MacGregorSailors.com

Hi Guys

how do you taller chaps get on with the limited head room on a 26c? I am 6ft 1,my son is 6ft 4.

So is it limited to day sailing or can you hang a week out on her without needing to visit the cyropractor when you get home.?

Not sure about the 26C, but I'm 6' tall, and my 26X just barely fits me when I am standing in the galley area (under the slider). I have to duck to go forward.

That being said, as long as I can stand up there, I'm fine. I think if I had a boat where I could not stand up, I'd be sorely frustrated.

so far ive only been in the galley of a 26x,i really do like the sailing aspects of the 26c but at 4ft8 inches? i think that it would make anything more than a couple of nights on board a bit too uncomfortable.


do you know if anyone has managed to find out how to get a mac26 C.E. certified?

with the pound now at $2.03 ,importing it is a very attractive idea

I moved up from a Catalina 16 so the 26C is pure luxury for me.. My 10 year old son can stand in it but next year might be questionable. With the pop top up, I can stand in it. You and your son can sit in it no problem. Its of course a trade off. I trailer at a windy lake and am glad I dont have more side area of the boat to get blown around when Im trying to get out and especially trying to get back in to the dock. But the head room would be real nice.

The theory was in the sitting headroom boats that all the standing that needed to be done would happen in the companionway hatch area. The pop top (the hatch would be raised, not slid forward) and a canvas enclosure would create something akin to a hard topped dodger. The things that needed standing in front of like the galley were located around where you could stand under the companionway hatch. How well this would work for you depends on your needs of course.

i guess i need to go and have a look at a 26c,is the "pop top some sort of an extension? any pics of this?

26C pop top picture http://analogengineering.com/powell/main_channel3.jpg

You cant have the boom vange on with the top up however. Besides the standing room on the long trip, the biggest problem we had on a four day trip was all the supplies we broght along. We had to move them to the sleeping area during the day and to "somewhere else" during the night. I think the X and the M have a lot more options for storing stuff than the C models do.

There was factory canvas available to enclose the raised top shown in the picture above. Check to see if the boat you are looking at has it.

Check out the bottom left picture on page 14 here

http://www.tompatterson.com/Sailing/Sai ... ng22p.html

The full brochure is here

http://www.tompatterson.com/Sailing/Sai ... ng22a.html

thanks for the links guys,ill definately look at a 26c.

Our prior boat was a 1992 Mac 26C, mint shape. It was a fine handling boat. I didnt like the Laz. design too much & as a fuel storage compartment, but the boat in general was easier to handle than my Mac X. Rigging was easier, towing better, and launching was a snap. We overnighted with great fun on the water as well as on land in State Parks.

I considered it comfortable for Two folks and one dog.

I thought the headroom would be a bigger issue. We do fine because most of our time is in the cockpit and the poptop really helps.

Its like camping for us but we sleep all six of us. Three of the kids in the v-berth and my wife & I in the rear berth which is huge. My main problem is getting everyone to keep their things neat and leaving things at home that are not necessary. Its a bigger problem with my wife than the kids.

LOUIS B HOLUB wrote:Our prior boat was a 1992 Mac 26C, mint shape. It was a fine handling boat. I didnt like the Laz. design too much & as a fuel storage compartment, but the boat in general was easier to handle than my Mac X. Rigging was easier, towing better, and launching was a snap. We overnighted with great fun on the water as well as on land in State Parks.

I considered it comfortable for Two folks and one dog.

I like my laz but its not real usable. Its so deep that you have to crawl in there to get anything.

If I where ambitious (I'm not), I'd glass in a fuel tank, add a bilge & pump, build an anchor locker that drained into the motor well and build some shelving that was easily accessable from the cover.

kevperro wrote:

LOUIS B HOLUB wrote:Our prior boat was a 1992 Mac 26C, mint shape. It was a fine handling boat. I didnt like the Laz. design too much & as a fuel storage compartment, but the boat in general was easier to handle than my Mac X. Rigging was easier, towing better, and launching was a snap. We overnighted with great fun on the water as well as on land in State Parks.

I considered it comfortable for Two folks and one dog.

I like my laz but its not real usable. Its so deep that you have to crawl in there to get anything.

I just couldnt keep stuff organized in the Laz. Although the Laz is a nice big compartment for storage, Id often find my self with legs upwards and upper torso down in the Laz diggin' somewhere inside for that gizmo, gadgit, or tool. But, the sailing and handling plus of the Mac 26-C definately overrides any Laz problems. Its a fine boat.

LOUIS B HOLUB wrote:

kevperro wrote:

LOUIS B HOLUB wrote:Our prior boat was a 1992 Mac 26C, mint shape. It was a fine handling boat. I didnt like the Laz. design too much & as a fuel storage compartment, but the boat in general was easier to handle than my Mac X. Rigging was easier, towing better, and launching was a snap. We overnighted with great fun on the water as well as on land in State Parks.

I considered it comfortable for Two folks and one dog.

I like my laz but its not real usable. Its so deep that you have to crawl in there to get anything.

I just couldnt keep stuff organized in the Laz. Although the Laz is a nice big compartment for storage, Id often find my self with legs upwards and upper torso down in the Laz diggin' somewhere inside for that gizmo, gadgit, or tool. But, the sailing and handling plus of the Mac 26-C definately overrides any Laz problems. Its a fine boat.

I love mine... for the moment I've organized things in large plastic containers down there. I get them from Walmart, they are laundry sized plastic boxes and that method seems to work the best. I always run my lines from the adjustable back stay through there & anchor/docking lines down under the lid to keep the cockpit clutter free. The former owner installed a shelf with some wire straps. It works.... for lighter stuff but it isn't very sturdy. I may replace it with something a little beefier.

In terms of headroom though.... I'm very pleased with my 26D. The pop-top takes care of my needs to stand. I'm 5-7" though so I might feel different crawling to the head if I was 6-3". The way I look at it is that I don't spend much time there anyway. Why buy a boat around a feature that you only use a couple minutes a day? I'm sitting when I'm on the seats (no standing headroom), I'm laying down when I'm in the bunk and I'm sitting when on the crapper. The only place I need to stand is where the pop-top covers and in the cockpit.

I agree. How I tackled the problem was using 5 gallon buckets. Great for holding and carrying my anchor forward. I use another for my fenders. It keeps them together and upright so I can reach in an pull them out as I need them.