Once again, your post quotes from owners of Macs, but not owners of Mac
26Ms. One owner states that he has owned his boat for four years. - But
the Mac 26M was first sold in 2003, only 10 months ago. (AN OBVIOUSLY
DECEPTIVE CITE.) Regarding pointing ability and speed under sail,
eveyone I speak with who has saild the 26M tells me that the new hull
and keel arrangment are a significant improvement.

How about a little more intellectual honesty when repeating quotes like
these.

Jim


Jeff Morris wrote:

"Jim Cate" wrote in message
...

You could have sailed the boat yourself. I suppose the dealer told you

that is

not possible now because he doesn't have a demonstrator.

I have sailed several of the previous models, and I've been following
their development and improvements for over 10 years. The Mac 26M
incorporates several changes that I had wanted to see in the other
boats. Regarding sailing the boat, however, it is almost impossible to
get a dealer to permit you to sail the boat out because of the very
limited supply and heavy demand for the boats.



Especially on April 1.




Or, you could listen to what owners say.

(Owners of what? The 26x? And, why should I listen to what the owners
say, since you just warned me (in the note copied below) that the
owners can't be trusted since they don't want to admit that they made a
mistake in buying the boat.



No, you just have to be careful when you interpret them. The comments of a
novice sailer who just spent $30K are not that reliable.



You can find dozens of comments that

the top speed under power in flat water to be 12-13 knots, and that it could

be

hard to get on a plane in a moderate chop. Yet you keep insisting you can

make

18 knots offshore.

(Top speed of what? The 26x?) From the comments I have seen on various
ngs, the X has sailed and motored much faster than that.


Yes, there are people that power very "light" and get more speed. There are
also people that almost did it once and talk about like its an everyday
occurrence. But if you go through the lists you'll find people that give more
believable accounts. The web site itself is explicit that 18 knots is
completely unloaded: no ballast, no mast and rigging, no crew or gear. I heard
the skipper they chose weighed 130 pounds.


In fact, it was
recently stated on the Mac discussion group that the PHRF of the Mac 26x
has recently been lowered from over 200 to 135. If the boat is as slow
as you say, how did it get a PHRF of 135? (And if you should disagree
with this or if you want to question the accuracy of this statement,
give us a web site or reference sourses on which we can check out
whatever you claim it is.)


Now that you've admitted that this was a hoax that you bought, "hook, line and
sinker," perhaps you should consider what other fantasies you've bought into.

If you google "mac 26x phrf" the first hit is:
http://www.vycsd.com/summer-comb.pdf


I may not have sailed one, but I've sailed by them a number of times. In a
small chop they bob around and don't move. The people on board wonder why

all

the other boats are going by; it doesn't look like fun at all.

To my knowledge, and after extensive searching, no one who owns one of
the Mac 26M's has posted any comments of that nature. (If you know of
such a site, give me a link.) By contrast, the reports I have seen
regarding the 26M have been universally positive.


I've seen very little about the 26M, but for the 26x from the Sailnet list:

When asked about max speed:

"My max speed under sail was
6.25 knots on a 90 degree beam reach (wind coming directly off starboard) in
a 10 knot wind with 15 knot gusts. What a great day of sailing! I have a
combo depth and speedometer on my boat that actually registered 7+ knots but
only momentarily during the same run. Two people on board (total) with I'm
guessing about 300 lbs of gear and provisions for a week long trip. That 21
mph thing is for powering with no gear, no sail rigging etc. The fastest
I've been under power w/ a Honda 50 is 12 to 13 knots - according to my
g.p.s. - 14 m.p.h. I hopes this helps."

"The best speed, under standard sails, I have ever done
is 7 MPH. Checked with GPS."

"5.5 knots (est., before I got my GPS)"


There were a few impressive comments such as:

"Our fastest sustained speed has been 11.2 knots.
...
150 genoa + main
...
Winds were at our aft quarter @ 25 knots, gusting to 35. Waves were 4 - 5
feet. We were on a large inland lake. We were surfing on the waves, so
some of the speed was certainly from the wave action.
...
As a side note, working our way back into those same winds (gusting to 40
knots by that time), the speed was very slow, due to the steep, close wave
action. The light weight of the X is a disadvantage when going to weather
with any significant wave action."


Other comments:
"When it gets choppy, you may want to fill the ballast tank.
Then you can cruise effortlessly at about 10 mph or about 14-15 max. When
the wind is forward of the bow, the ride gets pretty wet above about 10 mph
if there is any chop at all. In summary, powering will increase your range,
but maybe not as much as you think. It is the trailer that really opens up
new areas."

From an owner of 4 years:
"Initial tenderness: The boat will initially heel the first 10 degrees
rather quickly when presented to the wind. Once there, it will become
quite stable. This is a feature of all water ballasted boats, as there
is no righting moment until the ballast is lifted out of the water, and
the long slender CB doesn't present a lot of lateral resistance.




"Poor Pointing: Light weight, transom drag, and high freeboard all
impair the boats ability to maintain speed pointing high. While the
boat will point quite high, you'll sacrifice speed to do so. Sailing
about 10 degrees off maximum point, and making wide tacks to maintain
speed is one solution.

"High freeboard: You'll find the boat makes quite a bit more leeway than
your Cat. Windward, you'll find pointing well above the mark and then
bearing down to maintain speed around it is effective. Docking in a
crosswind can be tricky, but this same light weight makes the helm
pretty responsive (NTM having a lot of power available).

"Light wind: Not very fast. The relatively small sailplan and the drag
created by the CB slot and the flat, square transom. Sometimes these
are just the conditions where having high speed ability is nice. I've
often powered out into the Strait to higher winds, leaving the other
boats behind in the doldrums (going slightly faster than I used to be..)

"Waves and Chop: You really have to pay attention to prevent being
stopped. Light weight translates into low momentum. Bear into the base
of the wave and then bear off as it passes under you. Having a smooth
hand on the responsive helm can nearly eliminate this."




I have no trouble with someone choosing a Mac because they want to trailer

it to

flat water lakes. That's what its designed for. But not for taking it
offshore.



According to the manufacturer, their boat is designed for coastal
cruising. Which is what I intend to do.


Actually, I think Roger MacGregor's words were "limited coastal cruising"