On Sun, 10 Jun 2007 19:44:33 -0400, Jeff wrote:

A PDQ 36 catamaran. More boat than you can even dream of.

The PDQ 36 is a quarter million dollar boat. Guess it's quite easy to
look down your nose at the lowly Mac 26.
If my wife would let me sell the house I might consider the PDQ, and
could then look down on the Mac myself.
Since she'd leave me, I could fit quite a few broads on that PDQ.
But that won't happen.
Some folks just want to get on the water in whatever they can afford.
I'm sure Ed Gordon's deep love of the Mac 26 is partly due to the
affordability factor, and that the price can even allow him the
opportunity of sailing or powering a *new* boat.
It isn't as roomy, as safe, or as fast as your PDQ, but it allows
him to get out there on the water.
Thanks for recommending the Marshall and Parker for gunkholing,
but they are impractical for me, and for most who would go with the
Mac 26. As you can see, the Marshall 22 starts at 68k:
http://www.marshallcat.com/M22Lines.htm
Looking at the option list, its safe to say the boat cost is about 3
times the cost of a Mac 26. It's a pretty boat, but out of my price
range. Looks like it isn't as roomy as the Mac, too.
And despite its looks and sailing qualities, some may find it as Cape
Cod precious.
My favorite option:
Cetol finish on teak - 4 coats 1,950.00
That's about what I pay for a car.
As to the Parker:
http://www.parkerboats.net/pages/boa....jsp?boatid=18
I didn't even look at the price, seeing the recommended power is
Yamaha Twin F150
Yamaha Twin F200
Right there before you get the boat you've exceeded the cost of the
Mac 26. Not to mention all the gas guzzling. I guess I could just
buy the Yammies and run them in barrels in the back yard, but I don't
want to.
To be fair, you could power the Parker more economically, or do the
same with this: http://www.rosboroughboats.com/sedan_cruiser.html
but the initial and operating costs would still be higher than most
Mac owners can or want to pay.
Besides, despite its poor performance, people *do* sail the Macs.
I'm still a young man and have no inclination to go pure stink-pot,
even aside from my limited finances.
Jeff, though I appreciate your advice, I'm thinking more in line with
Capt'n Neal's website boat buying advice regarding price.
Trouble is the Capt'n is a deep keel, blue water, bristol fashion
sailor. And I just want a fairly comfortable gunkholer.
Still, I'm afraid the Mac 26 series might be more boat than I can
afford, so when I'm ready I'll have to study the Captain's site again,
and ask the kind people here for advice.
Hey, lot's of different boat ideas here, and a perfect example of the
old saw "That's what makes the world go around."
Or is that sex?
Pretty damn neat anyway, and I sure do learn a lot about boats here.
Can't wait until I start sailing and buy my first splicing fid.
Sitting on a gently rocking boat in a subtropical harbor, now and then
a fish jumping in the air, its splashing re-entry the only contention
to the gentle breeze in rippling the water, as the sun makes its final
arc over the palm shaded horizon, I lackadaisically splice a halyard
with my fid. A cold beer by my side of course. Oh yeah!

--Vic