MacGregor 26M - Valiant 40
 

you are
forbidden from buying an EPIRB. That would be unethetical on your part and
would doom you to Hell for eternity.


Would I be permitted to buy a chart plotter, depth-knot, autosteering,
or VHF?


nope.


Jim

MacGregor 26M - Valiant 40
 

C'mon Jax, give the pedant a break. I saw a mac motoring out the race
equipped with radar.Gave me pause. Kind of like a mouse crawling up an
elephants leg with rape on its mind.

On 01 Apr 2004 15:52:48 GMT, (JAXAshby) wrote:

you are
forbidden from buying an EPIRB. That would be unethetical on your part and
would doom you to Hell for eternity.


Would I be permitted to buy a chart plotter, depth-knot, autosteering,
or VHF?


nope.


Jim

MacGregor 26M - Valiant 40
 

Exactly.

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

"JAXAshby" wrote in message
...
However, they (mac 26's) entail certain obvious advantages for sailing

not that anyone but you can see.

MacGregor 26M - Valiant 40
 

Ok. Well, I think we're pretty much finished with you. Just about
everyone, including Jax, has tried to be helpful. You're not having
any. And, I guess we'll just have to live with the fact that either you're
not too bright or an asshole who is not too bright.

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

"Jim Cate" wrote in message
...


Jonathan Ganz wrote:

It sounds to me like you're not really listening.


It sounds to me like you're not really listening.

Jim




Macs have a terrible
reputation. Having seen several of them around, seen them "sail" or
"motor," and talked to a few owners, I wouldn't consider getting any
of them. There are better boats for the same money. Several people
have said basically the same thing over and over.

Are you really that thick?

MacGregor 26M - Valiant 40
 

That's right. The rest of us can just plonk him.

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

"Scott Vernon" wrote in message
...
As the NG moderator, I do.

SV

"Jim Cate" wrote in message
...
Scott, you certainly don't have to read or respond to my notes.
It's rather easy to click the down arrow and move on to another topic.

Jim

Scott Vernon wrote:

Jim, this troll is all used up. Move on.


"Jim Cate" wrote in message
...

This note concerns the issue of intellectual honesty.

As a follow-up to and summary of the many responses generated by this
question, several hundreds of usually negative, usually dogmatic
statements were posted regarding the MacGregor 26M, but none were
posted
by anyone who had actually sailed the 26M. Also, as far as I can
determine, none were posted by anyone who had even spoken to someone
who
had actually sailed the boat. (Correct me if I missed one.)
Additionally, there was a long string of comments by posters who had
obviousaly confused various previous MacGregor boats with the current
26M (which incorporates major, substantive changes from the previous
models). Additionally, most writers were not willing, even when
corrected by knowledgeable members of the group, to admit that they
were
talking about another boat and didn't actually know what the 26M
entailed.

In other words, as a summary of this long and convoluted series of
pontifications, few participants had the intellectual honesty to admit
that they really didn't know what the hell they were talking about in
the first place. - Of course, this doesn't meant that the 26M is a
great
boat. - But it does say something about the character and (lack of)
intellectual honesty of many who posted under this subject string.

Jim


Jim Cate wrote:


I'm considering the new MacGregor 26M for use in the
Galveston-Houston
area and would like to get comments from anyone who has seen or
sailed
on the boat. Or, anyone else.

For sailing and motoring in this area, the MacGregor seems to have
some
advantages. - I'm aware of the largely negative comments on this ng
regarding the MacGregor line. However, for the intended use, e.g.,
sailing and motoring with small kids (grandchildren), fishing, and
doing
some limited coastal cruising, the Mac 26M has the advantage that it
will motor to a desired destination at around 24 mph and can
therefore
get to a desired sail or fishing area, and return, much more quickly
than a fixed keel boat. This tends to minimize the "are we home yet"
issue with small kids and non-sail-type guests. Also, in view of the
hundreds of square miles of shallow bay waters in our area, the
boat's
ability to anchor in 15 inches of water, or to beach at one of the
islands, would be an obvious advantage. (The 40-foot Valiant,
although
a great boat under sail offshore, was limited to around 8-10 knots
under
motor or sail. So, it took us five hours to get from the Kemah marina
to
the gulf, and we had to be careful to keep a sharp watch on the depth
finder.)

OK, the comparison is admittedly somewhat ludicrous. For the uses
anticipated, however, the Mac may be a practical and fun choice.
Also,
the new "M" model seems to include some substantive improvements. -
It
now has both lead and the removable water ballast, has a fin keel
(which
I'm assuming may help in pointing), and a structural keel housing
extending vertically from the deck to the ballast area. The boat
reportedly includes additional fiberglass layers and other structural
and ergonomic improvements derived from their experience over the
years.
As to it's sailing abilities, there is a video on the Mac web site
comparing the 26M and the 26X under sail, and the new model is
clearly
much faster. (Assuming they didn't stage the race or doctor the
video.)
With a large genoa, it looks like it might be a fast sailing boat;
it
can reportedly plane under sail.

A further consideration is that, if I bought the MacGregor, I would
still have the opportunity to charter a wide variety of heavier boats
kept under charter in our area. Conversely, I couldn't purchase a
conventional fixed-keel boat and also charter a boat similar to the
Mac.
(I'm not into motor boats, or staying out in the Texas sun for hours
on
a powered fishing boat.) A negative factor is that the new Mac is
fairly expensive when fully equiped, comparable in price to many used
30
- 32-foot boats.

Comments from anyone regarding the sailing and motoring
characteristics
of the new 26M would be appreciated.

Jim

MacGregor 26M - Valiant 40
 

okay, a radar as long as it is at least 4kw and has a CRT screen rather than an
LCD.

C'mon Jax, give the pedant a break. I saw a mac motoring out the race
equipped with radar.Gave me pause. Kind of like a mouse crawling up an
elephants leg with rape on its mind.

On 01 Apr 2004 15:52:48 GMT, (JAXAshby) wrote:

you are
forbidden from buying an EPIRB. That would be unethetical on your part
and
would doom you to Hell for eternity.


Would I be permitted to buy a chart plotter, depth-knot, autosteering,
or VHF?


nope.


Jim

MacGregor 26M - Valiant 40
 

don't forget the sidescan sonar.


"JAXAshby" wrote in message
...
okay, a radar as long as it is at least 4kw and has a CRT screen rather than
an
LCD.

C'mon Jax, give the pedant a break. I saw a mac motoring out the race
equipped with radar.Gave me pause. Kind of like a mouse crawling up an
elephants leg with rape on its mind.

On 01 Apr 2004 15:52:48 GMT, (JAXAshby) wrote:

you are
forbidden from buying an EPIRB. That would be unethetical on your part
and
would doom you to Hell for eternity.


Would I be permitted to buy a chart plotter, depth-knot, autosteering,
or VHF?


nope.


Jim

MacGregor 26M - Valiant 40
 

"Jim Cate" wrote in message
...


katysails wrote:
Jim...MacGregor's have a poor reputation. They have made some very bad
boats. Most of us here have experience sailing many different brands of
boats and have been around sailors and sailboats for years and years.
Your
analogy about intellectual honesty is bunkum. Fact of the matter is, if
a
product gets negative brand recognition because of lack of quality, it
will
take 75% more effort to convince the knowledgeable that that company
might
then, out of the blue, produce a good product. If you were in the
market
for a subcompact car, and you read the history of the Yugo, spoke with
people who had purchased Yugo's, and seen the statistics about their
rate of
repair and other problems, would you then include Yugo in the cars you
are
planning to test drive? I think not. Time is money, and wating time is
wasting money. Yes, there are flukes...once in a while a company with a
bad
reputation comes up with a single good item...Hunter comes to mind
here...but for the most part, Hunter's are crap, and that is based on
comparison of facts. macGregor's , for the most part, are crap. Now
quit
wasting everyone's time with your specious arguments and go learn how to
sail.

Katy, first regarding your comment that I need to go learn to sail, as
previously mentioned, I have sailed a 37-ft O'Day, 40-ft Valiant (weeks
charter), Cal 34, Cat 30 Endeavor 32, etc., etc. I'm seeking to extend
my sailing experience.

First, I'd like to point out that most of the replies have been genuine
attempts to be helpful.

Second, it doesn't really matter what boat you buy - at least for a few
years. You will probably get enjoyment from simply being "out there".





Regarding the reputation of the MacGregors, I realize that it isn't the
same type of boat as fixed keel boats such as the Valiant and the O'Day.
However, they entail certain obvious advantages for sailing in bay
areas and with respect to their ability to get to a desired sailing area
quickly, and to return quickly, and to getting through marginal channels

This is the heart of the matter.

You seem to want a sailing vessel. However, you also want to keep your
boat about 25 miles from your sailing area. If you really must keep your
boat so far from a sailing ground, then I think that you should tell us why.
Perhaps that will produce different responses from people.




Regards


Donal
--

MacGregor 26M - Valiant 40
 

Jim stated:
Again, an evaluation of the quality of the boat depends on the criteria
used in the evaluation, and how the boat will be used.

So the MacGregor obviously fits OYUR criteria...go buy one, but don't come
whining back here...but then, maybe you're like Horvath with his blind love
of Hunter's....
--
katysails
s/v Chanteuse
Kirie Elite 32
http://katysails.tripod.com

"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax
and get used to the idea." - Robert A. Heinlein

MacGregor 26M - Valiant 40
 

autosteering? Do they make one for the 'x' model. That steering wheel is
like, 14'' dia..

SV


"JAXAshby" wrote in message
...
okay, a radar as long as it is at least 4kw and has a CRT screen rather
than an
LCD.

C'mon Jax, give the pedant a break. I saw a mac motoring out the race
equipped with radar.Gave me pause. Kind of like a mouse crawling up an
elephants leg with rape on its mind.

On 01 Apr 2004 15:52:48 GMT, (JAXAshby) wrote:

you are
forbidden from buying an EPIRB. That would be unethetical on your
part
and
would doom you to Hell for eternity.


Would I be permitted to buy a chart plotter, depth-knot, autosteering,
or VHF?


nope.


Jim