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Thanks Jim,
I appreciate your input.
The 26M is not out of the running, and I'm going to be visiting a dealer
within the next few weeks to have a look at one up close. I'm looking at
quite a few others too. For instance, I'm looking at Jim Taylor's boats
(Precision) because I've owned one and loved almost everything about it
(just needed it to be bigger).
In the end, I'll most likely see something I hadn't figured on and just
buy the damn thing. I have a history of doing elaborate research and then
buying on instinct. Some times it works out for the best, some times it
doesn't.
Scout

"JimC" wrote in message
om...
Scout,

I have a 26M purchased in 2004, and I do like the boat. - It has a number
of features that make it a good choice for the sailing I do in the
Houston-Galveston area. Whether it would be the best choice for you may
depend on what kind if sailing you expect to do. As you can easily see
from the Mac discussion group Bill mentioned
(http://macgregorsailors.com/phpBB/), lots of Mac owners use their boats
for coastal cruising, for trips from California to Catalina island,
sailing the Keys, etc.

Because it is designed to motor and plane, and because it has a
water-ballasted hull, the Mac doesn't perform under sail as well as a
larger, heavier boat with longer waterline, weighted keel, etc. It's
relatively light (around 4,000 pounds loaded and with water ballast), and
its hull is something of a compromise (semi-V bottom). - I bought ours
after sailing a number of larger, heavier boats, so I'm aware that the Mac
isn't the kind of boat you would choose if you expect to make extended,
open-sea voyages. (For one thing, it doesn't have the storage capacity
needed for provisions for such cruises.) So if you expect to spend lots
of time cruising offshore or sailing in heavy weather, you might want to
look at a larger, heavier boat. Hunter and Catalina also make boats
somewhat similar to the Mac. As you probably know, there are lots of
used boats of various makes, designs and conditions on the market.

On the plus side, the Mac 26M is just plain fun to sail. It's the most
popular sailboat of its size, with thousands of owners in the US and
foreign countries. As you probably know, the Mac doesn't require a slip
(no slip fees or bottom treatments), it's easy to launch, roomy,
versatile, can maneuver in shallow water (they float in one foot of
water), safe (how many other boats discussed on this ng have flotation
that keeps the boat afloat even if the hull is broken open below the
waterline?), etc. The motor permits me to motor out to a desired sailing
area at 15mph+ and to motor back quickly at the end of the day or if bad
weather comes up, so I'm able to get in more time sailing when and where I
want to sail, and I'm able to avoid problems that would otherwise keep me
from enjoying the day.

There is one major disadvantage to owning a Mac 26M, however. - They
aren't a conventional boat, they cost much less than most, and you will be
subject to some pretty sarcastic ridicule by owners of larger,
conventional boats. Your original note asked if anyone on the ng had any
actual experience on the Mac 26M. - You got a number of responses, mostly
negative, but only one of them (Bill's) was from someone with actual
experience on the the 26M, and he seemed to like his. This is fairly
typical.

In any event, look around at all the options and sail as many different
boats as you can.

Jim

Scout wrote:
Does anyone have any actual experience with the Mac 26M?
In my unending search for the right boat, this boat appears to have many
features of interest. I understand that the sailing performance is
compromised to gain in other areas, but if speed is not my thing, why
should I care?
If the 26M is a poor boat, that what trailerable boat in that size range
(abt 25') can do better?
Scout

Some things I don't like about the Mac is the very high
freeboard, combined with the light weight of the boat, can
really get pushed around in a cross wind.
The 'quirky' powerboat look, although the blue hull does
help a bit.
The small powerboat steering wheel.

The cabin is nice and very big for a 26' trailerable. I
believe the owners berth is 7'7'' long ( bigger than a Bendy
35.5.5) The cockpit is bigger, too.

Scotty

"Scout" wrote in message
...
Thanks Jim,
I appreciate your input.
The 26M is not out of the running, and I'm going to be
visiting a dealer
within the next few weeks to have a look at one up close.
I'm looking at
quite a few others too. For instance, I'm looking at Jim
Taylor's boats
(Precision) because I've owned one and loved almost
everything about it
(just needed it to be bigger).
In the end, I'll most likely see something I hadn't
figured on and just
buy the damn thing. I have a history of doing elaborate
research and then
buying on instinct. Some times it works out for the
best, some times it
doesn't.
Scout

"JimC" wrote in message
om...
Scout,

I have a 26M purchased in 2004, and I do like the
boat. - It has a number
of features that make it a good choice for the sailing I
do in the
Houston-Galveston area. Whether it would be the best
choice for you may
depend on what kind if sailing you expect to do. As you
can easily see
from the Mac discussion group Bill mentioned
(http://macgregorsailors.com/phpBB/), lots of Mac owners
use their boats
for coastal cruising, for trips from California to
Catalina island,
sailing the Keys, etc.

Because it is designed to motor and plane, and because
it has a
water-ballasted hull, the Mac doesn't perform under sail
as well as a
larger, heavier boat with longer waterline, weighted
keel, etc. It's
relatively light (around 4,000 pounds loaded and with
water ballast), and
its hull is something of a compromise (semi-V bottom). -
I bought ours
after sailing a number of larger, heavier boats, so I'm
aware that the Mac
isn't the kind of boat you would choose if you expect to
make extended,
open-sea voyages. (For one thing, it doesn't have the
storage capacity
needed for provisions for such cruises.) So if you
expect to spend lots
of time cruising offshore or sailing in heavy weather,
you might want to
look at a larger, heavier boat. Hunter and Catalina
also make boats
somewhat similar to the Mac. As you probably know,
there are lots of
used boats of various makes, designs and conditions on
the market.

On the plus side, the Mac 26M is just plain fun to sail.
It's the most
popular sailboat of its size, with thousands of owners
in the US and
foreign countries. As you probably know, the Mac doesn't
require a slip
(no slip fees or bottom treatments), it's easy to
launch, roomy,
versatile, can maneuver in shallow water (they float in
one foot of
water), safe (how many other boats discussed on this ng
have flotation
that keeps the boat afloat even if the hull is broken
open below the
waterline?), etc. The motor permits me to motor out to a
desired sailing
area at 15mph+ and to motor back quickly at the end of
the day or if bad
weather comes up, so I'm able to get in more time
sailing when and where I
want to sail, and I'm able to avoid problems that would
otherwise keep me
from enjoying the day.

There is one major disadvantage to owning a Mac 26M,
however. - They
aren't a conventional boat, they cost much less than
most, and you will be
subject to some pretty sarcastic ridicule by owners of
larger,
conventional boats. Your original note asked if anyone
on the ng had any
actual experience on the Mac 26M. - You got a number of
responses, mostly
negative, but only one of them (Bill's) was from someone
with actual
experience on the the 26M, and he seemed to like his.
This is fairly
typical.

In any event, look around at all the options and sail as
many different
boats as you can.

Jim

Scout wrote:
Does anyone have any actual experience with the Mac
26M?
In my unending search for the right boat, this boat
appears to have many
features of interest. I understand that the sailing
performance is
compromised to gain in other areas, but if speed is not
my thing, why
should I care?
If the 26M is a poor boat, that what trailerable boat
in that size range
(abt 25') can do better?
Scout

Ahoy Bob and Scotty

Bob,
I'm caught in a philosophical dilemma. I can't decide which is more
important to me, a large, comfortable, sea-worthy sailing vessel, or a
flexible, beachable craft that can go in all the quiet coves and shallow
back bays. There's my problem: do I want to duck around the back bays? or
head out for Nantucket or Cape Cod?

I can't see me attempting Nantucket from Philadelphia in a Mac 26, but maybe
I'm wrong. On the other hand, there's a lot of the bay less than 3 feet
deep. Why wasn't I born rich so I could have both?

I haven't ruled out either vision, and need to do more boat-yard searching
and soul-searching. I would like to stay under $50K, but for the right boat
would go 20-30% higher.

I'm taking Friday off to search boat yards, probably in the Chesapeake area.

Scotty - any Chesapeake boatyard recommendations to look at "for sale" boats
in the 30-40 ft range?

TIA!
Scout

"Capt. Rob" wrote in message
oups.com...

How about a water ballasted Catalina 25? It's not the best sailing
boat, but it's just fine and I can make you a great deal on this 100%
like example with trailer....

http://boatmax.com/photos/12201_1.JPG

She's so untouched...never even had holes for instruments added! Asking
19K with a 4 stroke honda (less than 15 hours!), but I can do a LOT
better on price.
Anyway...it's something to consider.
And what about those tough little Seward boats? Neat looking and well
built.

RB
35s5
NY

Ahoy Bob and Scotty

Seaward makes a few boats that will do both, and used ones are in your
price
range. They have crank up keels and are trailerable.

Ditto on the Sewards. Charming lines and quite well made.

RB
35s5
NY

Ahoy Bob and Scotty

I certainly wouldn't want to take a Mac offshore direct, but you could
always throw it on a trailer and drive it to New England. In fact, I
would think that one of the primary virtues of that boat. It might
not be fun on all days in Vineyard Sound, but with the big engine you
don't have to worry about details like the current at Woods Hole.
Right now we're trying to figure out a schedule for our return that
works around some 30 knots winds and the strong currents. It would be
a lot easier if there was a trailer waiting for us in New Bedford.

On the other hand, looking around, I don't see any Mac's here even
though one of the large dealers is in southern Mass.

If I were looking for a smaller shallow draft boat that could be
trusted in a blow, and loaded on a trailer a few times a year, I'd be
looking at this:
http://www.marshallcat.com/M22Lines.htm
But that's just my taste. It would certainly fit in here.

Scout wrote:
Bob,
I'm caught in a philosophical dilemma. I can't decide which is more
important to me, a large, comfortable, sea-worthy sailing vessel, or a
flexible, beachable craft that can go in all the quiet coves and shallow
back bays. There's my problem: do I want to duck around the back bays? or
head out for Nantucket or Cape Cod?

I can't see me attempting Nantucket from Philadelphia in a Mac 26, but maybe
I'm wrong. On the other hand, there's a lot of the bay less than 3 feet
deep. Why wasn't I born rich so I could have both?

I haven't ruled out either vision, and need to do more boat-yard searching
and soul-searching. I would like to stay under $50K, but for the right boat
would go 20-30% higher.

I'm taking Friday off to search boat yards, probably in the Chesapeake area.

Scotty - any Chesapeake boatyard recommendations to look at "for sale" boats
in the 30-40 ft range?

TIA!
Scout

"Capt. Rob" wrote in message
oups.com...
How about a water ballasted Catalina 25? It's not the best sailing
boat, but it's just fine and I can make you a great deal on this 100%
like example with trailer....

http://boatmax.com/photos/12201_1.JPG

She's so untouched...never even had holes for instruments added! Asking
19K with a 4 stroke honda (less than 15 hours!), but I can do a LOT
better on price.
Anyway...it's something to consider.
And what about those tough little Seward boats? Neat looking and well
built.

RB
35s5
NY

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

Ahoy Bob and Scotty

"Scout" wrote in message
. ..
Bob,
I'm caught in a philosophical dilemma. I can't decide
which is more
important to me, a large, comfortable, sea-worthy sailing
vessel, or a
flexible, beachable craft that can go in all the quiet
coves and shallow
back bays. There's my problem: do I want to duck around
the back bays? or
head out for Nantucket or Cape Cod?

IMHO, you'll use the smaller boat more often.
What works for many sailors is to have the 'big boat' for
sailing and use the dinghy / canoe / kayak for exploring
creeks and such.

I can't see me attempting Nantucket from Philadelphia in a
Mac 26, but maybe
I'm wrong. On the other hand, there's a lot of the bay
less than 3 feet
deep. Why wasn't I born rich so I could have both?

That's one of the reasons I love my Seidelmann 295, 3"
draft w/board up. Ask Doug, there are a few good ceterboard
boats.
BTW, the Bay opens up the more South you go.
Mac 26s have sailed all over, Bahamas, S.A. , Hawaii, that
doesn't mean I'd want to do it.

I haven't ruled out either vision, and need to do more
boat-yard searching
and soul-searching. I would like to stay under $50K, but
for the right boat
would go 20-30% higher.

Don't forget to budget money for upgrades and such, if you
buy used.

I'm taking Friday off to search boat yards, probably in
the Chesapeake area.

I took this week off. Funeral yesterday, going to Ocean City
today -Sun , for Sons' wedding.

Scotty - any Chesapeake boatyard recommendations to look
at "for sale" boats
in the 30-40 ft range?

All of them. You never know where you'll find that 'perfect'
boat. Maybe once you figure out what kind of boat you want,
a broker could help locate it. I don't know of any good
ones. Be willing to travel. When I was looking for a
trailerable, I ended up buying one in Boston.

Scotty

Ahoy Bob and Scotty

"Jeff" wrote in message
...
I certainly wouldn't want to take a Mac offshore direct, but you could
always throw it on a trailer and drive it to New England. In fact, I would
think that one of the primary virtues of that boat.

This is probably the best advice. Long distances in small boats are often
best covered on the road via a trailer. We have some friends who've just
returned from two weeks in the North Channel with their 21' swing-keel boat.
They trailered it to DeTour. The sail up Lake Michigan from here would have
required at least 4 very long, hard days of sailing/motoring on that boat
just to reach DeTour.

Max

Ahoy Bob and Scotty

Scotty wrote:

I took this week off. Funeral yesterday, going to Ocean City
today -Sun , for Sons' wedding.

What happened, couldn't talk sense into that Canuck he's going to wed?
;-o

Cheers
Marty

Thanks to all for the posts. I drove 5 hours round trip yesterday to see the
Mac26 first hand. For a number of reasons, it's not the boat for me. I think
it will do almost everything they say it will do, it just isn't big enough
for me. I like lots of things about it, but...

One thing I wish sales people would avoid is making a statement like "full
standing head room" when it would be far better to say what that head room
actually is. I was very disappointed by how much I had to bend over in a
cabin with "full standing head room," quoted per the Mac literature. Since
they chose to direct their comments to a shorter sailor, I took it to mean
they don't want me to buy this boat.

It also had a very flimsy feel to it. The hardware looked too fragile and I
could see things breaking, tearing, splitting, and sheering off. Again, if I
weighed 140 instead of 240, it might be ok.

I loved the look of the shoalsailer
http://www.shannonyachts.com/default.aspx?id=6 but it's out of range -
moneywise.
Oh well, back to the drawing board.
Scout

"Scotty" wrote in message
. ..
Some things I don't like about the Mac is the very high
freeboard, combined with the light weight of the boat, can
really get pushed around in a cross wind.
The 'quirky' powerboat look, although the blue hull does
help a bit.
The small powerboat steering wheel.

The cabin is nice and very big for a 26' trailerable. I
believe the owners berth is 7'7'' long ( bigger than a Bendy
35.5.5) The cockpit is bigger, too.

Scotty

"Scout" wrote in message
...
Thanks Jim,
I appreciate your input.
The 26M is not out of the running, and I'm going to be
visiting a dealer
within the next few weeks to have a look at one up close.
I'm looking at
quite a few others too. For instance, I'm looking at Jim
Taylor's boats
(Precision) because I've owned one and loved almost
everything about it
(just needed it to be bigger).
In the end, I'll most likely see something I hadn't
figured on and just
buy the damn thing. I have a history of doing elaborate
research and then
buying on instinct. Some times it works out for the
best, some times it
doesn't.
Scout

"JimC" wrote in message
om...
Scout,

I have a 26M purchased in 2004, and I do like the
boat. - It has a number
of features that make it a good choice for the sailing I
do in the
Houston-Galveston area. Whether it would be the best
choice for you may
depend on what kind if sailing you expect to do. As you
can easily see
from the Mac discussion group Bill mentioned
(http://macgregorsailors.com/phpBB/), lots of Mac owners
use their boats
for coastal cruising, for trips from California to
Catalina island,
sailing the Keys, etc.

Because it is designed to motor and plane, and because
it has a
water-ballasted hull, the Mac doesn't perform under sail
as well as a
larger, heavier boat with longer waterline, weighted
keel, etc. It's
relatively light (around 4,000 pounds loaded and with
water ballast), and
its hull is something of a compromise (semi-V bottom). -
I bought ours
after sailing a number of larger, heavier boats, so I'm
aware that the Mac
isn't the kind of boat you would choose if you expect to
make extended,
open-sea voyages. (For one thing, it doesn't have the
storage capacity
needed for provisions for such cruises.) So if you
expect to spend lots
of time cruising offshore or sailing in heavy weather,
you might want to
look at a larger, heavier boat. Hunter and Catalina
also make boats
somewhat similar to the Mac. As you probably know,
there are lots of
used boats of various makes, designs and conditions on
the market.

On the plus side, the Mac 26M is just plain fun to sail.
It's the most
popular sailboat of its size, with thousands of owners
in the US and
foreign countries. As you probably know, the Mac doesn't
require a slip
(no slip fees or bottom treatments), it's easy to
launch, roomy,
versatile, can maneuver in shallow water (they float in
one foot of
water), safe (how many other boats discussed on this ng
have flotation
that keeps the boat afloat even if the hull is broken
open below the
waterline?), etc. The motor permits me to motor out to a
desired sailing
area at 15mph+ and to motor back quickly at the end of
the day or if bad
weather comes up, so I'm able to get in more time
sailing when and where I
want to sail, and I'm able to avoid problems that would
otherwise keep me
from enjoying the day.

There is one major disadvantage to owning a Mac 26M,
however. - They
aren't a conventional boat, they cost much less than
most, and you will be
subject to some pretty sarcastic ridicule by owners of
larger,
conventional boats. Your original note asked if anyone
on the ng had any
actual experience on the Mac 26M. - You got a number of
responses, mostly
negative, but only one of them (Bill's) was from someone
with actual
experience on the the 26M, and he seemed to like his.
This is fairly
typical.

In any event, look around at all the options and sail as
many different
boats as you can.

Jim

Scout wrote:
Does anyone have any actual experience with the Mac
26M?
In my unending search for the right boat, this boat
appears to have many
features of interest. I understand that the sailing
performance is
compromised to gain in other areas, but if speed is not
my thing, why
should I care?
If the 26M is a poor boat, that what trailerable boat
in that size range
(abt 25') can do better?
Scout