Oh come on... safety with a 70hp vs. a 30 or a 20? My 13hp diesel powering
my 30' sailboat is more than adequate to work against the currents and winds
found in one of the most challenging sailing areas in the US. If you had a
decent sailboat, you wouldn't have to be concerned as much with needing a
huge engine for a small job.

You're not providing balance with your rants. You're demonstrating the
lengths you need to go to to justify a severely compromised boat.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"JimC" wrote in message
m...
JG, in my previous note I forgot to mention the safety factors entailed
with having a fairly powerful motor on the Mac. - For example, when I had
the boat out Saturday, we had a rather substantial incoming tide and
headwind, the waves were breaking against us all the way out to the
sailing area, and there was a lot of traffic, with wakes. The Mac is
lightweight and has a fairly large sideboard area. - If I had had a 10 -
15 hp motor as is usual for boats of this size, I don't think I could have
kept it on track within the channel all the way out. Also, I would not
have been able to keep up with the other traffic going out, which causes
further problems. The reserve power is also a safety factor in the event
of inclement weather, tides, etc., out in the Bay or beyond.

As to "ranting all I want," I'm afraid you will have to get use to my
providing a little balance to these discussions from time to time. Get
over it Capt. - If you don't like my notes, you don't have to respond to
them or even read them. Better than going hyper as you seem to be doing.
Incidentally, Capt., as I recall, you have never sailed a 26M. - Is that
right? That figures.

As I have mentioned before, I had over 30 years sailing experience before
getting the Mac, having sailed on a number of medium sized and smaller
boats, including a Beneateux 39, O'Day 38/9, Valiant 40, and various
Endeavors, Cals, Catalinas, and others in the 30-34-ft range. My point is
not that I'm a great sailor, but rather, that I have enough experience on
a variety of boats to recognize the limitations of the Mac 26M. I also
have enough experience on the Mac 26M to understand its limitations, but
also, to understand that sailing it is a lot of fun. - Actually, I thought
that was why most of us like to sail in the first place.

Jim


Capt. JG wrote:

Jim, you can rant all you want, but yours is the a very restrictive
application for a compromised vessel. It's not a great sailing vessel;
it's not a great power boat. In fact, it kinda sucks at both.

All your efforts at supporting your boat must take away from your sail
time.