wrote:

Jeff wrote:

wrote:

"ed" wrote:

Think about range. calculate 2000 miles distance by a 5 mpg and
you need how many gallons of fuel on board? How much space does
400 gallons of fuel require? How and where will you store it?
Safely. What will the added weight (about a ton) do to stability?
To mileage and handling? If you use bladders, will chafing cause
a catastrophic leak?

editor
http://www.marineenginedigest.com

I forgot to say that the MacGregor is a sailboat :-)

It may not perform well crossing an ocean and may take twice
as long as a good sailboat but since it cannot sink or capsize
you won't have to worry about getting eaten by sharks.

Why do you keep insisting it can't capsize?
http://www.ne-ts.com/ar/ar-407capsize.html

Of course, you can claim that they did not follow proper procedures
in this case. However, the North Atlantic has a way of testing gear
in ways not covered by the procedures.


So I should have said that it cannot capsize if the ballast tank
is full and the boat is not overloaded and it doesn't have 300 lbs
of weight attached to the top of the mast, etc, etc.

I'm sure it can also sink if you put enough weight in it.

I'm not a big fan of MacGregor but I'm still waiting for somebody
to tell me why this boat wouldn't be as safe as larger sailboats
when proper procedures are followed.

It's not the size of boat that matters, its the seaworthiness. Since
it's not designed for heavy seas, heavy seas will create big problems.

For example, if you can't make headway in forty knot winds and if you
are not a boating expert with about five strategies for handling
emergency X, you'll find yourself being carried onto rocks and smashed
to bits, or in a weak-assed MacGregor maybe just broken up by the waves.
"Bluewater" boats are built stronger with heavy keels. They can take
anything the ocean can dish out, as long as the skipper knows what they
are doing.

For the open ocean, get a sailboat designed for the open ocean, learn
navigation, and read up on others' ocean travels. Ideally, you should
crew on ocean crossings with an experienced captain or two.

I have a Hunter 33', stronger than a MacGregor, but I would never
venture out into the ocean with it. On the other hand, I crewed numerous
times on a Blanchard 33' in very heavy seas and felt as safe as a bug in
a rug.

--
Stephen

-------

For any proposition there is always some sufficiently narrow
interpretation of its terms, such that it turns out true, and
some sufficiently wide interpretation such that it turns out
false...concept stretching will refute *any* statement, and will
leave no true statement whatsoever.
-- Imre Lakatos