MacGregor 26 the boat for Me???

[Gazmn]

Re: Quebec 1,

Ju$t for the record, I drove my boat home, upon purcha$e, some 400 mile$ with my minivan, a 2003 Mazda MPV W/ 3000# tow pkg; & dropped it in the water 2x with 1 retreival
I ju$t don't recommend doing that.
Proof:



I bought my pickup on Ebay to retrieve my after my first $ea$on on a mooring ball; 7 grand and I've been lucky since. Recently, I trotted Ms Ollie to & from Florida, 3000 miles roundtrip

MacB:
Once you're settled in and b4 your first boat lugging trip, look into a tow pkge upgrade for your truck. It'll mainly consist of adding a Tranny cooler... That'll help you keep your Chevy blazing trails

Most maintenance is sweat equity for dolling up your new pride & joy. You can learn to sail upon purchasing -- It's not rocket science, we've been sailing for milenia That could save you some buck$ but take a boater safety course. Boat $$ maintenance can be $wayed by what motor your pride and joy comes with - and it's condition. 4 strokes require more maintenance but each respectives website can clue you in on yearly upkeep required. Try and purchase a boat that won't require a repower - or factor that into your deci$ion making proce$$.

& have fun with your family, after all, it'$ only money

[Gazmn]

Also, to add to Kelly Hanson,
If you buy used:
They'll get you with NY State tax when you register your boat. It may pay to draw your bill up with a trailer price, boat price & possibly motor price. Especially if you don't register the motor...

[Macboomer]

Again I can’t thank you all enough for the help, if the Mac it’s self isn’t enticing enough becoming part of your Mac owners…. Should I say family is a bonus I just didn’t see coming. My last name is MacAlister so buying a “Mac” just seems very fitting. And that’s where “Macboomer” comes from …. My last name and the boomer is because I’m an EOD tech in the Army, It’s the Army’s version of a Bomb Squad… so I make things go boom… I originally used “Macboomer” for email address and so forth. It may be the name I give the boat still not sure tell me what you think! Of course I’m getting way ahead of myself because I still need to find a boat!

Well I kind of got off course there….. The reason for the post is my wife (I think you guys call them admirals still learning the lingo sorry) is concerned that she or the kids could fall off the boat when it heels …. As I am sure this is possible I don’t see it as a serious problem … her name is Nikki and she reads this post and anything you could say to help put her mind at ease as far as the Mac and Mac sailing being overall a good safe family past time would be greatly appreciated.

Oh and just a little update a little over a month and I will be out of Iraq and back home with the family it’s been a long 15 months and I can’t wait.

[Kelly Hanson East]

Thank you for your service, Macboomer.

The Mac cockpit is very hard to fall out of for either adults or kids. They only scare story you might find is one from Lake Champlain in 2002 when two young children drowned in a Mac that turned turtle after July 4th fireworks. The idiocy in that event was drunk captain, 10 people up on top of an unballasted boat, and a sudden burst of motor power.
To make an analogy with cars, that is kind of like duct taping the kids to the front of a car in a demo derby.

I am pretty much a safety Nazi on board - we sail our 2002 around upstate NY and the Cape - we go about 20 miles offshore in the Atlantic (with an eye to conditions at all times) solo with my girls (aged 4-11)

The safety aspect of sailing with kids just requires some common sense and resources like this board to bounce ideas. The connection you get with your family spending days together confined to 26 feet of real estate is incredible and cant be duplicated anywhere else imho.

[sctodd]

Welcome to the site,
I too am in the military and I own a 26X. I purchased it new in 2002 and have been totally pleased with it. I tow mine with a 2002 Ford Ranger Edge with a 4L V6 which is rated for 5850 Lbs towing.

I have found the Mac to be a great all round boat! I have taken my daughter and nephew tubing with it, sailed and motored on various lakes ,and I mounted a down rigger on it so I can fish for Lake Trout and Salmon with her.

I agree with the previous posters who recommend that you get the sailing course and get some sailing time. Once you have sailed you will either be hooked or find its not for you. (Just ask my Admiral)

Best of luck and stay safe

Steven

[Kelly Hanson East]

PS - you will get whacked with sales tax on both the boat and the trailer of course, each has its own, separate registration

You can back the motor out of the bill of sale, though.

[bastonjock]

do i have it correct? that my buddies accross the pond have to pay tax on used goods?,over here the sales tax(VAT) is only levied once.

[TAM]

Yep, sales tax on every purchase. (in states that have it and some don't charge on food or clothing) For vehicles, tax must be paid in the state in which they are registered, regardless of where purchased.

[The Mutt]

In Australia we have GST (Goods and Services Tax) on almost anything, being in business we have to collect GST, then fill out forms dealing with how much GST we have paid, then pay the difference to the Tax Oriface.

Glenn

[bastonjock]

Thinking about it,we dont pay tax directly on a used vehicle but the dealer pays VAT on his margine ,so he will have factored that into the price,but if you buy privately then you pay no tax.

We do however have to pay an annuall vehicle excise duty often referred to as road tax,this comes in at between $100.00 and $700.00 depending on the vehicle.

[Gazmn]

I borrowed this quote from Here.

Thought it fit

I don't know about anyone else here, but I have always broken down the amount I pay for the Boat/Motor/Trailer on seperate bills of sales from the seller. Did that deal on at least 6 boats in the past anyway! Of course I paid very little for the Boat, even less for the trailer, and a Premium for the motor. That way I don't even have to fudge the price for the whole sheebang. I can't see paying more than I have to for registrations, and insurance is a wash if the boat is destroyed if you total it. I always insure at KBB agreed price anyway, so what the hay!

[Divecoz]

We as well have a Mac its the 05 M buts they sail very similar X and M.
Sport Trac will do better towing than my 2 door Sport did I now have a Dodge Ram 4x4 quad cab. I just got back to Chicago from 13 weeks in and around Port Charlotte Florida where I lived for better than a month total on the M. We never owned a sail boat before and I never really took lessons . I have been in some situations .... with my Mac and she pulled me thru .... Ask a Million questions you'll get no less than 5 millions helpful answers.

[Macboomer]

Hey me again…. Great info on the 3 bills of sale thing… I’ve been looking at boats online for awhile now and I’ve found a nice 2001 26X for 17,000 and a nice 2004 26M for 25,000…. I’ve read the comparison of the two boats on Macgregor.com, I don’t understand it all as I’m new to sailboats…. but my question is … Is the 26M worth the extra 8,000 and if so why?? I can afford both but then again if there is not a big difference there is a lot of other things I could spend that 8K on (like mods). Let me know your thoughts….


Thanks
Dan

[Québec 1]

I bought a 2003M and personally think the set up in the interior of the 2003-04M is the nicest and roomiest of all the M`s (but that's just my opinion).
The M has a rotating mast and weights more because it has 200 lbs of built in ballast or so which makes it heavier than the X.

The cockpit of the M is smaller than the cockpit of the X but the aft berth of the M has a lot more headroom and is more suitable to sleep in than the X( but most people seem to sleep in the V berth of the X because it has more room than the Aft berth of the X and the aft berth of the M because it has more room than the V berth of the M). the interior bulkheads of the M are covered in carpet type material which makes it cozier when you roll against it in your sleep. The M is the latest model so it also includes a number of improvements!

But if I had an X I would probably prefer it over an M and if I had a newer M I would probably prefer it over an older M like mine. I think that if the Mac is the best boat for you any model will do.
Q1




p.s.I have had people who don`t know sailboats guess its worth at 100K. Made me feel like I made the right choice. I have a friend who has built his own schooner and owned many boats and cruisers tell me that for a 26 foot sailboat the 26M is the best I could get.

[hart]

Pay attention to the layouts. That's one of the most important things. One layout is not necessarily better than the other (actually 3 layouts as the early M's are different than later ones) but you might find that one suits your needs better than the others. That's part of why we chose an X last year. We just felt it fit us better. You should be able to look them up pretty easy but in a nutshell:

The X has the dinette on the starboard side (right) with the head on the right next to the ladder.

The early M's have the head up towards the bow with a more traditional table on the boat's centerline. IIRC the galley is on the starboard side in these boats.

The later M's keep the head forward but revert to the older dinette layout on the starboard side. The galley returns to the port side and slides back into the aft berth area if wanted.



The other key differences that come to mind:

The X has a center board that swings down while the M has a board that drops straight down. You can search the archives for lots on the performance arguments here. If you sail in shallow waters you might prefer the swing design.

The M features a rotating mast while the X does not. The tradeoff is that the X has a back stay while the M does not.

The M supposedly is a wee bit faster but I don't know if it's enough to matter or even if it's true. Could just be marketing hype.




I'm biased but I think they're all pretty in their way. Your best bet really is going to be to see them in person and decide.

Is the 2004 M worth 8 grand more? Well that depends. It's 3 years newer and that matters to some people. Nothing wrong with that. I usually buy my cars when they are no older than 2 years. But really it depends on what shape the boats are in and how they are equipped. What motor does each have?

What else have they done to the boat? Bimini? Anchor light? 2nd Battery? etc etc. What other mods? Some might add value but others might detract it. Oh for example a really shoddy speaker installation where they put speakers right where you back rests in the cockpit. You'll find other modifications you might not like so you have to balance the good with the bad.

What extra stuff comes with each? That makes a huge difference in value to me. Go to your marine store and add up the cost of anchors, coolers, life vests, depth finders, grills, fire extinguishers, flares, etc. etc. etc. Ouch. So the more of that type stuff you get with a used boat the better.

When I bought my 2001 X last year I got tons of stuff from the previous owner. 2 Coolers, 3 NICE life jackets, 4 orange ones that meet the CC requirements, a galley full of pots, pans and utensils, a Magma propane grill, a 2 burner stove in the galley, 2 anchors with chain and rode, hatch screens, 4 fenders, lots of dockline, boat hook, depthfinder/fishfinder, compass, 2 props, and on and on. I'm still finding goodies hidden in the bilge that I didn't even know he left for me. Granted it's all used but that added a lot of value to the boat to me.

Heck, they're all fine boats. As long as you pick one in good shape you'll love it I'm sure.