We live most of the year in Mexico on the Sea Of Cortez. We recently lost our Midship 25 (Parker-Dawson 26) in a storm and are in the market for a new boat. Friends have warned us about McGregors, "They're Junk", but if that were true, I don't think they could sell so many of them. ..We would use the boat for "Costal Cruising", living aboard for as long as 10 days..
We have been offered a 2000 model 26x, centerboard, 50 hp Suzuki 4 stroke with less than 100 hours on it, on a tandem axle galvanized trailer, $18k. What I would would like to know is are these boats mostly lake boats suitable only for sheltered water because of their light construction or can they be trusted not to kill you if sailed in not so sheltered water. How tender are they? Can the standing rigging take a pounding without falling apart? Is the water ballast "fool proof"? I mean, you hear these horror stories..I can buy a Balboa 27, a pretty solid boat, for $7500, ready to go..
I like the ability to travel at 20 knots if need be and to be able to launch and recover from crude ramps common in Mexico. But I'm not willing to endure shoddy workmanship or poor design that can be life-threatening should a sudden squall test the vessels sea-worthiness..
I am going to retire to La Paz, Mexico in about a year and take my 2006 M with me, I'm also going to buy a motoryacht (46' to 50") to live on, but that will probably never leave the slip.The Macgregor is plenty seaworthy enough for coastal sailing, and that will be the evreyday boat that I USE - - - and you are correct - - - the power option is wonderful to have. You are also correct that the launch ramps are very crude, especially up around San Felipe (where the tides are also BRUTAL). I wouldn't think twice about crossing the Sea of Cortez at San Felipe to the Mainland in my Mac (I WOULD check the weather forecast, of course).
Feel free to PM or E-Mail me, but I am sure you are going to get much more positive response to your question soon!
We live near San Carlos in Sonora, which is near Guaymas. We have sailed across to Conception Bay in the Midship 25 I mentioned..I am not a novice sailor. Anything that can move WILL move. Anything that can break WILL break..Whining on channel 16 doesn't do you much good in Mexico. You must have your act together. Design weaknesses, if known, can be corrected..
I'm not sure anyone here can adequately advise you. Most here are novice sailors, many novice boaters. The Mac might be meeting our needs because we frequently have nothing to compare it to. But after six years with mine, I took ASA lessons in a handful of different keelboats, from 22 up to 34 footers. I wouldn't have any of them.
I prefer the Mac because it is roomier than anything near it's length and price, and it's more versatile than any sailboat I've been on. It sounds like it might meet your living requirements. And I've heard of very few that have had breakage, other than rudders (there are 2) and steering cable ... addressable during your design review. All of that as foundation, I'd not attempt to suggest, "you'll like it" nor the opposite.
The Macgregor has "cheap rigging" according to many keelboaters. That's because the Macgregor is probably about half their weight, if that. The rigging needs only meet those loads that her 4,500 pounds, in weather, may impose. In other words, 5/32" shrouds may seem like lifelines to you, but they are ample for the Mac.
Your title conflicts with your OP. Bluewater cruising? ... no, not even. Coastal cruising, where one can expect a harbor beyond the next point? ... IMO, yes. The Mac's horsepower can sometimes deliver you from a storm that you'd otherwise needed to endure ... that's a "sometimes" advantage, as you wrote. But once conditions have become heavy, your speed is constrained by waters, not horses.
Powersailers hold value pretty well. The price you mentioned is very reasonable. If this one's Suzuki is in good shape, that's another big positive. I assume you've looked at it, and find it neat & clean. Considering its premium trailer and low engine hours, maybe your best bet is to buy it and use it for one season. If you don't like it ... sell it.
Franks info and advice is quite often right on the mark as he knows the Mac very well.
I would recommend you search this site for posts from "Duane Dunn, Allegro" as he is most certainly the resident cruising expert when it comes to extended periods on the Mac. He has a website that tells all from his many experiences. CLICK HERE
I am with Frank when he says
buy it and use it for one season. If you don't like it ... sell it.
Having learned to sail "blue water" on Lake Michigan during a midshipman summer (participated in the Chicago-Macinac Race that summer) and then continued to sail light displacement boats off the coast of San Diego for 4 years, and now sailing my own 26M on the Chesapeake Bay (lower end), I can give you an unqualified "maybe" with regards to blue water seaworthiness. I certainly wouldn't plan on any open ocean cruising without lots of upgrades in the rigging, and a nice nav/radio suite, something I don't currently have.
The boat doesn't have a nice comfortable "steady" feel when sailing in chop greater than two feet or swells greater than three, but it definitely floats, so you end up bobbing quite a bit. Having said that, I got caught in a storm with greater than 30mph winds, with my Gen and Main completely up, and the boat handled it without too much trouble. I lost a single batten in the Main, probably due to dumping the sails quickly to avoid a knockdown.
Having said all that, the boat is exactly what I need right now, i.e. my first ownership experience, and has plenty of room for my young family, but in my opinion, if you are planning on doing any kind of true blue water sailing, where you will be spending the night under sail, you'll want a regular displacement boat, with a keel, if only for the long term comfort of the ride.
"I assume you've looked at it, and find it neat & clean. Considering its premium trailer and low engine hours, maybe your best bet is to buy it and use it for one season. If you don't like it ... sell it."
That's a problem..If I commit to this boat, it's sight unseen..The owner lives in Pto. Vallarta and is trailering the boat back to San Diego to sell it around April 10th. He is an elderly gentleman who thought he might enjoy sailing but decided he didn't. My only possible inspection will be in a parking lot in Guaymas as we meet on his way north, so I need to learn everything I can about McGregors as quickly as I can..It seems the "X" is a discontinued design replaced by the "M", which corrects many of the faults and shortcomings of the "X"..
The term "Bluewater" applies when making a crossing from the mainland to the Baja shore, a distance of 80 miles. Although the Sea Of Cortez is considered sheltered water, a capable vessel is required..Mostly though, my usage would be coastal gunkholing and daysailing.. Conditions are similar to the Great Lakes, but the water NEVER freezes!
I've been to San Felipe, great little town, and the tides are incredible. When it goes out, the shore disappears. Great place to camp on the beach, just don't do it during low tide!
Honestly I don't feel you can say the M which I own was developed to necessitate corrections . . . the X's failings. But I will say there are a lot of differences to be seen between the two. Major depends of the year of the X .
As for buying anything in Mexico bigger than a VW Bug for $7500???
You say you live there so you know everything I could say about all of that. My experiences have been that if your buying something as you describe , in Mexico for less than its worth here . . . . buyer beware very aware. I own Bla bla bla . I sell it to you . I had the RIGHT friends you don't . Not one of those papers is good or good enough .......
You live in Mexico so you know the story. I ask was the boat originally owned by a Mexican?
The boat was purchased originally from a San Diego dealer, trailered down to Vallarta, and unless I buy it, will be trailered back to San Diego...It's owned by a retired American and the papers are in order. The trailer I have since learned is the original single axle, 14" wheels, surge brakes, factory trailer. The Suzuki engine has a built-in electronic hour meter, the engine and boat are both 2000 models, purchased at the same time at the same dealer. The engine reads around 100 hours total running time. So I expect total operating time on the entire rig is less than 125 hours..A toy that stayed in the toybox..
So how does the water-ballast work?? Do the ballast tanks fill automaticly or must valves be opened? Is the system maintenance free?
How is the centerboard raised and lowered? By hand or with a winch? Can it be locked down securely so it's not flopping around in rough seas?
Fairwinds wrote: I can buy a Balboa 27, a pretty solid boat, for $7500, ready to go..
The above is the boat I would be concerned about Not the Mac.
Horror stories ? Truly I have never heard of one . Some disappointments with this or that a few this or that as well. With all these boats out there and who can claim as many ?? We have never heard of one breaking up.
Who on the other hand would take a Mac for a truly Extended Blue Water Cruise??
Fairwinds wrote:
So how does the water-ballast work?? Do the ballast tanks fill automaticly or must valves be opened? Is the system maintenance free?
How is the centerboard raised and lowered? By hand or with a winch? Can it be locked down securely so it's not flopping around in rough seas?
The has 300 pounds of permanent water ballast and 1,150 pounds of "temporary" water ballast. Valves are easily opened and the ballast fills QUICKLY. It's pretty maintenance free, except most of us put a SMALL bottle of chlorox in the ballast tank. Many of us leave the temporary ballast in permanently - - - except when high speed motoring.
The daggerboard (centerboard) is raised and lowered by hand with one attached rope - - - very easy to do - - - no winch is needed - - - weighs about 100 pounds when lowered (some of that is water weight) - - - and it stays down securely. I've never had a flopping around problem and I do A LOT of sailing (5 days a week).
Im 6'1" and have ample headroom in my and I think the is even better. The ultimate bluewater guy on this board has to be Mad Mike - Im a bit reluctant to mention him since he has taken macgregor way past the design limits.....and , well, his moniker is madmike, after all
(No offense meant, MM)
10 days cruise can be comfortably done (one or two up) on a Mac since you have lots of space below or a 26 footer. Upgrading sails, sheets, and halyards can address most of the shortcomings of the boat for heavy weather - especially coastal cruising where you can bail out if needed.
The M described above has a daggerboard while the X has a centerboard. The X board is easily raised and lowered with a line called a "pendant" and held at a given height with a cam cleat. Later X like my '01 have an all rope pendant; earlier boats had a combination cable/line pendant which apparently could become somewhat troublesome with rusting and breaking. Don't know when the changeover to the all rope version took place but mine has been 100% trouble free since new. In any case, like the daggerboard the centerboard stays down without being held down in any fashion, and I would guess few indeed are X owners who weren't at some time thankful that the X board folds up when you hit an underwater obstruction.
There is no permanent ballast in the X (and BTW, the M permanent ballast is not water as stated below). The ballast tank is filled and emptied manually through a valve in the transom, with a manual vent forward under the v-berth to make filling and emptying faster. The only maintenance required on mine in six years has been some silicone spray on the rubber seals of the valve to make it work easier.
The factory trailer is single axle; does yours have tandem as stated in the original post or is it the stock single? A tandem axle mod to the stock trailer is a seriously beneficial upgrade for those who frequently trailer long distances.
and I think the 