powerboat

[Ben]

I too have noticd very little difference in performance mast up or left at home. Mine is off for the rest of the summer also.
Biggest difference is visibility. Much better for fishing too. No matter how hard I try, at least a couple of times a day I wrap the fishing line around something then whatever is on the end of it whips around and hard to say what it is going to hit. So far no damage to anyone. Just my pride.
I am much more likely to take it out for half or one day when I don't have to rig.
I looked at other boats also. My main objective was to find a boat that I could sleep in. I could find nothing that comes close to the Mac in price and usability. I have never regretted my choice.
Ben

[Joe 26M Time Warp]

Oh this just isn't fair.
Here I am sweating like mad, trying to get my throttle installed, and you guys start talking about being a motorboat only.
Harrumph!
Do you know how many times I've put off those voices telling me I should just skip the motor installation and sail it onto the trailer forevermore? Hey, I could be on the lake tonight.


As for you unmasted ones, REPENT! REPENT I say. What you're doing is clearly wrong and against the MacGregor power-SAILOR code.
Oh the horror!

[Andy26M]

I've looked at the Macs, 26X especially (I think the 26X looks better without mast than a 26M would), and wondered why no one made a similar boat specifically as a "cabin cruiser". At boat shows, power boats with "cuddy cabins" in the 26-foot range are inevitably heavier, have MUCH less interior space, and correspondingly more space that seems to be "wasted" ... I have yet to find a reasonably laid out powerboat below 28+ feet with an enclosed head.

With very slight modifications, you could have the Mac set up with a 150 hp outboard, add some chines to the edges of the hull for tracking, keep the steering station aft, add sockets for deck chairs in places where you can't have them now due to sail rigging, etc., etc. - and still have the sleeping room for up to 6 belowdecks - without limits imposed by daggerboard or centerboard. Without rudders, but retaining the lift-up captains chair, you would have far more leeway to design a significant swim platform.

All that said, I have no intention of taking my mast off anytime soon

- AndyS

[Catigale]

I saw a version of this headed up the Hudson towards Albany last year

About a 6 foot mast on the top, powering up river. funny looking beast.

Duane - if it gets the family together happily and builds great memories - go for it......

[Idle Time]

I keep thinking of other boats also. We have a friend who just sold his Chrysler 26 and bought a Nomad trawler 26. Great little boat. Only problem...you are always buying gas. Plus ..I dont know if it is good coastal cruising. You can always add that fantastic canopy that Duane has and what a neat little cruiser you've got. I'm still trying to talk Jim into one and we can do a lot of River cruising.

[Robert]

I live in the South East and purchased the Mac26X as a way to travel on the water with my family. We did a lot of day trips the first year, and one overnight in July. The humidity and heat at bedtime combined with the lowering night temperatures and having to close the hatches to keep out bugs made sleeping nearly impossible. The inside top of the cabin gathered condensation until it began to rain inside. Going out in the morning was wonderul, to step out into the relatively cooler and dryer air. I have never again been able to get the family to agree to sleep on the boat. Maybe we should only camp in the Mac26X in winter (the water does not freeze here), but they were worried about being cold.
..
Have any of you added insulation to the Mac26 hull so that heating and cooling with very low power can be useful?
..
If overnighting is not required, what would the best powersailboat look like?

[Catigale]

I would think screens and power vents (solar NiCd) would make your boat livable in the summer on the cheap..

[Rolf]

Duane,
You are giving me crazy ideas I have been pushing back for a long time. Truth be told we never sail the 22 miles anymore to or back from Catalina-- the wife won't stand for it, and loaded down with the TLDI 90 and good conditions we get there cruising at 16-17 knots, 3500 rpm, and burn exactly 6 gallons (autopilot a must for this gas mileage). I'm just afraid if I take the mast off I'll never put it back on-- my boom has been put away for months and I sail LA harbor Genoa only.

One more thing-- with my heavier 315 pound engine, the mast seems to balance the boat perfectly. With 20 gallons of gas, my wife, kid,and heavier than Roger's stainless steel dodger- bimini back there, I'm afraid we might pop a wheelie-- no mast and we would look like a dragster for sure! Of course I could just add water ballast-

Duane, the 90 would be well worth the investment for you. It sure beats buying a 50 grand used boat and all its inboard engine headaches/gas guzzling! For now, I may have to make do with my little Walker Bay 8 fo my sailing fix-- that thing is a blast(and fits perfect on the foredeck)!
Rolf

[Greg]

I am removing the mast for our week long trip on the Erie Canal. I have mulled over a shorter mast for day/weekend tripping that would be easier to setup and maybe fly spinnaker type sail (maybe kite?) for downwind runs.

By the way you don't need a steaming light on a powerboat- red, green and a 360 white only.

I have also considered how cool it would be to install two jet ski engines, one in each aft berth corner and pitching the outboard for a true shallow water craft with a nice swim deck.
Maybe the Black Mac could do that for a real prototype.

Greg

[Robert]

You would have a total of something like 300hp and the weight down low. You could run very quiet at 1/4 throttle with full ballast and still go decently fast. That low wide swim deck and no sharp prop would go a long way toward getting the wife and kids on board for more trips. You could with full ballast still pull a skier, and with full ballast you would make a great wake for jumping!
..
Now offset the rear weight with a nearly silent Panda generator and an air conditioner forward and hot kids could cool off. The generator would also power a decent pump for showers or washing down the deck to cool it off.
..
Add a drawbridge swim platform that could tilt down into the water for easy entry to extend the swim area or land a big fish.

[BK]

As Macgregor says, your back up engine is your sails. What power boat can say that?
We had a guy here in Socal that drifted to Central America when his engine went out.

[Catigale]

Good thing he had the blue hull....

(ducks...)

[Greg]

Does anyone know of a used/broken mast available for sale or trade? I'm looking for maybe 18' of good mast. Where would a Mac mast be available new other than the factory?

Greg

[They Theirs]

Greg

If you are looking for a bent mast to salvage. He may still have the bent spar available. Heres one up for sale.

Heres a bent spar with enough to cut and keep!
Old Bent Mast and Replaced Spreader Fron This Boat

More Pictures of the Bent or Collapsed Spar for Salvage

For Sale
For Sale

[They Theirs]

Greg

Some More Pictures of a Bent Spar To Salvage

More Pictures of the Bent Spar for Salvage

Collapsed/Bent Mast

What Happened~How The Spar was bent