JG, in my previous note I forgot to mention the safety factors entailed
with having a fairly powerful motor on the Mac. - For example, when I
had the boat out Saturday, we had a rather substantial incoming tide and
headwind, the waves were breaking against us all the way out to the
sailing area, and there was a lot of traffic, with wakes. The Mac is
lightweight and has a fairly large sideboard area. - If I had had a 10 -
15 hp motor as is usual for boats of this size, I don't think I could
have kept it on track within the channel all the way out. Also, I would
not have been able to keep up with the other traffic going out, which
causes further problems. The reserve power is also a safety factor in
the event of inclement weather, tides, etc., out in the Bay or beyond.

As to "ranting all I want," I'm afraid you will have to get use to my
providing a little balance to these discussions from time to time. Get
over it Capt. - If you don't like my notes, you don't have to respond
to them or even read them. Better than going hyper as you seem to be
doing. Incidentally, Capt., as I recall, you have never sailed a 26M. -
Is that right? That figures.

As I have mentioned before, I had over 30 years sailing experience
before getting the Mac, having sailed on a number of medium sized and
smaller boats, including a Beneateux 39, O'Day 38/9, Valiant 40, and
various Endeavors, Cals, Catalinas, and others in the 30-34-ft range. My
point is not that I'm a great sailor, but rather, that I have enough
experience on a variety of boats to recognize the limitations of the Mac
26M. I also have enough experience on the Mac 26M to understand its
limitations, but also, to understand that sailing it is a lot of fun. -
Actually, I thought that was why most of us like to sail in the first
place.

Jim


Capt. JG wrote:

Jim, you can rant all you want, but yours is the a very restrictive
application for a compromised vessel. It's not a great sailing vessel; it's
not a great power boat. In fact, it kinda sucks at both.

All your efforts at supporting your boat must take away from your sail time.