Thanks to all for the posts. I drove 5 hours round trip yesterday to see the
Mac26 first hand. For a number of reasons, it's not the boat for me. I think
it will do almost everything they say it will do, it just isn't big enough
for me. I like lots of things about it, but...

One thing I wish sales people would avoid is making a statement like "full
standing head room" when it would be far better to say what that head room
actually is. I was very disappointed by how much I had to bend over in a
cabin with "full standing head room," quoted per the Mac literature. Since
they chose to direct their comments to a shorter sailor, I took it to mean
they don't want me to buy this boat.

It also had a very flimsy feel to it. The hardware looked too fragile and I
could see things breaking, tearing, splitting, and sheering off. Again, if I
weighed 140 instead of 240, it might be ok.

I loved the look of the shoalsailer
http://www.shannonyachts.com/default.aspx?id=6 but it's out of range -
moneywise.
Oh well, back to the drawing board.
Scout


"Scotty" wrote in message
news
Some things I don't like about the Mac is the very high
freeboard, combined with the light weight of the boat, can
really get pushed around in a cross wind.
The 'quirky' powerboat look, although the blue hull does
help a bit.
The small powerboat steering wheel.

The cabin is nice and very big for a 26' trailerable. I
believe the owners berth is 7'7'' long ( bigger than a Bendy
35.5.5) The cockpit is bigger, too.

Scotty



"Scout" wrote in message
...
Thanks Jim,
I appreciate your input.
The 26M is not out of the running, and I'm going to be
visiting a dealer
within the next few weeks to have a look at one up close.
I'm looking at
quite a few others too. For instance, I'm looking at Jim
Taylor's boats
(Precision) because I've owned one and loved almost
everything about it
(just needed it to be bigger).
In the end, I'll most likely see something I hadn't
figured on and just
buy the damn thing. I have a history of doing elaborate
research and then
buying on instinct. Some times it works out for the
best, some times it
doesn't.
Scout

"JimC" wrote in message
om...
Scout,

I have a 26M purchased in 2004, and I do like the
boat. - It has a number
of features that make it a good choice for the sailing I
do in the
Houston-Galveston area. Whether it would be the best
choice for you may
depend on what kind if sailing you expect to do. As you
can easily see
from the Mac discussion group Bill mentioned
(http://macgregorsailors.com/phpBB/), lots of Mac owners
use their boats
for coastal cruising, for trips from California to
Catalina island,
sailing the Keys, etc.

Because it is designed to motor and plane, and because
it has a
water-ballasted hull, the Mac doesn't perform under sail
as well as a
larger, heavier boat with longer waterline, weighted
keel, etc. It's
relatively light (around 4,000 pounds loaded and with
water ballast), and
its hull is something of a compromise (semi-V bottom). -
I bought ours
after sailing a number of larger, heavier boats, so I'm
aware that the Mac
isn't the kind of boat you would choose if you expect to
make extended,
open-sea voyages. (For one thing, it doesn't have the
storage capacity
needed for provisions for such cruises.) So if you
expect to spend lots
of time cruising offshore or sailing in heavy weather,
you might want to
look at a larger, heavier boat. Hunter and Catalina
also make boats
somewhat similar to the Mac. As you probably know,
there are lots of
used boats of various makes, designs and conditions on
the market.

On the plus side, the Mac 26M is just plain fun to sail.
It's the most
popular sailboat of its size, with thousands of owners
in the US and
foreign countries. As you probably know, the Mac doesn't
require a slip
(no slip fees or bottom treatments), it's easy to
launch, roomy,
versatile, can maneuver in shallow water (they float in
one foot of
water), safe (how many other boats discussed on this ng
have flotation
that keeps the boat afloat even if the hull is broken
open below the
waterline?), etc. The motor permits me to motor out to a
desired sailing
area at 15mph+ and to motor back quickly at the end of
the day or if bad
weather comes up, so I'm able to get in more time
sailing when and where I
want to sail, and I'm able to avoid problems that would
otherwise keep me
from enjoying the day.

There is one major disadvantage to owning a Mac 26M,
however. - They
aren't a conventional boat, they cost much less than
most, and you will be
subject to some pretty sarcastic ridicule by owners of
larger,
conventional boats. Your original note asked if anyone
on the ng had any
actual experience on the Mac 26M. - You got a number of
responses, mostly
negative, but only one of them (Bill's) was from someone
with actual
experience on the the 26M, and he seemed to like his.
This is fairly
typical.

In any event, look around at all the options and sail as
many different
boats as you can.

Jim




Scout wrote:
Does anyone have any actual experience with the Mac
26M?
In my unending search for the right boat, this boat
appears to have many
features of interest. I understand that the sailing
performance is
compromised to gain in other areas, but if speed is not
my thing, why
should I care?
If the 26M is a poor boat, that what trailerable boat
in that size range
(abt 25') can do better?
Scout