was a Capri 25 which was fast, unforgiving, had a miserabale cabin and a 6HP kicker. My wife ( not to be called an Admiral, too condensending for her) announced she had made her last sail unless I found a more comfortable, friendly boat. Since I had prior experience I decided to take her to our local Mac dealer for a look see.She sat in the boat and said, "this might work". She did have a few things to say like "where is the traveller?" , "what kind or furler are you going to use?" and "how fast can this thing go?" Recently she asked me to put tandem axles on the trailer.
Our typical 3-4 day outing always includes at least one motor day where we crank up the E-tek and burn 3-4 gallons exploring especially with 3 grand kids on board as everone gets a chance to be captain-even the 5 year old. Fishing is alot more fun when you can get to the "good spots" at 16 knots. It's even more fun when you saddle up the rig and haul it 1,000 miles at 65 MPH to get to the really big ones.
The Mac is a good first boat but it can be sailed with gusto if you take the time to learn how. Upgrading sails and their controls, moding the interior and just plain tinkering makes this yacht a real practical hobby.
Bob