Questions for ex-traditional TS owners

[Arbee]

Hi,

This is my first post here. My wife and I sail in Westernport, Vic and we're currently looking at upsizing from a Bonito 22 to a Mac (probably X rather than M) and hoping that some folk here who have made a similar change can help us test some assumptions. We find we spend less time with our boat than we used to, and we assume that getting a Mac might:

a) Get us out on the water on those days when we'd like to go somewhere for lunch at more than 5 knots.
b) Still enjoy sailing although acknowledging the Mac is a compromise over the Bonito which sails great, and we're now in our 60's with comfort taking a higher priority .
c) Use the boat more for traveling holidays with a little more room compared with the boat we have (compact 80's TS's were designed back in the day when we were all OK with one bathroom, one TV and one car!).

Appreciate you experiences....

Thanks,

Robert

[sailboatmike]

Hey Robert

I have my Mac X on the hard at Warneet and sail Westernport all the time.

What do you need to know??

Cheers
Mike

[Arbee]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the reply, we're at Yaringa so very close by!

If you came to a Mac from a traditional TS, the main questions for us are around whether owning the Mac has actually increased your boat usage, i.e. due to its speed, cabin space for overnighting, and whether the compromise on sailing performance was a worthy trade off in retrospect.

Cheers,

Robert

[sailboatmike]

We also have a Sunmaid 20, but we love our Mac and the extras space and flexibility it gives us, we dont often go much above hull speed as the distances in Westernport are not huge, we have a 75Hp Merc sitting on the back and love the flexibility the big motor gives us when we need it.

We often spend 3 or 4 days living aboard and never seem to get in each others way.

Contrary to what many (that have never really sailed a MAc) will tell you she isnt a bad sail boat and isnt slow as people make out,.

Really nice. stable boat, easy to sail a bit harder to master, like all boats she has her own little things that you have to get used to, such as not turning the wheel too hard or you stall the rudders, but you get used to it and it becomes second nature.

The question is, would I buy one again in hindsight? OMG yes we just love her to bits

[Arbee]

Thanks Mike, I think that seals it . We took an M for a test drive/sail some time ago and, for my taste, I suspect the X may suit us better. I realise there have been so many X v M debates on this forum so I won't throw any more logs on that fire, it's very subjective. I was actually one of those waiting for the Tattoo 22 to materialise, but given current circumstances we'll probably start the hunt for a good later model X in a few months.

Cheers,

Robert

[NiceAft]

Good luck on that hunt Robert.

There will be a world wide group of Mac owners waiting to read your post exclaiming the results.

Ray

[sailboatmike]

A few nice X's around but you may need to travel to get them, there was one in Geelong not so long ago but most seem to be in Queensland

[dlandersson]

It's not so much X vs. M, as blue hull vs. white hull.

Thanks Mike, I think that seals it . We took an M for a test drive/sail some time ago and, for my taste, I suspect the X may suit us better. I realise there have been so many X v M debates on this forum so I won't throw any more logs on that fire, it's very subjective. I was actually one of those waiting for the Tattoo 22 to materialise, but given current circumstances we'll probably start the hunt for a good later model X in a few months.

Cheers,

Robert

[Arbee]

A few nice X's around but you may need to travel to get them, there was one in Geelong not so long ago but most seem to be in Queensland

From experience I know how challenging it is to find good used boats that haven't suffered too much from abuse and/or handyman syndrome (I've seen some shockers!). It took me over a year to find our current boat and, for reasons I don't understand, the best kept boats I've seen have mostly been in Adelaide. Now, I just need to find a 2002/2003 26X with a Suzi 50-60 hp 4 stroke somewhere (anywhere) that has lived in a time warp for 14 years

[JotaErre]

I went the same way, I had a (British) Hunter Europa, a 20-feet traditional sailboat and changed to a Mac (1998 X). I am actually using it more than I did with the Europa: if there was little or no wind, I had to remain on land. With the Mac, I can motor around. It´s not as good as sailing, but it's also fun.

I like the way the Mac sails, and you can actually cruise with it. Although the Europa had four berths, it was too cramped for real cruising.

[Hibbit]

Hi Robert, We owned a Farr 6000 before we bought our X , it was a little cramped , especially when we liked staying onboard for one to four weeks at a time. The Mac is a great boat, you need to spend a day sailing on an X to get the feel of the accommodation onboard. The standard cushions are too soft and thin to sleep on and there is no room for a thicker mattress in the V berth,so we made a custom mattress to fit the dinette which lowers down,you can fit a double mattress on there. Much more comfortable, the king size rear berth is ok if your nimble but is more suited to kids. Next is the private bathroom which is too small to use properly, unless your 5 foot tall. The reason we love our Mac is the headroom and feeling of space, kitchen area is great and having a big motor on the back is great when heading to your favourit sailing grounds.

[sailboatmike]

I never have understood why the raised the floor in the head so far above the hull, there is a good 5 or 6 inches under the bottom of the head moulding to hull moulding, maybe it was so they could fit electric toilets or holding tanks but just seems a huge waste of space to me.

Im not a overly large person, being just shy of 6 foot (183cm) and weigh in at about 210lbs (90Kg) but getting in and out of the head is more than somewhat of a challenge, maybe Roger knew a heap of pygmies that liked to sail. Drop the head floor down 4 inches and it becomes much easier I would think.

Presently using the head is more like a choreographed routine, crouch, step in forward, shuffle around 180 degrees, find a way to close the door, and it really only gets worse from there. A 6 foot person getting into a 5 foot high enclosed space which only gets tighter because we have to be doubled over is one hull of a challenge, never mind doing what you went in their to do in the first place

[sailboatmike]

Hi Robert, We owned a Farr 6000 before we bought our X , it was a little cramped , especially when we liked staying onboard for one to four weeks at a time. The Mac is a great boat, you need to spend a day sailing on an X to get the feel of the accommodation onboard. The standard cushions are too soft and thin to sleep on and there is no room for a thicker mattress in the V berth,so we made a custom mattress to fit the dinette which lowers down,you can fit a double mattress on there. Much more comfortable, the king size rear berth is ok if your nimble but is more suited to kids. Next is the private bathroom which is too small to use properly, unless your 5 foot tall. The reason we love our Mac is the headroom and feeling of space, kitchen area is great and having a big motor on the back is great when heading to your favourit sailing grounds.

Nice to see a convert form what some would call "A real sail boat", that being said I do like the Farr 6000 but it just cant give not only the space but the feeling of space that the Mac has to offer.

And dont tell the "Real Sailors" but I would back a 26X in a match race against a Farr 6000, it does everything but point into the wind better, and that only 1 leg in three

[Tomfoolery]

And dont tell the "Real Sailors" but I would back a 26X in a match race against a Farr 6000, [/i]it does everything but point into the wind better[/i], and that only 1 leg in three

A little off-topic, but I wonder if anyone has messed with a barber-hauler and maybe a second main sheet to the rail to bring the sails a little closer to the centerline. I use the jib rather than the genoa primarily because it points closer, but I've never tried to kludge a 'traveler' using another sheet and/or a barber hauler to bring the jib in a little closer.

[Wind Chime]

I never have understood why the raised the floor in the head so far above the hull, there is a good 5 or 6 inches under the bottom of the head moulding to hull moulding, maybe it was so they could fit electric toilets or holding tanks but just seems a huge waste of space to me.

Im not a overly large person, being just shy of 6 foot (183cm) and weigh in at about 210lbs (90Kg) but getting in and out of the head is more than somewhat of a challenge, maybe Roger knew a heap of pygmies that liked to sail. Drop the head floor down 4 inches and it becomes much easier I would think.

Is it possible that the reason for the raised floor in the X-head is to create large enough square footage floor area to accommodate the actual porta-potty. Because the hull is curved on the exterior, the lower the floor the narrower the floor would be?