On Tue, 10 Apr 2007 18:12:31 -0400, "Wilbur Hubbard"
wrote:


"Vic Smith" wrote in message

It would be new or gently used. I really don't want to have any
serious fix-ups to do. Excellent hull and mechanicals condition are
important to me. Frankly, that is what most attracts me to the Mac,
because at a decent price you get a new, no-surprises boat.
I'm not sold on that, and until I get to Florida and hire/charter some
boats I won't know what's best for me.
The advice I get here will tell me what to look at, and I really
appreciate that advice.
I would stretch my budget if I could justify it.


You have just proven you are a total ignoramus. First you say that an
excellent hull and mechanical condition are important to you. Then you
say that's what attracts you to a MacGregor26M. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
ha ha!

What I meant by that is condition. No balsa cored hull with rotten
balsa. No chopper gun glass. No diesel blowing smoke or otherwise
ready to stop. No owner mods to holding tanks that have let body
wastes saturate already filthy bilges. No moldy, rotten bulkheads
and cabinetry. No half-assed electrics waiting to short at the flick
of a switch.
A new boat won't suffer these insults.

Don't you realize that's the same thing as saying a dark, full body
taste and high alcohol content is important to you in a beer and then
saying that's why you're interested in Miller Lite. How stupid are
people getting these days?

You can't teach me a thing about beer.

1) MacGregor uses the cheapest mechanicals in the boating world known to
man.

Actually, its main mechanical is the new outboard of choice on the
transom. Anything else I consider mechanical can be upgraded
at low cost. Much easier to do when a prior owner hasn't mucked
up everything or 30 years has taken its toll.

2) MacGregor has a well-deserved reputation for thin, oil canning hulls.

That's a concern, and until I test one against other boats it will
remain one.

As for no surprises . . .

MacGregor 26X/M is anything but a no-surprises boat. For example, you
will be constantly surprised at the laughing, snickering and derision
going on behind your back (from real sailors) for owning one.

No concern there.

You will
be surprised at how poorly it sails.

That's a concern, and until I test one against other boats it will
remain one.

You will be surprised at how
ostracized you will be for owning one.

No concern there.

You will be surprised at how hard
it is to sell the crummy thing at any kind of a reasonable price (The
market is flooded by used Macs that people can't give away).

That would prove an advantage if I go that way, and if it were true.
But looking at used prices, they seem to hold their value.

You will be
surprised at how poorly the thing actually motors in anything but flat
water. You will be surprised how the thing barely manages to sail upwind
in a 20kt breeze and the attendant chop. You will be surprised if the
mast doesn't come down around your head trying to sail in a storm. You
will be surprised at how really uncomfortable the interior is. You will
be surprised at how totally unsuitable it is for living aboard. But,
it's your money. Feel free to squander it in any way you choose.

Those are all concerns, and testing will tell.
Sounds like you've been aboard a Mac under sail and power.
But sound and fury aren't always companions.

--Vic