Hobie 33 vs mac 26x

[whgoffrn]

Having had my mac for a couple years now I think it's planted this seed of wanting more ... having been to the keys now a few times its got me looking for bigger adventures farther from home....namely the bahamas ... of course there is no perfect boat they all are a compromise and the mac has worked flawlessly for what I've used it for but I'm finding I really don't use it in a lake or Bay it's used more in the ocean and icw than anywhere . So I can't help even at the expense of feeling like a traitor wondering if a hobie 33 is really more seaworthy than a mac 26x I've read where they've been taken from West coast to Hawaii and fairly long offshore trips despite also not being designed as a blue water boat....but I can't help but wonder if a hobie is considerably more seaworthy than a mac??????

[yukonbob]

I have heard good things about the Hobie's. I think for what you're doing I wouldn't limit yourself to any one make or model. Pick a size and a price range and go look at them and see what appeals to you and if you can do some sea trials to get a feel for handling characteristics. People cruise the islands in all shapes and sizes and all have their pros and cons and could occupy a thread stretching decades of debates. Spend the rest of 'winter' getting to know what you want, sail the Mac at least another summer as fall and winter are the best time to buy. Expect to spend min 6 months figuring it out to avoid buyer remorse. Don't jump into a bad situation, find a boat you like, research it, get surveys (mech, struct and rig) then decide if you still want it. A world cruising buddy told me after we sold the boat that a good captain will know when something has run its course and is no longer needed, then he'll get rid of it rather than drag it around forever. I still think that Macs are great boats and we have a lot of fond memories and it did exactly for us what it appears it has done for you.

[yukonbob]

Oh and no matter what boat you get or keep, there will always be critics, it's not fast enough, it's not steady enough, it's not light enough, it's not heavy enough, it's not long enough , it's too big and on and on and on. I think Mac owners are some of the best sailboat owners around; no snobbery, always helpful, willing to share, have helpful opinions and solutions and don't care who or what's in the slip next to them and that's the main reason I still check in here

I took a couple we met this summer who were in Alaska on their 42' Taswell out fishing on the Mac, we all caught a bunch of fish including a 110lber and they had a great time. Ran into them (so to speak) on the Tayana's owner group selling his refer compressor and I got completely snubbed after commenting on it keeping the fish we caught cold and asked about the rest of their trip. Guess they didn't want anyone to know they actually set foot on a Mac and had fun

[whgoffrn]

Lol that's sad ..... I'm undecided if I need "more boat" or not . I get approx 4 weeks of vacation per year and would like to do a 3 week Bahama trip each year and sell the rv ....sailing has sank it's teeth in more than the rv camping with me and my kids but since moving up north I still must stay within the confines of a trailer sailer... I know some have done bahamas in a mac and for quite extended trips so I'm kinda on the fence if I need a more "seaworthy" boat to do a once a year bahamas trip or just make sure what I've got is in tip top shape

[yukonbob]

Keep the Mac and charter for a trip and see if it's worth pursuing. I'm sure you can find a 33-35' out there for rent.

[grady]

If you are wanting to stay on your boat and be in the ocean I would not go with the 33. The 33 is a great boat for racing but not suited as well as others for cruzing.

[Sumner]

.. wondering if a hobie 33 is really more seaworthy than a mac 26x ...?

It would definitely be more seaworthy, but I wonder if it is the right boat for what you want to do. I never new much about a 33 but after reading this...

http://www.boats.com/reviews/used-boat-review-hobie-33/

... I don't think I'd consider it much of an improvement over a Mac for cruising with 48" of headroom.

I agree with yukonbob, don't limit your search to one boat. I did and I'm happy with what I have (the Endeavour) but probably passed up other boats that would of been really well suited to my needs also. I sometimes wish I would of looked harder for a Catalina 30. Lots of them out there and they have the room of a 34'-35' inside and a little less than a 4 foot draft....

http://www.boatus.com/boatreviews/sail/catalina30.asp

Not a true 'blue water boat' but a boat that is more than capable of trips to the Bahamas and Florida water. Some years had possible problems, so research that, but with over 6,000 made you can get picky.

I'm also wondering if you will be happy with 3 week trips to the Bahamas? Bimini and West End are fairly close to FL but to get to the rest of the Bahamas you go another 100 miles at least and that takes time and you have to factor time in for weather windows. In the summer you don't have the fronts you do in the fall/winter/spring so you might not be delayed on crossings as much but still you are in squall season and you want to be very careful with those. From what I understand a lot more motoring in the summer months.

After getting to the Exumas I wouldn't be satisfied with Bimini and the few cays there. I'd want to get to at least the Berry's if I crossed at Bimini (another 100 miles) and really want to return to the Exumas. I got to Little Abaco in the northern Bahamas but not north of there. Some of the cays north of there in the north part of the Little Bahama Bank might make for a good destination for a 3 week trip? The 700 islands that make up the Bahamas are spread out over a large chunk of ocean, 400+ miles from the NW to SE and about 300 miles wide, so getting places over there takes time and you don't want to rush from one to the other.

Good luck,

Sumner

============================
1300 miles to the Bahamas and back -- 2015

The MacGregor 26-S

The Endeavour 37

Trips to Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links

[Ixneigh]

I took a v222 down to great exuma. Prior to that I had a few trips on a very heavy keel boat. Seaworthy is a loaded term. Its an amalgam of the construction design and equipment. And the user. There's a few things I want to do to my M before I go there. Mainly the rudders.
But if I had the opportunity to take the boat as is with all the sailing equipment upgrades already done. I would add running backstays because im inclined to sail rather than motor. Imho the mac is ok for The Bahamas. Are there better boats? Of course. If you have the cash why not? If I had plenty of cash I would have drawn my own boat up and had it built somewhere. Or maybe bought both a mac and something like the pogo30. Or a cape cutter 19 depending on my mood
If you are on a tight budget you can "mod" a certain amount of seaworthyness into the basic mac at much much less than selling it and buying another boat.
For additional 6-8 thousand you could have hydrolic helm, idarudders first class sails by Judy etc.
Just a thought.
Ix

[BOAT]

Phil Edwards designed that boat - he makes surfboards and race boats. I have seen the 33 here in Oceanside - I don't know if those were built in the Oceanside plant where the catamarans are still made or at the Costa Mesa plant. A few of them show up here and I see them put out often in the summer months. I think they are day sailing charters.

The boats are VERY VERY FAST - and they point higher than anything I have ever seen. Driving into the wind they will blow past you so fast your head will spin.

The cockpits are wet - very exposed - if your going out into the weather I recommend getting some protection over the cockpit or put another helm below decks. It's a seaworthy boat - I don't think it would have much of a problem in big sea - it should plow right through just about anything. I don't know much about the inside but I have seen them sail many times on the outside (as they go past me). I saw one in Alamitos Bay once too sailing straight out of the breakwater channel nearly dead into the wind - the rest of us were tacking back and forth to get out of the jetty and he just sailed right up the middle right past us.

[grady]

It is supose to be a tough boat.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdVHhg5600Y

If I ever wanted to upgrade to a larger boat that one would be on the short list! But I only spend a dozen weekends a year on the boat, but from April to September I generaly race every Wednesday night. We have one here named Soap Opera. It won the transpac in 2005. Double handed no autopilot!

[BOAT]

Yeah, the "drop test" used to a thing for small power boats - keel boats not so much - at 12 feet most keel boats lose their keel - I'm not sure why they dropped the boat that far. If you did that to a 65 foot keel boat it would probably break in half.

Some power boats brag about drop tests but there is a boat made of carbon fiber that did the drop test on concrete! I guess that boat is a pretty strong power boat! If you saw a video of a cigar racer flying apart in a million pieces I guess you could appreciate the drop test more. It's not much used for sailboats, but it is a good indicator of the strength of the keel.

There are MANY boats out there on the ocean that would break apart if dropped from 12 feet.

Anyways, I don't think anyone uses the ISO 12215-5 anymore anyways.

The Fundamental Study on the Development of Leisure Boat's Drop Test Management System based on ISO 12215-5

[bahama bound]

I accidentally ended up with a hunter edge ,and although I really did not want it at the time I gotta say it really grew on me ,I guess all boats have their place in the market and I love a 26 x but I gotta say this edge takes it to the next level ,love the open transom ,huge head in comparison,great galley ,more room ,fit and finish is great , I think it draws around 15 inches but with a new etec 90 it cruises in the low 20's ,I think this boat weighs about 4900 , with out water ballast .although I love the mac for anybody that wants to move up it is worth considering a edge . When I bought it I pulled it home 350 miles and it trailered just like my mac ! I think a edge is 28.5 over all ?

[Highlander]

I was aboard an hunter edge at the boat show a few yrs back , for the price I was not impressed & did not like the floor plan , has a smaller V-berth than the , & the cabin was not that much larger

Just sayin thats all
but to each his own , I,ll keep my
J

[bahama bound]

Like I said I was not a fan either ,but it did grow on me , bought this to fill a temporary gap ,it was a 2009 with 86 hours loaded out for 21k I think but replaced the 75 etec with a 90 ,still have the 75 etec that came off of it .you are right the v berth was smaller but it has filler cushions that go on either side of the table and that makes it alot more usable .

[whgoffrn]

I know 3 weeks isn't long but it's about all I've got so I've got to work within the confines of my job and where I live up north now ....so it must be trailerable ... the mac definitely has some advantages over the hobie 4 foot of head room isn't much at all but as with any boat they all have tradeoffs ....only reason I'm considering switching is from all I've READ they APPEAR to be more "seaworthy" but yes I do know not to believe everything you read.... there's lots of boats I'd love to have gemini 105mc morgan oi41 cherubini 37 ... but they don't fit my budget of storage ...I need something on a trailer that I can have up north to keep an eye on it instead of keeping in a slip or dry dockage and paying 400 a month plus not knowing what a going on with the boat 1000 miles away...
So a trailer sailer is really what works best for me ....absolutely LOVE my mac and the memories it's given me and my kids ....just contemplating the hobie because it still seems to fit into the criteria of trailerable instead of transportable like a catalina 27 .... just not sure if the boat truly is more "seaworthy" or would be worth giving up the headroom and other pros the mac26x has over the hobie .... my goal is to explore the exumas as much as 3 weeks of vacation will let me each year ....speed of the hobie would probably also be beneficial for that so kinda undecided as I've never been on a33 before to know first hand