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Seaworthiness of Mac26
On 18 May 2004 10:26:59 -0700, (Parallax)
wrote:
Granted the Mac26 is not an offshore boat, but what can she do?
All good points, P., and points which reflect, I would guess, 90% of
the coastal sailing in North America. Racers and dedicated cruisers go
offshore...the rest of us stay in VHF range. Sometimes I think, like
you, that coastal sailing is the more dangerous pastime.
I have seen Mac 26Xs at boat shows and personally don't have the
animus against them that a lot of people seem to have...it's like
blaming a Mini for not being a minivan. If it does what its buyers
want it to do, which seems to be powerboating with the option to do
fair-weather, light air sailing on a whim, then no harm, no foul.
Nobody blames PortaBote owners for getting the sailing rig option, so
I find the criticisms of the Mac26X *as a sailing vessel* a little
pointless, just as criticising the sailing qualities of a steel
motorsailer is pointless, as it's a trawler with options when the
diesel runs out.
Is the Macgregor 26X a badly built boat? Separate issue entirely. Is
it the ******* offspring of a powerboat and a dinghy? Oh, probably,
but so what? Many people like that sort of thing, and as long as they
understand COLREGs, it's irrelevant to my sailing experience.
R.
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