Any 26X / 26S owners close to Oakville, Ontario?

[romandesign]

Hi everyone, I'm a big fan or trailer sailing, and although I don't have a sailboat yet I hope to eventually buy a Macgregor 26X or possibly 26S, not sure yet. The problem is I have never actually sailed on one of those or owned any boat before. I was wondering if someone nearby has a Mac 26 and won't mind me joining for a sail. I live in Oakville, Ontario. It would be nice to see what's it like and hear first hand about owning and maintaining such a sailboat. I have a limited but solid sailing experience (mostly on 30+ feet sailboats) and have pleasure craft operator card. I wanted to get a Mac for years now, and I hope it finally happens soon, hopefully next season. Need to get some more web design projects going

Thanks!

[dlandersson]

If you ever play tourist in the Chicago area, you are welcome.

Hi everyone, I'm a big fan or trailer sailing, and although I don't have a sailboat yet I hope to eventually buy a Macgregor 26X or possibly 26S, not sure yet. The problem is I have never actually sailed on one of those or owned any boat before. I was wondering if someone nearby has a Mac 26 and won't mind me joining for a sail. I live in Oakville, Ontario. It would be nice to see what's it like and hear first hand about owning and maintaining such a sailboat. I have a limited but solid sailing experience (mostly on 30+ feet sailboats) and have pleasure craft operator card. I wanted to get a Mac for years now, and I hope it finally happens soon, hopefully next season. Need to get some more web design projects going

Thanks!

[taime1]

I'm in Ottawa, Ontario - and I have an . I also used to have an and before it, an S.

In short, I'm neither close nor do I have the model you are seeking, but hey, those are just details...

[Pizzanova]

Hi there. I live in Belleville Ontario. About two and a half hours away but unfortunately my 1997 26X has not yet hit the water with me in it. Hopefully that will change in a couple of weeks.

[romandesign]

I'm in Ottawa, Ontario - and I have an . I also used to have an and before it, an S.

In short, I'm neither close nor do I have the model you are seeking, but hey, those are just details...

So you are a loyal fan. Having experience with all 3 models, how would you compare them? is a bit out of my price range, but and 26S are more realistic. How do they compare in terms of towing weight (I only have a minivan)? I heard S is heavier to get out of water because you can't drain ballast in the water and transmissions are getting burned doing it, but it's easier to tow - is it true? Does X really sail much slower than S, what's the speed difference? Is S really a significantly better sailboat than X or the difference is negligible? Is X much more comfortable to live in? What would you choose, X or S and why?

[romandesign]

Hi there. I live in Belleville Ontario. About two and a half hours away but unfortunately my 1997 26X has not yet hit the water with me in it. Hopefully that will change in a couple of weeks.

That's quite a drive, but let me know when you're in the water - if we ever go that direction, maybe it works out?

[Catigale]

I'm in Ottawa, Ontario - and I have an . I also used to have an and before it, an S.

In short, I'm neither close nor do I have the model you are seeking, but hey, those are just details...

So you are a loyal fan. Having experience with all 3 models, how would you compare them? is a bit out of my price range, but and 26S are more realistic. How do they compare in terms of towing weight (I only have a minivan)? I heard S is heavier to get out of water because you can't drain ballast in the water and transmissions are getting burned doing it, but it's easier to tow - is it true? Does X really sail much slower than S, what's the speed difference? Is S really a significantly better sailboat than X or the difference is negligible? Is X much more comfortable to live in? What would you choose, X or S and why?

I've sailed on all but only owned an

If you are into racing or performance racing, the S and D versions are the boats for you.

The and have huge freeboard which is why I can take 6 crew to the Cape for a week but all that hull has a toll on the performance to wind

[taime1]

I'm in Ottawa, Ontario - and I have an . I also used to have an and before it, an S.

In short, I'm neither close nor do I have the model you are seeking, but hey, those are just details...

So you are a loyal fan. Having experience with all 3 models, how would you compare them? is a bit out of my price range, but and 26S are more realistic. How do they compare in terms of towing weight (I only have a minivan)? I heard S is heavier to get out of water because you can't drain ballast in the water and transmissions are getting burned doing it, but it's easier to tow - is it true? Does X really sail much slower than S, what's the speed difference? Is S really a significantly better sailboat than X or the difference is negligible? Is X much more comfortable to live in? What would you choose, X or S and why?

I've sailed on all but only owned an

If you are into racing or performance racing, the S and D versions are the boats for you.

The and have huge freeboard which is why I can take 6 crew to the Cape for a week but all that hull has a toll on the performance to wind

That about sums it up. The S is much more a traditional sailboat and the has the bigger headroom cabin. The S does come with a pop-top and should have some canvas to cover the pop-top which gives you a little more headroom. The biggest issue for us was the aft berth, it's really quite low and my wife is a bit claustrophobic, so it had to go. But, it sails very well and will outsail an on all points except in certain conditions down wind. It's not so much that it's faster (they have pretty much the same hull speed), it's that it takes less wind for the S to get moving, it points better to windward and it can hold a course much better...like a traditional sailboat should.

The has a nice open cabin layout, a head you can stand in and a pretty good aft berth. It also has wheel steering and a 50hp engine. It doesn't sail well in that you need to be at the helm correcting its course and adjusting your sheets, you can't sail it into the wind and it takes alot of wind to get it to top speed.

As to towing, I think the S with ballast is lighter than an empty . You could emtpy the ballast from the before hitting the trailer, but most people don't. You want as much stability as possible to line up the boat to the trailer, which includes the ballast. We had a minivan to tow the S and it was fine. We also used it to tow the , but it was probably at the 3500lb limit or a little beyond it. We didn't tow it very far, so I can't really comment on whether or not a minivan can handle it.

I would say that the S is a much better sailboat than the but that the is much more comfortable to live in. For me, the comfort alone would have me leaning towards the . When you add in a 50hp engine and the versatility it provides, for me I'd be looking at the . But those are just my needs/opinions, you'll have to decide what works bes for you.

...and for the record, the beats them both, hands down, unless it has a white hull, those are just ok.

[DaveC426913]

@romandesign: I am in Etobicoke. I have an .

Let's go for a sail.

We could even go on a weekday, if you wanted to meet me in Etob. around 6-6:30.

Deets to follow.

[romandesign]

That's great! Thank you. My email is roman@xxxxxxxxx.ca
Maybe tomorrow (Wednesday)?

[Thistledew]

We have a Mac25 up for sale if you ever want to check it out.
We're in Peterborough

[Tomfoolery]

That's great! Thank you. My email is xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Maybe tomorrow (Wednesday)?

You might want to scrub that email out, and use the PM function for such, ahem, personal matters. Bots are everywhere.

[romandesign]

Oh, I don't mind. Generally it's a good advice, but I'm a freelance web designer (my web design website is http://www.romandesign.ca) and my email addresses are in the internet for years. My spam filter blocks hundreds of spam emails a day, I don't even see them. Masking it won't make any difference now. But thanks for caring, generally it's a good rule to follow.

[DaveC426913]

That's great! Thank you.
Maybe tomorrow (Wednesday)?

You're on!