You don't get it, do you? The Mac 26 in its various embodiments is one
of the most popular sailboats of this size ever built, with over 30,000
sold. How many of the 30,000 have had failures of the steering system
Ellen? Or, for that matter, failures of the running rigging, standing
rigging, or hull?

Jim



Ellen MacArthur wrote:
"JimC" wrote
| Regarding the particular quote, it has been reported that the steering
| problem mentioned in that cite was a problem experienced in some early
| 26X models that has since been corrected. (The current model is the Mac
| 26M). Of course, the Mac isn't the only boat in which some owners have
| experienced problems over time. Re the comments of the particular
| technician, negative comments by mechanics about what they are working
| on, or about work done by others, are pretty common in my experience.

They should have recalled it and fixed it on ALL the boats. Are they gonna
let somebody drown first?

You still haven't told us anything about the extent of this problem (if
there was a problem), or about its criticality or seriousness (e.g.,
whether or not a number of boats were disabled on the water). Also, if
there were an ongoing problem, you apparently don't know what MacGregor
did about it. (Neither do I, but I'm not the one bringing the
accusations.) - As a suggestion, you could qualify your statements by
admitting that you really don't know whether there were any serious
problems, or whether they amounted to a general problem affecting a
number of boats, but you did find some negative statements on the
internet from people who you really don't know anything about, talking
about situations that you also don't know much about, etc. Because
that's about all you have come up with Ellen.

| Actually, if you read through the notes in the search you cited, most of
| the Mac owners quoted IN YOUR OWN SEARCH say that they are happy with
| their boats and haven't had any major problems. - See those quoted below
| for example.

Some people ain't too bright.


- - Not too bright? You mean the folks who call the MacGregor a
dangerous pile of junk?


Some people are happy with dangerous things.

| Again, anecdotes aren't the same thing as evidence, and they don't say

People telling other people how their boats broke and almost caused serious damage
or injury are valid to listen to.


Sure are. But when thousands of Mac owners obviously like their boats,
and when over 85% of 26M owners state that they would buy the boat
again, it strongly suggests that most Mac owners are happy with their
boats.


If you only listen to the glowing reports you don't get
the whole picture. Being so biased and defending a flimsy boat just because you have
one is dumb.

Right. And similarly, if you only listen to the few who had major
problems with their Macs, you also don't get the whole picture.

I'm not defending a flimsy boat, and I'm not defending the Mac just
because I have one. As stated a number of times on this ng, I recognize
that the Macs have good and bad points (as do all boats), and that they
don't sail like a conventional fixed keel boat with a long waterline.
What I have said was that, as one of the few Mac owners on the ng, I
feel some obligation to provide a little balance to such discussions
from time to time. And calling it a "flimsy boat," with no meaningful
evidence whatsoever that there are any extensive problems (e.g.,
significant numbers of Macs failing or falling apart because of "flimsy"
construction) is certainly not a balanced statement or a fair treatment
of the subject. Again, how many of the 20,000-plus 26 Macs have failed
or come apart while being sailed Ellen? Do you have reports of over a
thousand? Or, perhaps, over 500? Surely you can cite over 100 serious
Mac accidents in the last several years, Ellen. - No? Then how about 50?

Since you are apparently accusing MacGregor of what is essentially gross
negligence regarding the 26X steering system and of not taking
appropriate corrective measures in a timely manner, you should probably
do some research relative to what actually happened (if it did) before
you post those kinds of accusations on the ng. I happen to be an
attorney, and I would suggest that you might want to consult your own
attorney before you accuse a company of gross negligence re a
potentially hazardous condition such as this ("flimsy construction" that
is putting people's lives at risk), if that's what you're actually saying.

Jim




Cheers,
Ellen