How long do they last?

[Beam's Reach]

Yeah I sure hope you were at least 2x conservative! By that measure, I have to start looking for a new boat soon! I expect mine to last into my golden years. But then the Admiral has been talking seriously about selling the house and most earthly possessions and buying a live aboard once the kids move out . Now I know she's hooked .

[Dubraque]

My last boat, a non-trailerable Bayliner purchased new, lasted us 18 years, survived marina fire and Hurricane Isabel in the water, and succumbed to transom rot. My 1984 West Wight Potter 15 (also survived Isabel in the water!) is in excellent condition with many more years of sailing in her. I expect no less of the Mac.

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

Seems like most of the tales I hear about rotten FG boats involve some sort of wood core. With relatively coreless boats like the Mac, I'm not sure longevity has really been adequately tested. Afterall, FG is not all that old...weren't they still building mostly wooden boats 50 years ago...

Obviously, parts of the package such as trailer and motor are not going to last all that long. I hope to get 10 years out of my trailer but thats pushing it in Florida. Not sure about the motor, but 4 strokes are supposed to have much longer lives than 2 strokes. Some parts of the hull itself may wear out, SS quality is not top notch so those parts are getting a bit rusted. Also, things like the rub rail are probably not going to last past 10 years without being replaced. Obviously, if you keep the boat under cover, it would last a lot longer...but I bought my Mac to just keep it outside and not hassle with covering it all the time.

Interestingly, I still have a FG windsurfer that I bought more than 25 years ago. It lives on the side of my house, only been used once in the last decade I believe. It used to get used every other day for its first decade! Its still in remarkably good condition, only the foot straps have kind of rotted away over the years. I'll use it again one of these days...thats why I keep it. Can't bear to part with my old friend and it doesn't require any maintainence. Also, it wouldn't sell for much anymore.

With the Mac's holding their value well though, that could be a different story for lots of folks. I sold my 5 year old jetboat before it lost too much value...it was only a cool toy though, not really a vehicle. The Mac is different since it is a family activity boat. I don't fly airplanes or windsurf much anymore because those are not family activities. At least on the Mac, I can sail with the family, take them to the beach, etc. That guarantees longevity at this stage in my life. With 4 young kids (under 10) and another one on the way, I think I'll be keeping my Mac at least another 20 years and who knows, possibly forever.

[Bill at BOATS 4 SAIL]

[quote="Dimitri-2000X-TampaInterestingly, I still have a FG windsurfer that I bought more than 25 years ago. [/quote]

They make great shelves. I have one in my office above and behind my desk where I keep some of my nautical memorabilia/junk.

[baldbaby2000]

I know of 2 1985 Mac 25s that have been trailered a lot and are still going strong. One of them has a slightly warped hull but I think it's from sitting on the trailer and being trailered with the 650lb keel pulled up, i.e. not resting on the trailer.

We plan on keeping our boat indefinitely. If I strike it rich I'll upgrade to something I'll just keep at a slip.

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

They make great shelves. I have one in my office above and behind my desk where I keep some of my nautical memorabilia/junk.

Great idea Bill!!!

And talking about ways to recycle old hulls...how about a really big flower planter? Or you could sell it to a sea food restaurant who might put the hull up on their roof for advertising, etc. Or maybe an above ground swimming pool?

[Bill at BOATS 4 SAIL]

"my desk" is the front end of a wood cabin cruiser that I paid $100 for on Easter Sunday of '77. Used it for over 10 years on the lake that I live on. It was leaking pretty bad so I was sanding the bottom for a new coat of bottom paint, but the bottom was coming off with the paint.
I did my homework and was going to buy a new Mac 26C at Strictly Sail, which at the time was a small regional sailboat show.
I said I wanted to buy one at their "Boat Show Special Price". I was told that I couldn't do that as it did not include the shipping cost to Wisconsin. Nor the dealer prep charge. Nor the cost of all of the available 26C options that I had to buy. Plus the installation charges, even on the cockpit cushions, which consisted of placing them on the cockpit seats.
My cost would have been about 50% higher than their "Special" price
So, instead of buying a Mac from them, I became a Mac dealer.
They are no longer a Mac dealer.
If I say you can buy a new 26M for $18,900, you can. Makes sense to me.

[Mac Ziggy]

The MacGregor 26 is built to outlast all of us. That's according to the brochure.

Wonder why they limit the warranty to two years.

[Catigale]

...Because 90% of the public will be reasonable on a warranty claim...and the other 10% will suck you dry....

(speaking from experience on the other side as a seller...)

[Mac Ziggy]

Unfortunately, Im inclined to agree. There are builders that offer longer warrantees. At first I was skeptical of the Macgregor because of the short warrantee. The fine print and extra pages take care of most of the difference from other builders and experience from owners like the ones here help with the rest.

The value of most things are based on their useful purpose. A mans dreams may not seem to fit in that category but if they inspire the man, then they may be the most valuable thing he owns.

[DavidG]

I know of 2 1985 Mac 25s that have been trailered a lot and are still going strong. One of them has a slightly warped hull but I think it's from sitting on the trailer and being trailered with the 650lb keel pulled up, i.e. not resting on the trailer.

We plan on keeping our boat indefinitely. If I strike it rich I'll upgrade to something I'll just keep at a slip.

This is something I have been curious about. Does towing a Mac seem to cause any more wear and tear than sailing it? My experience towing a fifth wheel was that you could do more damage in two days towing than 3 months of living in it.

[James V]

If well packed, not really a problem. Of course, anything not tied down will create problems.

You name it, it has happened towing a boat. Operator error.

Learn how to tie those lines and put stuff away so that the bouncing around is not an ISSUE.

Do your maintance and replace the trailer when needed. Make sure that the boat is on the trailer right before leaving the ramp area.

MOST breakage on a boat can be seen and fixed before hand if proper inspection and repair work is done.