"Jim Cate" wrote in message
...


Marc wrote:
No Jim, you DON"T get it. You are confusing quality with utility. The
fact that the Mac is the perfect boat for you just means it is the
perfect boat for you. It does not embue it with nautical qualities
that would even begin to compare wit a Valient. Quality is not in the
eye of the beholder. Utility is.




No, Marc, YOU are the one who doesn't get it. The quality built into the
design of the Mac26M is of a different nature than that built into the
valiant 40, but it's quality nonetheless. For example, the fact that
the Valiant would quickly sink to the bottom if the hull were
compromised, or in the event of a collision or freak wave, whereas the
Mac would stay afloat is a QUALITY and safety factor for any sailor
going offshore.

This is nonsense. The ability to have positive foam floatation is part of the
design desision to have minimal real ballast and to use water ballast for
stability. Many boats that have little or no lead ballast also have positive
floatation; very few ballasted boat have flotation. Unfortunately, this makes
the boat very uncomfortable in any amount of chop.


You and your buddies continue to ignore this, yet just
last year a young man on a displacement boat was dragged to the bottom
as the boat sank during severe weather conditions. The ability to stay
afloat in any weather IS a quality issue.

Very few people die from large boats sinking. Many people die each year from
falling off small, unstable boats, or from hitting things with fast, lightweight
boats. The Mac web site has a starting number of warnings about the unstable
number nature of the 26M. For instance, although the 22 mph top speed in the
spec is listed with the ballast empty, they warn never to actually attempt it.
They advise not going on deck if the boat is moving over 6 MPH.