MacGregorSailors.com

Hello not to change the subject but i havent bought my boat yet after the first of the year im buiing and that is y i am doing my reserch now, what is better honda yamaha or etec, I am thinking of buying it at kellys and they only have etec, I was thinking of a yamaha 70, I live on the columbia river in washington and want to go to seattle and maybe next spring or summer of 2010 i would like to sail the bahamas for 2 or 3 weeks it is a long drive for me and if i could find people to go with, that have ther own boats and that know the waters down there. I think it would be fun to get 10 or 20 mac to sail the bahamas..............

Actually ....

"Glassy Smooth" is not the fastest way to go, but you'll never see the difference on something as slow as a Mac. When I used to race dinghies (Lasers, 420',s, 470's, and especially sailboards), we'd wet-sand the hulls with extremely fine grit sandpaper before the races. To the naked eye, you'd think the surface was just dull - like a car in need of a wax job - but in fact we were making it that way on purpose. Big, super-high-caliber racing yachts also wet-sanded along the water-lines sometimes. I believe the concept is to find the "sweet spot" between a perfectly laminar flow and breaking surface adhesion between hull and water; there is also something in there about effectively increasing wetted surface area.

- Andy

Well Gravy,
When I bought my E-tec, it was still an unproven technology. Ram Ficht engines were acursed. But they fixed that. It now is now a solid recommendation and option by several Mac sellers and resellers. I'm glad I made the choice. It's a simple engine with a sophisticated computer. Winterizing is a 5 min process you can do on your driveway and not Have to do maintenance for 300hrs. 4 strokes, while efficient seem to cost more for maintenance, more parts. And you often need a professional to handle it.

If you get a used or where the warantee is expired, I'd throw on the biggest engine you can afford; including >90hp. This boat is not a great sailor -- Never will be. & sometimes speed is the need It is a fun camper on the water, that you can motor or sail.

Have Fun

P. S.

I'd seriously consider a used one rather than a new one in this economy. A lot of people would love to unload a toy they may not be able to afford anymore and you get MANY extras you won't have to upgrade or buy afterwards.

If you don't like the engine it comes with you may be able to sell it and repower. That's what I did. I sold my PO's 4 stroke Tohatsu, 35HP on Ebay. But again, consider the times we're in.