"Jim Cate" wrote in message
...


Jeff Morris wrote:
....
Flotation is nothing new - I sailed for a dozen years before using a boat
without positive flotation. It has long been required by law for boats a
bit
smaller than yours.

And did I say that the Mac's are the ONLY boats to provide positive
flotation, Jef? I can't seem to find a statement to that effect in my
previous note. - What I DID say was that the Macs included that
particular advantage. And if you're honest, you will admit that only a
relatively small number of cruising sailboats incorporate positive
flotation. - If you don't believe me, try conducting a poll of this
newsgroup, asking them whether their boats would float if the hull were
compromised. Or whether their boat would quickly sink to the bottom
under such circumstances.

As I said, flotation is required on smaller boats, and is pretty standard on
trailer boats and water ballast boats. In fact, I would guess that most boats
26 feet and under that don't have significant ballast have positive flotation.

Although not common in larger boats, my boat is 36 feet and has positive
flotation. It would not sink if the hull was compromised.

Your boat can't do that under sail unless it is used recklessly - without
ballast in a strong wind. THis is exactly the type of exaggeration I'm
talking
about. They make it sound like it performs better than any other boat, even
under sail, when in fact its a dog.

Once again, Jeff, did I say that I was talking about planing UNDER SAIL?
The facts are that very few of the boats owned by contributors to this
ng could plane REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THEY WERE POWERED OR UNDER SAIL. -

Again, my boat will fly away from the "displacement-speed-barrier," and it will
do it under sail. A few days ago I averaged over 9 knots for about 15 miles
under main alone.


Unless, of course,they were caught in a storm and planing down a wave.
It's also true that the Mac CAN plane under sail, under certain
conditions.

That's not what most of the owners report. I've only heard of this when sailing
without ballast in strong winds, a practise considered rather dangerous for a
Mac.






Still further advantages include the ability to float in waters as
shallow as one foot, and to be beached for picnics, camping, etc. A
still further advantage is that they are trailerable, permitting them to
be conveniently relocated to a desired sailing area hundreds of miles
from their usual port.


Most of what you're talking about are standard features, long available on a
large number of boats.

Really Jeff? Why don't you ask the contributors to this ng whether their
boats can be beached for picnics,

My boat can be beached.

float in one foot of water,

Mine takes almost 3 feet, but with the optional daggerboards its about 18
inches. Funny, though, they only called it a different version of the same
boat!

trailered

Mine is too big to be trailered, but others of its style can be.

down the coast to a desired sailing area hundreds of miles away, etc.
The point isn't that the Mac is the only boat to incorporate each and
every feature named above. Rather, the point is that it offers a package
of advantageous features not often available in a 26-foot cruising
sailboat.

Actually, almost all of the features can be had in other boats. There are only
two things that make it unique: First, the hull sacrifices considerable sailing
performance to give speed under power. However, the claims of speed are
exaggerated, since they are based on a totally stripped boat; in reality they
are only about 50% faster than many sailboats under power. Second, they are
built to a lower quality standard than many boaters consider prudent. This
allows them to be cheaper, and allows you to claim that this is a unique
combination that no other builder can match.



You can claim the 26X has a unique combination of these
features, but the question the prospective buyer must answer is whether this
is
enough to overcome the obvious shortcomings.


And what are those shortcomings, Jeff?

Very poor performance under sail. Serious stability issues - the 26X has been
known to roll over in clam conditions. Poor resale - I've seen 5 year old 26X's
offered for about half price.

(Remembering that in my case, we
sail in the Galveston Bay area in which there are hundreds of square
miles of waters of limited depth.) My boat is fast, comfortable, and
stable in severe conditions.

Tell that to the parents of the children who died because they were trapped
below when their boat rolled in calm conditions.

Also, it incorporates a number of controls
and lines that can be adjusted for tuning the boat to achieve
substantial speed.

Total nonsense. It's stuff like this that marks you as a novice that believed
all the hype. They added a traveler and you think its a performance machine.

If you want a boat with all the features you list, you could get one of these:

http://www.geminicatamarans.com/Performance_Telstar.htm

It would sail and power circles around yours, is infinately safer, draws one
foot, can be trailered, has positive floatation, and has a nicer interior. This
price is somewhat higher, but the depreciation is probably less.