MacGregor 26M - Valiant 40
 

"Jim Cate" wrote in message
...


In my particular
situation, my former crew (my kids) is not available, and my wife
doesn't seem to be too keen on getting out in anything but ideal
weather. Maybe I could get some of my friends to go, but probably not on
the schedule or frequency I would prefer, and I'm not sure I want to go
out on a large boat by myself, even with roller furling, etc. As
mentioned, we have grandkids who I think would not enjoy the relatively
extended motoring and cruising time entailed in getting a heavy boat to
good sailing areas as is necessary in our area and then back to the
dock. For family outings, the Mac has the advantage that you can anchor
it in shallow water, or beach it on an island, etc. (I'll investigate
other marina choices, however.)

I changed from power to sail because I had young crew.

I found that high speed motoring only gave pleasure to the driver. The
initial thrill wears off very quickly for the rest of the crew.

With a sailing vessel, you can assign tasks to younger crew. They will be
able to excel at these tasks, and earn praise, which helps them to enjoy the
activity, and IMHO, is very good for them.

You may find that you can do this on a MAC 26M, but I suspect that you would
use the power to travel a bit further afield.

Also, are there usually waves in the area that you plan to use the boat?
I don't think that it would be very comfortable doing even 15 kts, in such a
light boat, unless the water was almost flat calm.


Regards


Donal
--

MacGregor 26M - Valiant 40
 

We looked at a few H25, & 27s, but decided the Mac (not an "X") was a better
boat for our needs, at the time.

Scotty


"Jonathan Ganz" wrote in message
...
I praised a hunter once, but that was because my old boss had
one and I was trying to suck up to him for a raise.

"JAXAshby" wrote in message
...
You're a brave man to admit that here.

hey, I was briefly considered a Hunter. But I was younger then.


I'll admit to having briefly considered a Mac,

MacGregor 26M - Valiant 40
 

Not any more. I think AOL said he couldn't play anymore.

Scotty

"Jonathan Ganz" wrote in message
...
Bob wins. You know that.

"Scott Vernon" wrote in message
...
So , I win?


"Bobsprit" wrote in message
...
None of those boats can do what the Mac can.


Let's not turn this into a silly debate. We all know what the Mac26x
is
and
that a great many buyers are probably never fully aware of how poor a
boat
it
really is.
True, I've only been aboard two and only spoke to three different
owners,
but
none of them were overly pleased with the boat. I'm sure some people
love
them,
just like my dad loved his AMC Pacer. But he never thought it was
really
a
"good" car.

RB

MacGregor 26M - Valiant 40
 

"Dave" wrote

When you reach my age,

which is?


At the time I was thinking about how happy the wife would be to be able to
scoot back in ahead of a t'storm.

Yes, they sound like a good, does it all boat, on paper. But then when you
really see one. Ugh!

What's a CS?




Dave
S/V Good Fortune
CS27

MacGregor 26M - Valiant 40
 

There's a much-ballyhoo'ed PHRF rating on them of around 215, which was
given to
a Mac dealer on the Chesapeake who sailed it with 3 guys on trapezes, a
masthead
spinnaker, and no water ballast.

You must be refering to that wack job Jim down in Mayo.


S/V Express 30 "Ringmaster"
"No shirt, no skirt, full service"

MacGregor 26M - Valiant 40
 

That would be a HC.

You got Fs in English, right?

SV

wrote in message
...
On Mon, 1 Mar 2004 19:57:11 -0500, "Scott Vernon"
wrote:


What's a CS?



Holy Crap!

BB

MacGregor 26M - Valiant 40
 

I see your math is no better than your English.


wrote in message
...
On 01 Mar 2004 23:15:48 GMT, (Bobsprit) wrote:

But maybe $30K is a horrendous lot
of money to you, Jax?


It's a horendous amount for THAT boat. 30K can buy....

A J30 and a J24
Two Pearson 30s
A C&C 30 late model
A Catalina 30 late 80's
A Bristol 29.5

And so on....

RB

or an even dozen Sidelmanns!

BB

MacGregor 26M - Valiant 40
 

After reading the numerous responses to my note, I conclude that: (1) No
one has sailed the new 26M extensively, and no one so far has any real
experience with or knowledge about the 26M Model; and (2) This doesn't
stop most responders from confidently and dogmatically telling me abpit
all the shortcomings of the 26M (which they have never seen, much less
sailed). In contrast, those I have talked with elsewhere who HAVE
actually sailed and motered the boat are quite impressed with it. What
seems to be overlooked repeatedly is that if I bought the Mac, I could
still charter a number of larger vessels for offshore cruising. In
discussions such as this, it seems to me that it's important to approach
the issues logically and with balanced consideration of all the related
issues. - So far, I see very little logic and lots of emotional ranting
and raving and put-downs of someone some apparently percieved as as a
convenient (novice) target. Nevertheless, I appreciate the helpful
suggestions and comments of those who have some useful information for
me to consider. Again, I can still charter some fine, heavy boats when
going offshore. And one more time..... I can still charter a wide
selection of heavy boats when going offshore.
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
 

I know it's a Candjun boat, but what does CS stand for?

Scotty


wrote in message
...
On Mon, 1 Mar 2004 20:52:07 -0500, "Scott Vernon"
wrote:

That would be a HC.

You got Fs in English, right?


You really don't know what a CS is? Again, I say Holy Crap!

BB


SV

wrote in message
.. .
On Mon, 1 Mar 2004 19:57:11 -0500, "Scott Vernon"
wrote:


What's a CS?



Holy Crap!

BB

MacGregor 26M - Valiant 40
 

Jim Cate wrote:

After reading the numerous responses to my note, I conclude that: (1) No
one has sailed the new 26M extensively, and no one so far has any real
experience with or knowledge about the 26M Model; and (2) This doesn't
stop most responders from confidently and dogmatically telling me abpit
all the shortcomings of the 26M (which they have never seen, much less
sailed).

Are you related to JAXAshby? Your reading comprehension is a bit dim.

At least two people told you that they had indeed seen them, including seeing
them sailing. Is real life good enough for you?

DSK