(Steven Fisher) wrote in message ...
In article ,
Quest0029 wrote:
This site may be of interest-
http://www.eskimo.com/%7Emighetto/murrelet.htm

Yeah, mullet's site. A standing joke on sailing anarchy. Read this
thread on the SA forums, "The future of yacht design"

http://www.sailinganarchy.com/forums...showtopic=2833

-steve


For many yrs, purists refused to recognize multihulls as legit
sailboats and many still do not although many multis have made extreme
voyages. I suspect the same thing is happening with the mac26 genre.
I have heard of few accidents involving the Mac26 but that may be from
not paying attention although I do hear of accidents involving REAL
sailboats fairly often. When Mike Plant was killed in his REAL
sailboat from the keel falling off there was not an outcry about REAL
sailbaots being unsafe.
When i first saw Hunters years ago, i was apalled at the poor quality
compared to my older S2 but when I look at newer ones, it is evident
that good engineering and material advances have probably made them
more than equal to my S2 in quality. I believe the same is true of
the Mac26. Its newer types of materials and construction is probably
better than the older materials and construction methods that went
into high quality boats of yore. By analogy, my fibreglas middle of
the road S2 is a far better boat than a very high quality boat built
in the 1940s and a middle of the road boat built now is better than a
high quality boat built in the late 70s. A lower cost boat built
today may be equal to a middle of the road boat built in the 70s.
From what i can tell, most mac26 owners recognize the limits of their
vessels and many discuss upgrading the equipment. Should a Mac26 be
sailed out of sight of land? I dunno, but I have seen even an Island
Packet that I refused to sail on that was regularly sailed across the
Gulf of Mexico.
I wonder if the word Multihull causes the blood pressure of ppl here
to go up as does the name Mac26.

I wonder if the word Multihull causes the blood pressure of ppl here
to go up as does the name Mac26.


Very probable.
Look at the statistics on boat ownership, people
are moving away from traditional keelboats in
droves. Where are they going? To multihulls,
powerboats and yes.... Mac 26 (and other similar
designs).

I wonder if the word Multihull causes the blood pressure of ppl here
to go up as does the name Mac26.


I should preface this comment by saying
I'm a coastal cruiser and not a passagemaker
these days.
I think it is just jealousy. We sail a nice
Sabre 28 but am looking with envy
as other's in power past in Mac 26's
and catamarans fly past and pull up
on the beach without any hassles.
Multi's and water ballasted motorsailers
are a fairly recent option for your average
sailor and the old guard is very defensive
about 'their' turf I think.

Max

The Mac 26 certainly holds a valid niche in the overall boat market. Is
is one that suits my needs? Nope! Not at this time or the foreseeable
future (and I say that as a former Mac 25 owner who had a ball with the
boat). But, the fact that it would be a rotten boat for me, doesn't
mean that it wouldn't be a great boat for someone else.

Is it a boat that should be taken on the TransPac? In my opinion, only
as a stunt. But, the same could be said of a lot of other boats.

This boat obviously serves it's niche well as long as it's owners follow
the basic rules of responsible seamanship (this includes knowing the
capabilities and limitations of your vessal).

Quest0029 wrote:

I wonder if the word Multihull causes the blood pressure of ppl here
to go up as does the name Mac26.


Very probable.
Look at the statistics on boat ownership, people
are moving away from traditional keelboats in
droves. Where are they going? To multihulls,
powerboats and yes.... Mac 26 (and other similar
designs).



--
Dan Best - (707) 431-1662, Healdsburg, CA 95448
B-2/75 1977-1979
Tayana 37 #192, "Tricia Jean"
http://rangerbest.home.comcast.net/TriciaJean.JPG

if you 'worry' about the cost of a bottom job, then yeah, a mac26 sounds
about right for you.

SV

"Parallax" wrote...
4. , not worrying about the cost of a bottom job,

Amen and Suits Me Just Fine...
I got aboard my first boat,(16ft Comet) in 1947
(Where were U in 1947??? no offense intended...)
Had LOTS of others since...
How did I get good judgement??? Bad judgement :-)
Check out my X-boat page below...

Also opinions/observations on how much performance has been
sacrificed by cruising gear added, notwithstanding
(ignoring)
the absolutely shameless hype on Roger Mac's video....

....and Have a NICE day!!!!

http://angelfire.com/biz/WritersWeb/update3.html

(Parallax) wrote in message om...
(Steven Fisher) wrote in message ...
In article ,
Quest0029 wrote:
This site may be of interest-
http://www.eskimo.com/%7Emighetto/murrelet.htm

Yeah, mullet's site. A standing joke on sailing anarchy. Read this
thread on the SA forums, "The future of yacht design"

http://www.sailinganarchy.com/forums...showtopic=2833

-steve

Well, I dont really expect to be invited to your "Yacht Club" cuz with
my ratty Tasmanian Devil flip flops, paint stained t-shirt and ragged
shorts I wouldnt fit in. All y'all REAL sailors can adjust your
captains hats and ascots and go back to the yacht club bar muttering
about how the common riff-raff just dont know their places.
Meanwhile, I'll be sailin one way r nuther.

I'd like to hear from Mac 26 owners.

I almost went the Mac26 route, and sometimes I wish I had.
They are a good boat for those who like to sail but also want to power
and trailer.
The thing that steered me away from it was watching 3 guys setting
one up one day. It took them a couple hours and they were young strong
guys. I don't think they really knew what they were doing, but
regardless, it seemed like a pretty big job setting one up and
breaking it down- more work than I want to be dealing with.

So, I bought a 24 foot Stingray 240CS and I'll be paying for gas this
summer at over 2 bucks a gallon....sigh...gawd knows what the marinas
will be getting per gallon this summer!
John C.

I've never set up a Mac 26, but a number of years ago, we had a Mac 25
(a swing keel sail boat rather than the water ballasted hybrid the 26 is).

It took my wife and I awhile to get the routine figured out and at
first, some our antics while preparing to launch can only be described
as pathetic, but eventually, we got to the point where we would be
motoring away from the ramp about 15 minutes after pulling into the
marina parking lot. It took a little longer at the end of the day, but
just because of the time it took to do the fresh water flush of the
outboard.

Eventually, you figure out the quickest and easiest way to accomplish
everything and it's becomes like a well choreographed ballet.

jchaplain wrote:
I'd like to hear from Mac 26 owners.


I almost went the Mac26 route, and sometimes I wish I had.
They are a good boat for those who like to sail but also want to power
and trailer.
The thing that steered me away from it was watching 3 guys setting
one up one day. It took them a couple hours and they were young strong
guys. I don't think they really knew what they were doing, but
regardless, it seemed like a pretty big job setting one up and
breaking it down- more work than I want to be dealing with.

So, I bought a 24 foot Stingray 240CS and I'll be paying for gas this
summer at over 2 bucks a gallon....sigh...gawd knows what the marinas
will be getting per gallon this summer!
John C.

--
Dan Best - (707) 431-1662, Healdsburg, CA 95448
B-2/75 1977-1979
Tayana 37 #192, "Tricia Jean"
http://rangerbest.home.comcast.net/TriciaJean.JPG

I did drag this whole thread, but I though I would write this back to
the top level.

First, I have now known of several Mac 26x owners that have actually
become sailors. For that I commend both the owners and the builder.
The fact that they are not as fast as my 13' Whaler and carry less sail
than my Rebel is not part of the issue here.

The advantages that people site are speed under power (often as a safety
item), the shoal draft and the trailerability. All are good thoughts.

If speed is a primary issue, then get an airplane. A boat is always the
worst choice to get somewhere fast.

There are lots of choices for shoal draft and most are better sailors
that 26* (my S2-7.9 is just one of many).

Trailer launch and recovery is aided by the water ballast, but towing a
5000# boat is not much more problem than towing 3000# boat.

If you enjoy the peace and quite of sailing, then you do. IF you enjoy
a boat that is responsive, then you have to choose what you want.

We have made long treks when I sailed the boat the entire way, but we
have also gone off for a days reach with the autohelm steering on wind
or waypoint and one or both of us watching and reading.

I am a naval architect and a marine enginer. The Mac 26* has not better
theoretical stability than most conventional monohulls. Did you know
that there is a MORC test that requires that a new or seriously modified
boat demonstrate static stability by tieing both head and main sails
(bagged to the top of the mast and then heaving the boat with all keels
and foils retracted down to until the mast is horizontal. The boat must
not flood. I do not like things that get less stable with incline (more
heel angle). Multihulls start loosing righting moment as soon as a hull
comes out of the water. They might be faster than most monohulls, but
they have some bad habits.

Matt Colie
Lifelong Waterman, Licensed Mariner and Perpetual Sailor



Parallax wrote:

Like many ppl who own "Real" sailboats, I have long considered the Mac
26 to be a toy sold to gullible first time buyers but may be changing
my mind. Currently I own a 28' S2 and all of my sailing is coastal
cruising. When I really analyse my sailing needs, the Mac 26 comes
close to filling them.

Consider:

1. I think that in Florida having extreme shoal draft capability is a
real safety issue because so much of the state is seriously shallow.
From Carabelle, Fl to Tarpon Springs, there are not many places where
one can get close (within a half mile)to shore with more than 5' of
water. When cruising, most of my dangerous incidents happened either
while anchored or trying to reach a safe anchorage. With extreme
shoal draft ability, the number of anchorages would easily quadruple.
When a 70 knot thunderstorm sweeps an anchorage, deep draft boats
anchored in deeper water tend to drag while a Mac 26 in shallow water
protected by shore or even beached would be safer.

2. Shoal draft ability greatly enhances ones ability to see
interesting places both in Florida and in the Bahamas. Most of the
places I want to see are in shallow water. The Mac 26 has less than
2' draft with board up.

3. Face it, sailboats are slugs, even under power. Because they
typically cannot outrun weather, they have to be overbuilt to "take
it". However, while the conventional sailboat is slugging his way
through unexpectedly rough weather, the Mac 26 owner has turned on his
motor and gone to port at 15 kts and is having coffee and watching
the lightning show.

4. Trailerability, do I need to say more? Not having to pay slip
fees, not having to rush to the coast just before a hurricane hits to
tie things down, not worrying about the cost of a bottom job, etc.
The ability to trailer to the Keys, to the Chesapeake, etc.

5. Safety at sea. Apparently they have a range of stability greater
than many more traditional boats. They are also intrinsically
righting unlike multihulls and some more traditional monohulls. They
have positive flotation unlike most monohulls.

6. Sailing ability. From what I hear, they sail better than some
more traditional boats, certainly better than a Morgan OI.

Perceived problems:

1. Quality. I suspect that the engineering of the Mac26 is better
than of a Pearson of 1970 considering advances in materials. Part of
this is due to lighter materials that causes the perceived low
quality. But you have to remember that the Mac 26 is made for
trailerability and it should not have to be caught out in really bad
weather.

2. Spartan interior. This is actually a plus for me. I am used to
tent camping so even a spartan interior seems luxurious and I hate
gadgets that break down and cause problems.

3. Any others?

So, would they be ok to sail across the stream to the Bahamas? Across
the Northern Gulf back and forth to N or S. Florida? Down island to
the Caribbean? What are the limits?

I'd like to hear from Mac 26 owners.

Over $3 now at some marinas!
Gordon


"jchaplain" wrote in message
...

I'd like to hear from Mac 26 owners.

I almost went the Mac26 route, and sometimes I wish I had.
They are a good boat for those who like to sail but also want to power
and trailer.
The thing that steered me away from it was watching 3 guys setting
one up one day. It took them a couple hours and they were young strong
guys. I don't think they really knew what they were doing, but
regardless, it seemed like a pretty big job setting one up and
breaking it down- more work than I want to be dealing with.

So, I bought a 24 foot Stingray 240CS and I'll be paying for gas this
summer at over 2 bucks a gallon....sigh...gawd knows what the marinas
will be getting per gallon this summer!
John C.