Duncan McC (NZ) wrote in
. nz:

In article ,
says...
On Sun, 10 Jun 2007 14:31:54 +1200, Duncan McC (NZ)
wrote:

My own comments on a Mac 26X - which I tried out (a new one) two
years ago.

Is it a sailing boat or a speedboat? My biggest gripe, for a brand
new boat, is that it is beaten on the water (sailing) by boats that
are 25 years old (eg Farr 7.5, Noelex 25). (I bought a Farr 7.5 in
the end, BTW). I was pleasantly surprised by it's pointing ability,
but again much older boats out point it (as probably expected given
it's 'cross nature' design).

I couldn't find any Farr 7.5's for sale in the U.S., but maybe they
come on market sometimes. Do they still make them? Looks like
a nice boat. Probably not many made the trip to the U.S.

Naa, haven't made 'em for years.

That said there are several trailer sailors still made in Australia.


There was a long thread in the Mac forum where an Aussie
went through contortions having a Mac 26X shipped there.
Shipping container prices, fumigation, trailer rules/modifications,
etc. Ended costing him quite a bit. I couldn't quite figure why he
would do it.
Then another Aussie mentioned the outrageous price asked for the Mac
there (60k AUS for the X, 70k AUS for the M) and said that despite
his costs he will come out ahead should he decide to sell it off. He
is himself arranging an import.

Sorry, it was the latest model I went out in - the M model it must be.
They are about $75K (NZD) here - which is good value for a brand new
boat I think. (Actually with the high exchange rate, I'd expect to
see a much lower price, but I don't have it at hand).

The X and M are almost identical, with the M being the newer version.
A new M in the U.S. will cost maybe 30-34K U.S. tricked out with a
4-stroke 50HP and other common add-ons. I think the bare boat itself
with trailer and just a mainsail is 20-24K U.S.
Apparently trade between the U.S. and Oz/NZ is well restricted
between distance and regs. One of my sons recently sold his Chicago
based Bayliner powerboat for an attractive price (he wanted a quick
sale) to an Aussie working in Indiana. The fellow told my son he
would be sending the boat off for sale in Australia and pocket 10k
U.S. on the deal.
All very strange. Another of my sons now resides in Sydney and tells
me there are similar price anomalies with some U.S. cars, where older
models not given a second look here (Ford Taurus, eg) sell for
seemingly large sums in Australia. If I had more energy I might look
into U.S./Oz import/export business.

The price is good, and the cabin is spacious in feel. I like that.

Pretty scary you would say the price is good for a Mac 26 in Oz/NZ,
given what I've heard. Were you looking there or in the U.S.?
Agree on the Mac 26 cabin. The spartan nature gives it a less
claustrophobic feel than similar sized boats. But some will see that
lack of cabinetry as inadequate stowage.

Indeed the word 'spartan' came to mind - and indeed there is not a lot
of locker space as a result - probably not *that* bad for a weekend or
even a week away - at least everything is at hand (don't have to
rumage around lockers - as I do on my boat).



Spartan is another word for sensible when it comes to a small cruiser.
You don't want a bunch of carpets and upholtery to get moldy or dank.
You want surfaces that clean up easily with a sponge and some fresh
water. On one of the Mac sites I was reading the other day there are
pages and pages of modifications owners have made to customize their
Macs. One guy showed where he did extra storage shelves. Here's the link
to the main page. http://macgregorsailors.com/index.php

--
Cheerio,
Ed Gordon
http://www.freewebs.com/egordon873/index.htm