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DSK

wrote:
I think the MAc26 is done reasonably well for such a compromise. Like
any compromise, it doesnt favor either motor or sail very well but
people buy it knowing it is a compromise.

Maybe so. From what a lot of Mac26X or -M buyers say and
post, they start out believing in the compromise and then
move rapidly into a state of total denial.

We sailed in company with a number of them for a few years,
and there are 2 of the newer model Mac26M sailing around New
Bern, one in our marina.

Consider "motor sailers",
they sure do not sail well but few people criticize them.

True. Generally the motorsailer type is rather heavy & slow,
understood to be such. OTOH the Mac26M is badly misrepresented.

.... Consider the
Morgan OI series, not only do they look like hell but sail poorly too
but people buy them for their roominess.

The funny thing about that is they're not very roomy
compared to a modern boat. The best Out Island cruiser I
know of was converted to a trawler.

Buying the Mac26 for its
compromise is a legit decision.

Agree

... I'd be willing to bet that mac26
owners boat in more places than 99% of other sail boats.

How so? None of the ones that I see ever go any place that
other people don't.

.... As far as
safety is concerned, I'd say that its ability to get out of the way of
bad weather with speed and its ability to anchor in very shallow
protected places actually make it safer than a deep keel conventional
sailboat.

Possibly. But it's "speed" is a lot lower than most people
think, the video of it pulling a skier is with the boat
stripped. Loaded with people & gear it is barely faster than
a conventional sailboat under power, and the wide stern
makes it pull a huge wake.

Many of us with "real" sailboats also own "real" powerboats and know
the pains of owning two boats. Owning just one would be nice.

Agreed. But I personally have no interest in owning a
sailboat that's not FUN to sail. To some, the Mac26M (or the
older 26X) might be fun, sure it's nice to get out on the
water. But the lack of performance is sure to be frustrating
to anybody who pays enough attention to notice.

This argument about the Mac26 reminds me of an argument over whether a
friend should buy a pontoon boat for his family. Many people toild him
"No" cuz a pontoon boat was not a "real" powerboat and it wasn't
seaworthy. He bought the pontoon boat and does more boating with it
than the rest of us but he restricts himself to appropriate places and
weather.

What's appropriate? We met a couple who completed a Great
Loop in a pontoon boat.

I say, "Buy the Mac26 and enjoy it.You'll do more sailing in unusual
places than those of us with heavier non-trailerable sailboats. You
will keep peace in your family which is a serious consideration".

But he won't do more sailing than any other trailerable
sailboat, he'll just go slower and have a harder time
steering. Why do people have to act like the Mac26 is the
*only* trailerable sailboat?

Keeping peace with the family is a very serious
consideration, agreed.

DSK