BoatBanter.com - MacGregor invented the swing keel

Ed Gordon wrote:
I didn't realize Roger MacGregor invented the swing keel. But I read he
invented it on this site:

http://www.eskimo.com/~mighetto/p05.htm About halfway down the page. This
page has lots of good information on it.

Uh, How long ago was this? Back in 1965, my family had a Shock 22 with
a swing keel. Did MacGregor really invent it sometime before then? I
always assumed that it was just an evolution of the centerboard.

I'm far from a Mac detractor. I think that they fill a niche and do it
admirably. I even owned a Mac 25 (swing keel) for awhile and we loved
it. However, a Mac is not for everybody and it is definitely not a blue
water cruiser. I admit that I've never sailed any of the 26's, just
looked at them at boat shows and been given quick tours by owners at
marinas.

The Mac is neither strong enough to withstand the pounding that even
moderate storms can hand out in mid-ocean, nor does it have the storage
or tankage required of a cruising boat.

Ed, it's obvious that you are passionate about your boat, but you
shouldn't let it blind you to it's limitations. Unfortunately, you've
managed to make a fool of your self at least a couple of times during
this discussion by pretending to knowledge that you don't have. From
your laughable discussion of tacking angles to your ignorance of just
what it takes to get to Australia from the west coast of the US.

Limit yourself to speaking of that of which you are knowledgeable.
Promote the Mac for the fine way in which it fills it's niche. You'll
still get jumped on because some can't realize that just because a boat
doesn't serve their needs, that it can't serve someone else's needs very
well, but at least you won't come across as a fool.

By the way, in the last 2 1/2 years, I've logged over 18,000 miles (most
in our Tayana 37). We traveling down the west coast as far south as
Ecuador and the South Pacific to as far away as Tonga before making the
4,500 miles upwind sail back to California. Not once, not a single time
did we encounter a MacGregor in any of the anchorages (except for the
Macgregor 65).