So, when do you all guess Jim confesses he's really Bobsprit and that he
"won"?

--
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

I've been passed a number of times by a Mac 26X that used to stay in the Charles
River and power out into Boston harbor every Saturday morning. I figured he was
doing about 10-12 knots. Every week I would comment on how its nice that he
keeps using the boat. About a half hour later I would overtake them in the
middle harbor when they stopped the engine and raised sail (to his credit he
kept trying). In the short, nasty chop of the busy harbor they made essentially
no headway. This went on for 2 or 3 years - I haven't seen them lately.

BTW, I was at the yard today and checked out the newer 26 stashed near my boat
and realized its engine was missing - the cables had been chopped rather
traumatically! I don't think it happened in the yard since it was backed
against the fence. I'll get the full story soon, I assume. I guess this is
another downside of a boat whose half its value is just bolted on the back.



"Peter Wiley" wrote in message
. ..

Sort of leads to the obvious question, then. Can the thing plane with a
sailing rig, full ballast tanks, fuel, water and a couple or 4 people
aboard? If not, there goes any speed advantage over a displacement
sailboat, but you keep the disadvantages quite nicely. Including the
greater fuel consumption and the need to carry a much more flammable
fuel to boot.

There are advantages of outboards, no denying that. But to read an
account of how they perform in any sort of sea on a displacement hull,
try reading Fanny Hill's 'Brazil and Beyond'. They eventually replaced
the outboard with a diesel inboard.

Jim could have got a centreboard sharpie that draws bugger-all water
with an outboard in a well. I was looking at a Cal 22 yesterday and it
had an outboard on a set of parallelogram bars in a well - most of the
advantages of a saildrive at a lot less cost, and fully retractable. A
setup like that in a sharpie hull, you'd have something that sailed and
had shoal draft.

Course, it wouldn't plane at 18+ knots ot get to blue water fast, but
let's see if this unstable Mac can do it except in ideal conditions.

PDW

In article , Jeff Morris
wrote:

In one place they say they lose 3 mph when the ballast if full. In another,
they say they lose one mph for every 100 pounds added. Also, the "22 mph"
is
with empty tanks, no rigging, one person, flat seas. They advise not
running
without ballast, but if you must, there's a long list of safety precautions,
like not going on deck, staying seated, only do it if the seas are under one
foot and the water is warm, etc.



"Peter Wiley" wrote in message
. ..
In article ,
wrote:

On Wed, 7 Apr 2004 12:23:05 -0400, "Jeff Morris"
wrote:

Its funny, the drawing on the web site don't show this to be "double
hulled".
The water ballast is on the center line, not around the chine - it
would
be
easy
to penetrate the hull with a glancing blow to a rock.

BTW, what would happen to the daggerboard if it touched bottom?



The daggerboard stays, and the rest of the boat keeps going.

Other tidbits from Macgregor: The factory does not supply gas tank
hold downs. If you wish to add your own, DO NOT drill any holes! You
must glass in the hold downs.

If you install a second battery, DO NOT put it next to the existing
one. It will cause too much stress (what's that battery weigh? 50
pounds?) You must mount it on the opposite side of the boat.


By the way, if you motor with the ballast tank empty, bear in mind
that the boat is then VERY top heavy, and extremely prone to
capsizing. Make all turns very slowly and gradually, and always avoid
the wakes from other boats and large fish.

I did wonder about that. Next question is, does the thing plane with
the ballast tank full? If not, there goes the 18 knots.....

PDW

"Jim Cate" wrote in message
...
I'm still here because it's clear that the ng needs some balance and
fresh air and differing viewpoints on some issues. And also because
some Mac owners have come on the group and been intimidated and driven
off, and because I frankly don't like your attitude.

What HASN'T been explained is why you and your buddies are so very
concerned and stressed out about my remarks that you can't simply press
the "down button" and move on to another topic. Why do you want to
continue wasting time in this discussion if you REALLY think my comments
are totally insignificant and absurd and without merit? It should be
clear to you by now that you aren't going to drive me away. - So what's
keeping you in this discussion? Why can't you just leave it alone?

Jim

You can't seriously believe this crap you've been posting, can you? You're
basically posting, verbatim, what you've been reading in the mac sales
literature. I can offer you one unbiased review of the mac, culled from
"Practical Sailor", which accepts no advertising and can't possibly be
accused of harboring biases when it comes to sailboat evaluations. It's
free.
http://www.practical-sailor.com/sample/boatreview2.html
Very interesting that they didn't bother to ACTUALLY SAIL THE THING. Also
very interesting that this was one of the 2 reviews that they're offering
free of charge. A public service announcement, perhaps? You'll note, even
the man himself doesn't claim that this is an "offshore" boat. No one will
drive you away, but at some point you'll get plonked by just about everyone
here. And one last thing, if you really think your comments are "balanced"
and "fresh air", why do YOU keep trying to justify them? After all, you
asked for the input from us, we didn't come looking for YOU. And, of course,
I've never actually sailed one, but I've sailed by them many times in my 28
ft. keelboat, I should say, I've passed them many times in my 28 ft.
keelboat, more often than not they didn't appear to be moving. I will also
admit, because I've seen it also, that they can definitely motor a lot
faster than I can sail, but if I was REALLY interested in powerboating I'd
own a powerboat and wouldn't be posting ANY of this here.
John Cairns

You would really be a fool to even attempt to sail
your Mac in 30 kts. To even suggest it implies that
you know nothing about sailing.

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

"Jim Cate" wrote in message
...


Peter Wiley wrote:
In article , Jonathan Ganz
wrote:


Sure, I'm bored Jhm.


Well, he's good for something, then. My thoughts on his list of points
was exactly the same as yours - get a catamaran.

As someone else said, let's see that thing plane or move at 18 knots in
a nasty chop and 30 knot headwind. Isn't going to happen.

PDW
\
Actually, I would have reefed a long time before experiencing 30 knot
winds in any direction. The Mac has some obvious advantages and also
some obvious disadvantages. One of the disadvantages (with respect to
sailing in heavy weather offshore) is that it isn't a heavy
discplacement boat weighing over 15,000 pounds that can readily handle
30 knot winds. On the other hand, one of its advantages (with respect
to 90% of the conditions I expect to sail in) is that it isn't a heavy
displacment boat weighing over 15,000 pounds, but can still survive in
heavy weather.

Jim

That's a stupid question. Unexpected winds??? What kind of
sailor would not expect conditions such as this? A stupid or
inexperienced one.

If you were sailing a decent boat, it would survive just about
any high winds that come by. A perfect example is the Satori
from Perfect Storm fame (not the f*cking movie).

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

"Jim Cate" wrote in message
...
Now, let me ask you a question. - If you were sailing in a displacemenet
boat in unexpected high winds, and you had your son tethered to the boat
for safety, and it became obvious that the boat was going to founder,
would you prefer that the boat have positive foam flotation, as in the
MacGregor, or would you prefer that your son be on a discplacement boat
with a heavy keel that would drag the boat and its occupants to the
bottom within a few minutes?

The obvious solution to your dilemma was to have chosen a marina
closer to where you wish to sail. You can drive a car faster than
even the motorboat you have chosen will go. I will grant you that if
your only criteria was how fast you can motor in your "sailboat", then
you have probably chosen wisely. For $30k you could have bought a
pretty decent powerboat instead. Live and learn.

Then why did you buy one?

Felton, I don't like power boats. I want the power capabilities of the Mac
because it will enable us to get to good blue water sailing areas more
quickly, and also
permit us to fish, and let our grandkids play safely in shallow water,
or beach the boat. It will also permit us to motor out, do some sailing
and some fishing and/or some swimming, and motor back within a few
hours, rather than taking the entire weekend.

Jim


p,


"Jim Cate" wrote 6 times...

(1) - If the lower hull is compromised, the inner hull remains.

They're a piece of junk compared to other boats in the same
price range. Nothing they could have done would improve
them enough to justify buying one.

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

"Jim Cate" wrote in message
...


katysails wrote:

I'm of the opinion that the guy is a MacGregor infiltrate, sent by the

company to turn the attention of the group on their sorry product...


Not at all. However, I am interested in maintaining some balance
between differing points of view, and it's obvious that the Mac-Bashers
have posted more than their share of notes ridiculing Mac owners in the
past few years, despite the fact that most of them know little or
nothing about the current model. Hopfully, I can help make up the
difference.

Jim

Bullsh*t. You need meds.

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

"Jim Cate" wrote in message
...
I'm still here because it's clear that the ng needs some balance and
fresh air and differing viewpoints on some issues. And also because

I think you're lying. Prove you aren't.

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

"Jim Cate" wrote in message
...


Jonathan Ganz wrote:

Prove it. I think you bought it a few weeks ago. I have it on
good authority. Prove I'm wrong.

I placed the order for the Mac on March 25. My initial note on this ng
was posted February 25. Prior to ordering the Mac, I was seriously
considering several other boats, as mentioned in some of my other notes
posted in February and March.

Jim

Actually, I have talked to an owner. So, I'm not speculating as much as your
limited
brain power can imagine.

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

"Jim Cate" wrote in message
...


Jonathan Ganz wrote:

I try not to speculate too much.

Not so. You're willing to speculate all over the place about the 26M,
despite the fact that you haven't sailed one or spoken with anyone
who has.

Jim

No. You let it go. You're the newbie fool. You're the one
making an even bigger fool out of himself with each post.
I'll be here long after you're gone and your piece of junk is
in the trash heap.

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

"Jim Cate" wrote in message
...


Jonathan Ganz wrote:

Because he's either stupid, a troll, or trying to justify his poor
choice.


Then why are you sticking around in this discussion, John? Can't let it
go?

Jim