Now Jim, I'm going to tell you a true story, and if you've been lurking here
for as long as you say you have, you know I don't make things up. When we
had our O'Day 27 up for sale, which by the way was a 1976 model...the old
variety, the good variety of O'day, a young couple came to look at the boat.
They sat with us down in the cabin, with very forlorn faces. You see, they
had purchased a brand new Mac26X the previous summer, hated it and couldn't
sell it. They wanted to know if we would trade....needless to say, the
answer was "no". We did not bash their boat, but commiserated with them.
He stated that yes, it was great to motor around in, and that it would get
up and boogie under engine power, but that it stank as a sailboat. There
are several that "sail" on Muskegon Lake...they are not fast...they are not
even mediocre...when they can't get the thing to sail on the wind, they rev
up the engine's to reposition themselves. And that's the truth, whether you
want to admit it or not. Remember, an awful lot of people bought things
like Gremlins, Yugo's and Pacers...and they to went the way of most things
useless.

--
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

katysails wrote:

Now Jim, I'm going to tell you a true story, and if you've been lurking here
for as long as you say you have, you know I don't make things up. When we
had our O'Day 27 up for sale, which by the way was a 1976 model...the old
variety, the good variety of O'day, a young couple came to look at the boat.
They sat with us down in the cabin, with very forlorn faces. You see, they
had purchased a brand new Mac26X the previous summer, hated it and couldn't
sell it. They wanted to know if we would trade....needless to say, the
answer was "no". We did not bash their boat, but commiserated with them.
He stated that yes, it was great to motor around in, and that it would get
up and boogie under engine power, but that it stank as a sailboat. There
are several that "sail" on Muskegon Lake...they are not fast...they are not
even mediocre...when they can't get the thing to sail on the wind, they rev
up the engine's to reposition themselves. And that's the truth, whether you
want to admit it or not. Remember, an awful lot of people bought things
like Gremlins, Yugo's and Pacers...and they to went the way of most things
useless.

I don't doubt your story. (And it is, after all, an antidote that
doesn't say much about the other 30,000 Mac owners.) But I suspect that
if they were sailing their Mac near the Gulf coast as I will be, instead
of on a lake, there would be plenty of wind to keep them sailing.

I also notice that the contributors to the very active Mac discussion
groups seem as enthusiastic about sailing their boats and racing their
boats as those on any owner group on the net. Some of them have been
sailing their boats for years, and they are still getting great pleasure
from them.

As has also been discussed, those who have sailed the new 26M tell me
that its sailing performance is substantially improved.

Jim

Well, there are a lot of idiots in the world. 30,000 seems like a small
number.

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

"Jim Cate" wrote in message
...
I don't doubt your story. (And it is, after all, an antidote that
doesn't say much about the other 30,000 Mac owners.) But I suspect that
if they were sailing their Mac near the Gulf coast as I will be, instead
of on a lake, there would be plenty of wind to keep them sailing.

Well, what do you expect them to say... that they got ripped off??

I also notice that the contributors to the very active Mac discussion
groups seem as enthusiastic about sailing their boats and racing their
boats as those on any owner group on the net. Some of them have been
sailing their boats for years, and they are still getting great pleasure
from them.

Sort of like you being "above average" in intelligence?

As has also been discussed, those who have sailed the new 26M tell me
that its sailing performance is substantially improved.

Jim

Jim stupidly assumes:
if they were sailing their Mac near the Gulf coast as I will be, instead
of on a lake, there would be plenty of wind to keep them sailing.

Haven't sailed much on Lake Michigan, have you? I think in all the 26 years
we've been sailing I've seen maybe 3-4 days when there was actually no wind
and if, as you say, you've lurked here for a long while, you will have read
some of the harrowing accounts of the weather systems that plague Lake
Michigan....Muskegon Lake is just the outflow of the Muskegon River where
the marinas are sheltered...the Gulf, weather wise, is not comparable to
Lake Michigan. Lake Michigan is much more difficult to sail....
--
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

What happened to ''the sea of Mich.''?


"katysails" wrote in message
...
Jim stupidly assumes:
if they were sailing their Mac near the Gulf coast as I will be, instead
of on a lake, there would be plenty of wind to keep them sailing.

Haven't sailed much on Lake Michigan, have you? I think in all the 26
years
we've been sailing I've seen maybe 3-4 days when there was actually no
wind
and if, as you say, you've lurked here for a long while, you will have
read
some of the harrowing accounts of the weather systems that plague Lake
Michigan....Muskegon Lake is just the outflow of the Muskegon River where
the marinas are sheltered...the Gulf, weather wise, is not comparable to
Lake Michigan. Lake Michigan is much more difficult to sail....
--
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