On Sat, 24 Mar 2007 22:24:14 -0700, "William Andersen"
wrote:

If I were interested in sailing, I'd consider a Mac, too. I think you'd be
happy with it: it's not expensive and it will do the job. I read a review on
it years ago, and the only thing I remember as a possible disadvantage was
the hardware not being the best or sturdiest.

Yes. At least one dealer refits some of the deck rigging right off.

--Vic

On Sat, 24 Mar 2007 13:32:11 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

As I do extensive reading in trying to select what boat will suit me
best, I realize just how much fun boating is.
And I haven't even left the basement!
Right now I'm leaning toward the MacGregor 26M.
Might be new, might be used. It's usually called a "motor sailor"
It's a high volume boat, inexpensive, and generally frowned upon by
the "high speed" sailing crowd. When under sail it doesn't perform as
well as dedicated sailboats, though no single keel sailboat of similar
size is exactly a speed demon.

A bloke in the next slip to me, when I was in Singapore, had a brand
new MG. From talking to him it appeared that he had done considerable
sailing in the U.K. but his wife was Asian and had never been at sea.

They sailed the boat every weekend for the month or so I was there and
finally decided to sell the boat as winds in SEA are really not
reliable enough to make sailing interesting. Bought a power boat.

However, they liked the boat. Small, fast under power. A bit spartan
but fine for weekends. Not a boat for ocean voyages but nice enough
for short trips.

I would guess that if you have really, really, considered the
strengths and weaknesses of the boat and feel that the strengths
outweigh the weaknesses then it will be fine. A canoe just won;t do to
cross oceans and a 50 ft. sailing yacht isn't the thing for
gunk-holing.


Bruce in Bangkok
(brucepaigeatgmaildotcom)

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

On Sun, 25 Mar 2007 08:37:10 +0700, Bruce
wrote:

On Sat, 24 Mar 2007 13:32:11 -0600, Vic Smith
wrote:

As I do extensive reading in trying to select what boat will suit me
best, I realize just how much fun boating is.
And I haven't even left the basement!
Right now I'm leaning toward the MacGregor 26M.
Might be new, might be used. It's usually called a "motor sailor"
It's a high volume boat, inexpensive, and generally frowned upon by
the "high speed" sailing crowd. When under sail it doesn't perform as
well as dedicated sailboats, though no single keel sailboat of similar
size is exactly a speed demon.

A bloke in the next slip to me, when I was in Singapore, had a brand
new MG. From talking to him it appeared that he had done considerable
sailing in the U.K. but his wife was Asian and had never been at sea.

They sailed the boat every weekend for the month or so I was there and
finally decided to sell the boat as winds in SEA are really not
reliable enough to make sailing interesting. Bought a power boat.

However, they liked the boat. Small, fast under power. A bit spartan
but fine for weekends. Not a boat for ocean voyages but nice enough
for short trips.

I would guess that if you have really, really, considered the
strengths and weaknesses of the boat and feel that the strengths
outweigh the weaknesses then it will be fine. A canoe just won;t do to
cross oceans and a 50 ft. sailing yacht isn't the thing for
gunk-holing.

Right. I'm not going to do an impulse buy.
Didn't realize finding sailing wind was such a problem until recently.
Here on Lake Michigan near Chicago calm is fairly rare, though it
spoils the occasional weekend day for sailors.
The times I've spent in Florida, always in the summer, there's
generally a good breeze off shore. Maybe too much for a Mac (-:
But the vagaries of sailing weather is probably one reason Mac sells
so many of this type boat. I think the main reason though is the
boat is versatile and inexpensive. Though I've never cared a whit
about skiing and tubing, many families enjoy doing it with their kids.
As a value proposition the boat works well indeed.

--Vic

"Vic Smith" wrote in message
...

Right. I'm not going to do an impulse buy.


That's excellent that you're taking your time and doing it right.
There's one moron around here by the name of JimC who claims he's a
lawyer. He ran out on an impulse and bought a Mac26M and now is totally
embarrassed about his uninformed entry-level purchase. It's like I'm
sure people look at his boat and then find out he's a lawyer and they
begin to wonder how lame is this guy. Lawyers who are worth a hoot make,
what, about 500 dollars an hour so he ought to be able to afford a real
boat and a classy boat at that. Anyhow, poor JimC spent probably a
hundred hours posting things about how he was so happy with his purchase
but you could tell he was not happy at all. Somebody who's happy with
his boat doesn't spend hundreds of hours trying to convince himself how
great it is.

But, I think the dude finally got the message that everybody thought he
was pretty stupid and he got totally disrespected so he sorta slunk off
with his tail tucked. He just about quit posting on alt.sailing.asa
because he became the laughing stock of the group. If you are the type
of individual who is a bit insecure about his personal worth and has low
self-esteem and is a bit paranoid like Jonathan Ganz, for example, do
yourself a favor and consider how people will snicker behind your back
and make snide remarks about your pretend sailboat. If that sort of
thing gets to you perhaps you should reconsider and get a boat that is
more prestigious. If you don't give a crap what people think about your
choice of boat and it doesn't bother your self-esteem the Mac 26 could
be a decent choice for you.

If you're more like Scotty you won't care at all what people think.
Scotty sails a Seidelmann which has a worse reputation than even a
Mac26. He doesn't seem to care that almost everybody laughs at him
behind his back and shuns him to his face when confronted with him in
person. He's the type that probably would be very happy with a Mac26.

Wilbur Hubbard

On Mar 25, 1:00 pm, "Wilbur Hubbard"
wrote:
"Vic Smith" wrote in message

...

Right. I'm not going to do an impulse buy.

That's excellent that you're taking your time and doing it right.
There's one moron around here by the name of JimC who claims he's a
lawyer. He ran out on an impulse and bought a Mac26M and now is totally
embarrassed about his uninformed entry-level purchase. It's like I'm
sure people look at his boat and then find out he's a lawyer and they
begin to wonder how lame is this guy. Lawyers who are worth a hoot make,
what, about 500 dollars an hour so he ought to be able to afford a real
boat and a classy boat at that. Anyhow, poor JimC spent probably a
hundred hours posting things about how he was so happy with his purchase
but you could tell he was not happy at all. Somebody who's happy with
his boat doesn't spend hundreds of hours trying to convince himself how
great it is.

But, I think the dude finally got the message that everybody thought he
was pretty stupid and he got totally disrespected so he sorta slunk off
with his tail tucked. He just about quit posting on alt.sailing.asa
because he became the laughing stock of the group. If you are the type
of individual who is a bit insecure about his personal worth and has low
self-esteem and is a bit paranoid like Jonathan Ganz, for example, do
yourself a favor and consider how people will snicker behind your back
and make snide remarks about your pretend sailboat. If that sort of
thing gets to you perhaps you should reconsider and get a boat that is
more prestigious. If you don't give a crap what people think about your
choice of boat and it doesn't bother your self-esteem the Mac 26 could
be a decent choice for you.

If you're more like Scotty you won't care at all what people think.
Scotty sails a Seidelmann which has a worse reputation than even a
Mac26. He doesn't seem to care that almost everybody laughs at him
behind his back and shuns him to his face when confronted with him in
person. He's the type that probably would be very happy with a Mac26.

Wilbur Hubbard

Hey Wilber,

Guess who I saw out sailing on the lake today?
It's blowing about 13kts steady and it looks like he was having a nice
sail.

Joe

"Joe" wrote in message
oups.com...
On Mar 25, 1:00 pm, "Wilbur Hubbard"
wrote:
"Vic Smith" wrote in message

...

Right. I'm not going to do an impulse buy.

That's excellent that you're taking your time and doing it right.
There's one moron around here by the name of JimC who claims he's a
lawyer. He ran out on an impulse and bought a Mac26M and now is
totally
embarrassed about his uninformed entry-level purchase. It's like I'm
sure people look at his boat and then find out he's a lawyer and they
begin to wonder how lame is this guy. Lawyers who are worth a hoot
make,
what, about 500 dollars an hour so he ought to be able to afford a
real
boat and a classy boat at that. Anyhow, poor JimC spent probably a
hundred hours posting things about how he was so happy with his
purchase
but you could tell he was not happy at all. Somebody who's happy with
his boat doesn't spend hundreds of hours trying to convince himself
how
great it is.

But, I think the dude finally got the message that everybody thought
he
was pretty stupid and he got totally disrespected so he sorta slunk
off
with his tail tucked. He just about quit posting on alt.sailing.asa
because he became the laughing stock of the group. If you are the
type
of individual who is a bit insecure about his personal worth and has
low
self-esteem and is a bit paranoid like Jonathan Ganz, for example, do
yourself a favor and consider how people will snicker behind your
back
and make snide remarks about your pretend sailboat. If that sort of
thing gets to you perhaps you should reconsider and get a boat that
is
more prestigious. If you don't give a crap what people think about
your
choice of boat and it doesn't bother your self-esteem the Mac 26
could
be a decent choice for you.

If you're more like Scotty you won't care at all what people think.
Scotty sails a Seidelmann which has a worse reputation than even a
Mac26. He doesn't seem to care that almost everybody laughs at him
behind his back and shuns him to his face when confronted with him in
person. He's the type that probably would be very happy with a Mac26.

Wilbur Hubbard

Hey Wilber,

Guess who I saw out sailing on the lake today?
It's blowing about 13kts steady and it looks like he was having a nice
sail.

Joe


A lake in Texas. It couldn't be Scotti-Potti. Nor Bobsprit. Nor JL
Rodgers who never got around to getting a boat. Maybe it was Greg in his
Coronado 25. He lives down there in Texas the last I heard.

Wilbur Hubbard

Wilbur Hubbard wrote:

"Vic Smith" wrote in message
...

Right. I'm not going to do an impulse buy.



That's excellent that you're taking your time and doing it right.
There's one moron around here by the name of JimC who claims he's a
lawyer. He ran out on an impulse and bought a Mac26M and now is totally
embarrassed about his uninformed entry-level purchase. It's like I'm
sure people look at his boat and then find out he's a lawyer and they
begin to wonder how lame is this guy. Lawyers who are worth a hoot make,
what, about 500 dollars an hour so he ought to be able to afford a real
boat and a classy boat at that. Anyhow, poor JimC spent probably a
hundred hours posting things about how he was so happy with his purchase
but you could tell he was not happy at all. Somebody who's happy with
his boat doesn't spend hundreds of hours trying to convince himself how
great it is.

What's really sick is how Wilbur, and a few others, devote all that
attention and time posting such garbage criticizing me and my boat. If
he was really interested in sailing and really enjoying his own boat,
he wouldn't be so interested in posting more sarcastic notes like that
one. (Actually, once was enough for us to get your peculiar and biases
re the Macs, Wilbur.) - Why do you go on and on on this subject? It
suggests that you have some other motive, of course. - Are you jealous
that I'm out sailing and enjoying my boat after you have posted all
those notes explaining why I shouldn't enjoy sailing it?

It's obvious that Wilbur has some personal problems and is in need of
professional help. - No normal adult would get his jollies posting such
childish, personal attacks on a fellow sailor, over and over again.

Jim

On Tue, 27 Mar 2007 15:39:57 GMT, JimC wrote:



Wilbur Hubbard wrote:

"Vic Smith" wrote in message
...

Right. I'm not going to do an impulse buy.



That's excellent that you're taking your time and doing it right.
There's one moron around here by the name of JimC who claims he's a
lawyer. He ran out on an impulse and bought a Mac26M and now is totally
embarrassed about his uninformed entry-level purchase. It's like I'm
sure people look at his boat and then find out he's a lawyer and they
begin to wonder how lame is this guy. Lawyers who are worth a hoot make,
what, about 500 dollars an hour so he ought to be able to afford a real
boat and a classy boat at that. Anyhow, poor JimC spent probably a
hundred hours posting things about how he was so happy with his purchase
but you could tell he was not happy at all. Somebody who's happy with
his boat doesn't spend hundreds of hours trying to convince himself how
great it is.

What's really sick is how Wilbur, and a few others, devote all that
attention and time posting such garbage criticizing me and my boat. If
he was really interested in sailing and really enjoying his own boat,
he wouldn't be so interested in posting more sarcastic notes like that
one. (Actually, once was enough for us to get your peculiar and biases
re the Macs, Wilbur.) - Why do you go on and on on this subject? It
suggests that you have some other motive, of course. - Are you jealous
that I'm out sailing and enjoying my boat after you have posted all
those notes explaining why I shouldn't enjoy sailing it?

It's obvious that Wilbur has some personal problems and is in need of
professional help. - No normal adult would get his jollies posting such
childish, personal attacks on a fellow sailor, over and over again.

Jim

Jim,
I wasn't aware that you knew Wilbur personally and so well.

I wouldn't get upset too much. You are quite right in your comments.
Some people regard boats as they do their cars - the newer, the more
expensive, the faster and so on, the better. There is actually no best
boat at all. There are boats better suited for cruising, for racing,
for shallow waters, for entertaining etc., A true lover of boats and
those with experience of the sea does not regard them as a status
symbol to enhance the social or other status of the owner. As there is
no "best" woman or man, there is no best boat. People choose boats for
a number of reasons, often quite illogical - rather like marriage.

I recall two boats in New Zealand that would readily incur the
ridicule of such as Wilbur. One was a 18 foot open plywood home built
dory with the name "John's Dory" painted on the sides in large
letters. Holiday makers at the wharf of the resort town where my beach
home is never gave it a second glance but stared at the large and new
power boats with dreamy eyes. The interesting thing is that John,
being retired, went out recreational fishing in his home built boat
every day and always came back with a decent catch. His little boat
was out in all weathers and was probably more seaworthy than most of
the larger power boats who were kept at home by the rough seas. They
often complained also of the lack of good fishing. John would never
take much from the sea and gave most of his catch away to older people
and others about town. A couple of times, John went out to tow in
flasher boats that had broken down. He never said much and never
responded when people scoffed at his boat. He was a much better seaman
and fisherman than they, regardless of the monetary worth of their
boats.

Another boat I met several times when we lived aboard at Westhaven
Marina in Auckland, New Zealand. It was built after WWII of timbers
that the then owner had managed to scavenge. It was about 28 feet in
length and had rigging made of plow steel, spliced with a a Liverpool
splice and parceled. The inside was barren and in need of furniture
there being only two perfunctionary berths. The only things on that
boat that were less than 40 years old were the owner's sea boots. He
was a bricklayer who lived and worked on Great Barrier Island, a day's
sail northeast of Auckland. In essence, the little sailboat was his
car.

As the vessel was not fitted with any engine, he had become a
proficient sailor and would sail to the marina mouth, turn port 90
degrees into the channel, starboard 90 degrees, then port 90 again
and finally another port 90 to gently brush against the pontoon of
thefinger berth. All of this under sail by himself. I doubt that I
would ever be able to perform this manouvre, if I ever had to. As we
usually anchor out, I have to suppress feelings of panic upon entering
marinas.

What was most interesting to see was that everyone's eyes were turned
to watch this little rough boat coming in. Nobody said anything but
watched in silent appreciation of the skill displayed. People vied to
take his docklines, people whose boats were worth half a million
dollars. He never said much either, even though many of the onlookers
tried to engage him in conversation. We were fortunate that his berth
was along from ours and we would often have him to dinner with before
he set off back to the island.

In writing of these two boats, several other boats and their owners
have come to mind. One left a lasting impression upon my family. We
were anchored by ourselves overnight near the Ranger Station on Rinja
Island in Indonesia, one of the two islands that are home to the giant
Komodo Dragons. Early that morning, my wife went on deck in response
to a gentle knock on the hull and was presented with a 15 inch long,
freshly caught fish by a small old man in an outrigger canoe about 12
to 14 feet in length. At one end of the canoe was a small broken pot
on some stones where he cooked his meals. Drying in the sun were a few
three and four inch long trepang or sea slugs that he had dived for
and that he would later sell to the traders for a few cents - the
basis of his living. He had home made diving goggles carved from wood
with plastic inserts and a piece of string to hold them on his head.
His only protection from the elements was one of those ubiquitous blue
plastic tarpaulins folded neatly in the bow along with a cheap woven
plastic prayer mat.

My wife told him to wait for her to get some money but he smiled,
waved and slowly paddled off. We spoke to the rangers of him later
that morning and found that what we saw about him was all that he
owned in the world. Cooking and eating that fish for dinner was
somewhat of a religious experience. That simple man, who had made a
present to those who had far more than he, taught us a valuable lesson
and made a great impact on the lives of the three of us. My son, who
was 9 at the time, still remembers him.

We couldn't give him money - it would have been an insult; so we later
sought him out and gave him some clothes, a diving mask and some
flippers as well as a few other items of little real value to us.

If there is one thing I have learned, it is that one should never
ridicule other people's choice of boat any more than one should
ridicule their occupation, station in life or choice of spouse.

Cheers
Peter Hendra
(I do go on - don't I? Blame it on the Greek blood).

On Tue, 27 Mar 2007 15:39:57 GMT, JimC wrote:



Wilbur Hubbard wrote:

"Vic Smith" wrote in message
...

Right. I'm not going to do an impulse buy.



That's excellent that you're taking your time and doing it right.
There's one moron around here by the name of JimC who claims he's a
lawyer. He ran out on an impulse and bought a Mac26M and now is totally
embarrassed about his uninformed entry-level purchase. It's like I'm
sure people look at his boat and then find out he's a lawyer and they
begin to wonder how lame is this guy. Lawyers who are worth a hoot make,
what, about 500 dollars an hour so he ought to be able to afford a real
boat and a classy boat at that. Anyhow, poor JimC spent probably a
hundred hours posting things about how he was so happy with his purchase
but you could tell he was not happy at all. Somebody who's happy with
his boat doesn't spend hundreds of hours trying to convince himself how
great it is.

What's really sick is how Wilbur, and a few others, devote all that
attention and time posting such garbage criticizing me and my boat. If
he was really interested in sailing and really enjoying his own boat,
he wouldn't be so interested in posting more sarcastic notes like that
one. (Actually, once was enough for us to get your peculiar and biases
re the Macs, Wilbur.) - Why do you go on and on on this subject? It
suggests that you have some other motive, of course. - Are you jealous
that I'm out sailing and enjoying my boat after you have posted all
those notes explaining why I shouldn't enjoy sailing it?

It's obvious that Wilbur has some personal problems and is in need of
professional help. - No normal adult would get his jollies posting such
childish, personal attacks on a fellow sailor, over and over again.

Jim

I guess where Wilbur misses the boat is his remark that "Lawyers who
are worth make, what, about 500 dollars an hour so he ought to be
able to afford a real boat and a classy boat", and Wilbur is probably
right.

But instead of buying a boat that meets Wilbur's standards for a
proper boat the guy went out and bought what HE wanted. Probably what
a lot of people do -- ignore Wilbur and buy what they want....


Bruce in Bangkok
(brucepaigeatgmaildotcom)

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