First thoughts on 26X vs. Siren 17
Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 7:39 pm
Proud new owner of an '02 26x. Sold my 197? siren 17 for $2,200 and made the big move at the beginning of October 09. I've had the X out on the lake once under power and now it's in storage for the winter...sad state of affairs.
So far, based on a 400 mile pickup trip, lots of cleaning and prep, and a single power-only foray into the lake, I couldn't be happier with the decision to upgrade to the X. I spent a lot of time on the web trying to figure out if it was the right boat or not--seems to be a lot of opinions one way or another, but I noticed that almost all X owners or previous X owners recommend the boat. Looks like there were a few lemons out there, but you get that with any product I guess. I decided on an 01 or 02 because of the apparent improvements.
So, first let me say: "wow". Nice boat, looks great, but kinda makes my house look small when it's parked in the driveway.
I had a flat tire on the way home at about 60MPH, and had to pull off the highway and change it in the dark. Actually, it was a pretty mundane event. No fireworks or swerving, just a lot of vibration. Much less bad than I thought it would be. Truck jack (06 Durango) didn't get the trailer high enough to get the spare on, so lucky I had a 2x4 to use as a spacer. The process was like this: get it jacked up, old tire removed, new tire didn't quite fit, old tire back on, jack down, 2x4 in, jack up, old tire removed again, new tire on, lesson learned.
Here are the comparisons:
Trailering
Towing Siren at 75 mph: no problem. Towing X at 60: Ok. Towing X at 65: Deathwish (maybe I'm just a chicken)
At 60 MPH, mostly flat with some small hills:
Highway MPG no trailer: 22.5
Highway MPG siren 17: 16.2
Highway MPG X: 14.3
The X is much harder to navigate on the road. I have to admit I jumped a curb on the initial ride back (and no, not the tire that blew out). Wide load = Wide turns. Wider than you think. Pulling either boat makes it feel like you're being tailgated by a Semi. Certainly the X gets more comments and looks, I think the Siren just got sympathy. But she was a good boat.
Launching:
X is easier than the siren. Believe it or not. I launched the X without getting my feet wet, I couldn't launch the siren without geting water in my pockets. The truck doesn't have to back as far in either, even though both boats float in the same depth of water.
Motoring:
No comparison. The Siren had a 30 year old Evinrude 2 stroke, pull start, had to keep a hand on the throttle to keep it going and the other hand on the tiller. The X is just so easy. Turn the key, warm it up, use the motor to pull off the trailer, then point and shoot. All this while sitting on some nice leather cushions too--what a treat.
GPS rating on the Siren w/6HP: 9km/h (about average over many trips)
GPS rating on the X w/50HP Honda: 30 km/h with the wind 25km/h into the wind. Two adults, two kids, full gas on both boats. This was just about exactly what I expected based on my web research.
No fuel consumption data. I didn't even use a single tankful of gas per season on the Siren so it wasn't an issue. Now that my eldest is into older kid stuff, fuel consumption on the X may become an issue, what with all the wakeboarding and powering that now becomes an option. Actually, this is why I bought an X and named it after a transformer. After much thought, having both options in a single boat is exactly what I wanted. I love sailing from a technical and environmental point of view, but it's sure nice to be able to just blast around a bit and have a great time when the time is right.
Retrieval:
About a tie. I almost put the X through the back window of the truck a couple of times. There was a crosswind blowing and it was just impossible to line up and drive onto the trailer like the manual said. I don't think I could have done this part myself. My daughter ended up opening the tailgate of the truck and helped guide the nose in. With that help, there was nothing to it, and she said it was really easy and simple for her to do. I'll have to think about some of the trailer mods I've seen on other posts to help slide it in there. The Siren was easy because it was small and light, but I always got wet.
Sailing:
Don't know. Probably can't be worse than a nineteen seventy-something Siren with original sails and a self-trained "captain". But I will content myself, as I did with the Siren, to try to get the best performance I can from the boat's capabilities. If some guy in a j-boat or cat blows by me, I can always roll in the sails and rock him in the propwash.
Accomodations:
No comparison. The Siren was like camping in tupperware; the X seems very reasonable--haven't tried it yet. Like the roominess, and the cockpit enclosure makes it huge.
So far, based on a 400 mile pickup trip, lots of cleaning and prep, and a single power-only foray into the lake, I couldn't be happier with the decision to upgrade to the X. I spent a lot of time on the web trying to figure out if it was the right boat or not--seems to be a lot of opinions one way or another, but I noticed that almost all X owners or previous X owners recommend the boat. Looks like there were a few lemons out there, but you get that with any product I guess. I decided on an 01 or 02 because of the apparent improvements.
So, first let me say: "wow". Nice boat, looks great, but kinda makes my house look small when it's parked in the driveway.
I had a flat tire on the way home at about 60MPH, and had to pull off the highway and change it in the dark. Actually, it was a pretty mundane event. No fireworks or swerving, just a lot of vibration. Much less bad than I thought it would be. Truck jack (06 Durango) didn't get the trailer high enough to get the spare on, so lucky I had a 2x4 to use as a spacer. The process was like this: get it jacked up, old tire removed, new tire didn't quite fit, old tire back on, jack down, 2x4 in, jack up, old tire removed again, new tire on, lesson learned.
Here are the comparisons:
Trailering
Towing Siren at 75 mph: no problem. Towing X at 60: Ok. Towing X at 65: Deathwish (maybe I'm just a chicken)
At 60 MPH, mostly flat with some small hills:
Highway MPG no trailer: 22.5
Highway MPG siren 17: 16.2
Highway MPG X: 14.3
The X is much harder to navigate on the road. I have to admit I jumped a curb on the initial ride back (and no, not the tire that blew out). Wide load = Wide turns. Wider than you think. Pulling either boat makes it feel like you're being tailgated by a Semi. Certainly the X gets more comments and looks, I think the Siren just got sympathy. But she was a good boat.
Launching:
X is easier than the siren. Believe it or not. I launched the X without getting my feet wet, I couldn't launch the siren without geting water in my pockets. The truck doesn't have to back as far in either, even though both boats float in the same depth of water.
Motoring:
No comparison. The Siren had a 30 year old Evinrude 2 stroke, pull start, had to keep a hand on the throttle to keep it going and the other hand on the tiller. The X is just so easy. Turn the key, warm it up, use the motor to pull off the trailer, then point and shoot. All this while sitting on some nice leather cushions too--what a treat.
GPS rating on the Siren w/6HP: 9km/h (about average over many trips)
GPS rating on the X w/50HP Honda: 30 km/h with the wind 25km/h into the wind. Two adults, two kids, full gas on both boats. This was just about exactly what I expected based on my web research.
No fuel consumption data. I didn't even use a single tankful of gas per season on the Siren so it wasn't an issue. Now that my eldest is into older kid stuff, fuel consumption on the X may become an issue, what with all the wakeboarding and powering that now becomes an option. Actually, this is why I bought an X and named it after a transformer. After much thought, having both options in a single boat is exactly what I wanted. I love sailing from a technical and environmental point of view, but it's sure nice to be able to just blast around a bit and have a great time when the time is right.
Retrieval:
About a tie. I almost put the X through the back window of the truck a couple of times. There was a crosswind blowing and it was just impossible to line up and drive onto the trailer like the manual said. I don't think I could have done this part myself. My daughter ended up opening the tailgate of the truck and helped guide the nose in. With that help, there was nothing to it, and she said it was really easy and simple for her to do. I'll have to think about some of the trailer mods I've seen on other posts to help slide it in there. The Siren was easy because it was small and light, but I always got wet.
Sailing:
Don't know. Probably can't be worse than a nineteen seventy-something Siren with original sails and a self-trained "captain". But I will content myself, as I did with the Siren, to try to get the best performance I can from the boat's capabilities. If some guy in a j-boat or cat blows by me, I can always roll in the sails and rock him in the propwash.
Accomodations:
No comparison. The Siren was like camping in tupperware; the X seems very reasonable--haven't tried it yet. Like the roominess, and the cockpit enclosure makes it huge.
You may have had a similar experience. The V21, even, is pretty big compared to the Siren. The first time I towed the 26 I went downtown Cincinnati at noon. Interstate 71, 75 south and then I 275 east. About all the excitement I could stand! After a while its no big deal. happy sailing! 
