do not hold much respect for other members of this site as you are very quick to criticize those who do not share your opinion.

As for the Mac Sailboats, you can please most of the people most of the time but you cannot please all the people all the time. All I can say is if you are not happy with something then fix it or change it. If you don't want to do that, then don't buy a Mac. I would say the same thing if you were talking about a Harley. Most, if not all, Harley owners change something on their bike to make it reflect their personality. Well, a Mac is pretty much the same.

Since you say you have money, I'm sure there are many Mac dealers that would have no problem modifying the boat to meet your requirements.

Good luck in your hunt for the perfect sailboat that someone is willing to give away.

[Boblee]

I really can't believe this 2 1/2 pages talking about a latch I saw this thread and read the first post and moved on as it just seemed too crazy for words but saw that it had reached 3 pages and thought it may have moved off topic to something interesting but no if anything it got crazier.
This pretty well sums it up

As for the Mac Sailboats, you can please most of the people most of the time but you cannot please all the people all the time. All I can say is if you are not happy with something then fix it or change it. If you don't want to do that, then don't buy a Mac.

.
Crikey of all the things I have modified or thought of modifying the latch was not one of them, it is as secure (more) than the cleats that hold the panel and slide on, as mentioned earlier it is only to stop the opportunity thief as nothing will stop a real one, most of the time mine has a bit of wire bent in a u shape through the hasp but if I leave the boat in an unsafe area I use the factory combination lock.
To make it any more secure you would need to completely replace and remodel the whole hatch as well as put a very expensive thief proof ? lock on but the something else would be seriously damaged in a break in or worse the boat could be destroyed out of spite.
If anything is wrong or a pain in this area it is the removeable panel and what to do with it so that it doesn't fall or damage something else when removed.
I can't believe I contributed to this inane topic

[Fxwg80hd]

I can't believe I contributed to this inane topic

Kind of sucks you in doesn't.

My latch is mostly just used to keep the hatch from sliding forward while towing. If anyone wanted to steal something, they wil do it anyway. I would rather they do minimal damage to the boat as they break in than have to have major fiberglass repairs done to fix the damage caused by a pry bar breaking up the fiberglass. Kind of like locking the doors on a convertable softtop car. A pocket knife will cut through almost as fast as opening the door. What ever they wanted to steal is still gone, but now you have to replace the roof.