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We will be moving to Fairfield Harbour in February. We will be sailing on the Neuse River and Pamlico Sound and also want to make journeys on the ICW to the Chesapeake Bay and south to Charleston.

My intitial thought was to sell the 26M out here in Arizona and buy a used Catalina 27 to 30 in North Carolina. My thinking was that the 26M might be a bit tender for sailing on the Pamlico Sound. We also wanted to buy a small Grady White with outboard to explore the mainland coastal area and ICW ... "further and faster" on some weekends.

Now I'm thinking that maybe the Macgregor would perhaps be suitable for both "missions" ... weekend to week long sailing trips and 2 to 4 day motor boat trips on the ICW.

I would appreciate thoughts about how well the Macgregor does on Pamlico, especially when caught out in 30 knots with the short chop.

Regards, Larry

Maybe repower your to help fit the power boat function better??

Good luck on the move...I think you are in Billy country...140 HP....

We sail/motor in that area as much as possible. Get a 90.

Erik lives 5-10 miles from Fairfield Harbor and is constantly on the water with Knot Shore in the Neuse River.

Lots of Mac activity in NC.

I will take two larger boats to do what you want without the Mac. Lots and lots of coastal area.

Victor

Greetings Larry,
I have had my 26 X for about 9 years now and use it alot. Click on the world icon on the right to visit my boat website, and click on Ships Log to view alot of my trips in this area and out.

I have been out near Fairfield in 30+ winds several times (obviously shorten sails)... sometimes almost the only one out there... and the Mac can handle it fine. The Best wind is out there at Fairfield and up the Neuse to Oriental, that is where most of the blow boaters hang out.

I have been on the Pamlico sound many times in many different conditions. (see ships log) I believe the Mac can handle the Pamlico sound better than a keel boat because of the shallow areas in there. The biggest problem I have with my Mac is my crew! They can turn a bit green when it gets rough... me I love it.
Feel free to contact me if you need more info.

_____________________________________________________
Capt Erik, Admiral Jean, First Mate Christina & Swabbie Nicole
1999 MacGregor 26X, "KnotShore"
New Bern, NC

your move will open a whole new world for you and your boat ,there some really great cruise destinations between outerbanks and fla ,great remote islands ,i posted on another topic just sunday i pulled a catalina off the rocks ,i truly beleive these are the perfect boats for coastal cruising ,not to mention ,its a whole lot easier to put a mac on a trailer than a catalina ,we still have our power boat but it seems we use it less and less ,i plan on repowering with a suzuki 90 and then sell the power boat .....

No worries Arizona !!! Just drop her off in Alabama at my hose on the way there!! I'll take good care of her for ya!!

We mainly sail out of Wilmington to Southport NC area but are quite familiar with the Pamlico Sound and Neuse River. My wife and I wanted to take our 2 week vacation and sail to all the lighthouses of NC. We wound up motoring most of it. We encountered 25-30 knot winds on the pamlico and neuse and like Erik said it does get rough but the boat can handle it with a capable captain aboard.

We have been from Southport NC to Norfolk VA and seen alot including the Great Dismal Swamp. We have sailed overnight from Southport NC to Charleston SC out on the ocean and traveled the ICW back. Along with all of that we have great get together sails every year. I would say it is a definite yes to bring the Mac to NC.

We have done what I believe you are contemplating, though a more southerly location. There is a LOT of water down here too. We have what I consider to be , a HUGE Protected Harbor in or about 7 miles x 20+ Miles its connected to the ICW as well and has additionally 2 rivers 1 mile wide or wider and lots of shoreline and islands etc etc etc.
We brought the down here ( I lived on our Mac down here for 6 weeks , a couple years before we managed to sell and then move here ) We recently bought a 23' Striker Walk Around.. WE bought it used and for less than the cost of a substantial repower for the mac. ( $11,000.00) For groups of say, 4 to 8 guest its a lot more comfortable as it has a Lot More Cockpit Space, than a mac, be it an X or an M. There is a small cabin with a sink and a porta-potty and a queen size berth and room for 3 or 4 deck chairs and a huge cooler in the cockpit. She cruises well at 30 mph and tops out just north of 40. She runs through water the Mac wouldn't like, ( waves and wakes ) and at speeds double those attainable by the mac ( under the same conditions) no matter the size of the motor on the mac.
If Fuel Cost is an issue for you ? Be careful with your purchase. Even a mid-size CC gets terrible gas mileage. Our W/A gets about 2.5 to 3 MPG thats just a tiny bit more than my brothers 30+ foot 14,000 lb twin 315 HP Diesels gets. We could have bought basically the very same boat we now have with a newer 4 stroke and gotten, a little better mileage but we would have paid about $10,000.00 more. Even at $4 a gallon thats a lot of time on the water to break even..
Others Opinions , needs and financial situation may be very different than ours..
Living on the water is No Less Than Awesome..and with the sailing and now the power boat options, its just a Fantastic Life. Friends now visit us, by boat and we do the same..