MacGregor 26, opinions please ?

[Simondjuk]

After a storm had passed through Mazagon, Spain, the only boat on its side in the boatyard there was a MacGregor.

 

[pelicanpete]

Want to take the whole family on a sailing vacation for a couple of weeks in the Keys, but you live in Cincinnati? No problem. This boat has an app for that.

...but don't expect the included galvanized steel trailer to still be in one piece after such a trip. They don't stand up to more than a few dunkings in salt-water.

 

[Twister_Ken]

I think you have to allow people the good sense it takes to listen to the weather forecast and be safely tucked up in harbour when it turns nasty

I would also guess that you might be better running from the weather with a 50 hp on the back of a planing 26 foot speed boat than attempting to chug out if the way in a 4hp slug.

I have been contacted my the makers of Mac and my new boat along with a Discovery to tow it with is being delivered the week after Easter

which is very nice of them

Dylan

Come off it, how you gonna afford fuel for a Dicksovary?

 

[bljones]

The dvd price just went up.

 

[dylanwinter]

all expenses

Come off it, how you gonna afford fuel for a Dicksovary?

thge man really loves my films

all expenses paid

let the good times roll

Dylan

 

[Twister_Ken]

thge man really loves my films

all expenses paid

let the good times roll

Dylan

Well, roll, anyway. Sometimes all the way over.

 

[Lakesailor]

It could get hairy above 18 or so knots of wind where Lakey might have seen us heeling over like a pond boat....

My little 17ft Seahawk would tilt a bit in 18 or so knots (I couldn't reef her) but the Macs seemed to look an uncomfortable place to be. The cockpit seems narrow and a bit slab-sided so it seemed like crew were hanging on.

True, Windermere is a place that you can go home if the weather gets bad.
But it's the violence and shifts of the gusts that get you, not the building sea or the rising wind.
My little Foxcub was good in a blast, with it's heavy fin keel. Still couldn't reef it though.

 

[Madhatter]

"Struth" I really opened a can of worms with that question

 

[Fourbees]

To answer the original question, Macgregor 26s are cheap because of the huge production line and because they save costs where they can - as anyone would when trying to keep the price competitive.

I have personal experience of the M26x, as we had one from 2001-2005, because we were novices, didn't know if we wanted to sail, motor or neither and were attracted by the low price asked for a brand new, flexible craft. We kept it at Chichester mostly, and had some hairy moments slamming across the Bar, but to its credit our boat didn't break and we never capsized her. The closest we came was when hit by a katabatic on Loch Ness, having trailed to Scotland for a nice holiday on the Caledonian Canal. It was almost surreal having a railway swing bridge open for such a small boat!

Where else did we sail? We didn't cross the Channel as we do now, but we got to know the Solent pretty well, plus the South Coast as far as the Tamar (a hairy night on a buoy at Cotehele with the Tamar in spate - hit by floating logs etc). Our first experiences of St Albans Head and Portland Bill were in our trusty Mac. But her sails were very small and she sailed very slowly, as others have said. The 50 hp Yamaha allowed for a great party trick, though - if the tide turned against us in the Solent we could still zip home while real sailing boats struggled in our wake, and the boring Lyme Bay crossing was considerably quicker than it is now! Plus the centreboard allowed extreme shallow water cruising, and the water ballast (always keep it in when under way!) made her lighter for towing. And we lived on board for up to three weeks at a stretch without divorcing!

After just about four years we decided we were sailors, and bought our current boat (a lift keel Feeling 32). But we learnt a lot from the Macgregor - they are good for what they are, and shouldn't be compared with regular yachts, which is not the point.

 

[doug748]

"Struth" I really opened a can of worms with that question

Quelle surprise.

 

[Duffer]

To answer the original question, Macgregor 26s are cheap because of the huge production line and because they save costs where they can - as anyone would when trying to keep the price competitive.

I have personal experience of the M26x, as we had one from 2001-2005, because we were novices, didn't know if we wanted to sail, motor or neither and were attracted by the low price asked for a brand new, flexible craft. We kept it at Chichester mostly, and had some hairy moments slamming across the Bar, but to its credit our boat didn't break and we never capsized her. The closest we came was when hit by a katabatic on Loch Ness, having trailed to Scotland for a nice holiday on the Caledonian Canal. It was almost surreal having a railway swing bridge open for such a small boat!

Where else did we sail? We didn't cross the Channel as we do now, but we got to know the Solent pretty well, plus the South Coast as far as the Tamar (a hairy night on a buoy at Cotehele with the Tamar in spate - hit by floating logs etc). Our first experiences of St Albans Head and Portland Bill were in our trusty Mac. But her sails were very small and she sailed very slowly, as others have said. The 50 hp Yamaha allowed for a great party trick, though - if the tide turned against us in the Solent we could still zip home while real sailing boats struggled in our wake, and the boring Lyme Bay crossing was considerably quicker than it is now! Plus the centreboard allowed extreme shallow water cruising, and the water ballast (always keep it in when under way!) made her lighter for towing. And we lived on board for up to three weeks at a stretch without divorcing!

After just about four years we decided we were sailors, and bought our current boat (a lift keel Feeling 32). But we learnt a lot from the Macgregor - they are good for what they are, and shouldn't be compared with regular yachts, which is not the point.

OMG: Someone knows what they are talking about...!

 

[Madhatter]

Thank you Fourbees a very balanced answer

 

[Habebty]

I love my current boat, but if I was constrained by budget (for a new boat) and it got me on the water - I would (seriously) love a Macgregor. There are too many pompous knobs on here who think that the only way to enjoy the water is to be up to their collars in force 8 sputum and then telling their pink trousered mates how they beat the weather.

Yes I know Macs have their limitations and can fall over if misused, but hey, barbeques, swimming, wafting in the warm breeze, and generally loafing about estuaries, coastal beaches and rivers, are a lot more fun than freezing your nuts off in the North Sea/Channel slogging back from Flushing*/Cherbourg or whatever.

* (crewed and singlehanded lots of Channel/ NS trips but for some reason leaving Vlissingen makes me barf ? )

If it gets you on the water and suits YOUR type of sailing, buy one. So there.

 

[MagicIsland]

Rivers,Lakes,UK Waters and European Waters in a Mac

We have owned a Mac 26X for 18months now and are very happy with the amount of time we spend on water.

The year before we bought the Mac we had 1 week hired motoring on the Norfolk Broads, 2 weeks bareboat charter in Greece and another weeks hired sailing on the Norfolk broads all in all you can imagine how much we spent on getting on the water.

In the last 18months we have had many a weekend all year round motoring and sailing on the river Nene, 3 weeks sailing in June on the Golfe de Morbian (West France) , 2 seperate weeks sailing on the Broads and 12 long English weekends in Wells Next The Sea in Norfolk. This year we are planning 3 weeks in the Med pottering arounds France and Spain.

This is what the Mac does for us, my wife and I both work and live 50miles inland, we want to get out as much as we can, to as many places as we can, if the weather is bad we can stay inland on a river, if the forecast is good we can head out to sea, if the wind is blowing in the wrong direction for a round trip, we can sail in the best direction and then motor back to our mooring at up to 20knts with the 50hp on the back, if we poke our nose out and get scared we can drop the sails and motor back and be in the pub before the weather gets too bad.

The Mac as a 5ft fully lifting Keels so we can explore some of the shallowest creeks around the east coast drawing just 12inchs drying out in some beautiful places. The cockpit is very spaceous for sailing, the cabin has a 7ft by 6ft double in the aft and 2 singles or a double in the fore with a seperate heads,suits a family 2+2.
Does she sail well.....well good enough for me not to know otherwise, I've only been sailing 2 years but love every minute were afloat.

 

[Sixpence]

There are reasons why some of us just can't be bothered with scuttlebutt these days, one of them being the fact that so many have opinions based on little more than gossip, or the 'Oh I don't like the look/thought/idea of that, but other than that they know nothing. These kind of debates do nothing to help anyone, other than those who like to see their opinion, biassed or not, on view for the world to read. Doesn't help anyone, but hell, if it makes people feel good, as my daughter says. Whatever, only she misses out some letters



Salty water in the eyes is no fun in rough waters on a M26 when conditions mean you don't have time to change helmsman
I don't even look cool innit

 

[MagicIsland]

The Mac,Rivers,Lakes,Uk Waters or Europen Waters..

We have a Mac 26X, owned it 18months and so far we have motored up rivers, sailed around the Norfolk Broads, spent 3 weeks in Golf de Morbin (West France) and the rest of last summer in Wells Next The Sea, all using the same boat our Mac.

The single axle trailer is galvanised and if maintained will last the lifetime of the boat, we have launched and recovered many times on the same set of sealed alko bearings in Fresh and Salt water !

The cockpit seats six and is very spacious and secure, down below we have a 7&6ft double in the aft and a double V berth in the fore with a seperate heads, twin alcohol stove cooks makes many a tasty meal!

Does she sail well......well good enough for us not to notice if she doesn't, we've only been sailing for 2 years (took our comp crew Feb 2010) and so far she has managed to get from A to B using wind power alone when we've wanted too and equaly motored at 20knts when were in danger of missing the tide at the bar or the first round of drinks in the quayside bar, I'm sure the Mac is a Jack af all trades master of none but then so am I.

The manual with the Mac covers all the safety features, been an inexperianced sailor I read it several times from cover to cover, the water ballast is easy to fill and empty, the lifting 5ft keel is easy to use and works just like a dagger board in a dingy and when fully retracted leaves a nice flat bottom to dry out on the sand.

When we retire we plan to sell up and sail through our retirement, at the moment we both work 8-6 M-F and live 50 miles inland yet we still seem to spend nearly every weekend on some type of water or another, not bad practice for when we retire and with limited funds I can't think of another boat that would give us so much water time as we get right now....oh and did I mention we are planning 3 weeks in the Med this summer exploring France & Spain.

If had lots of money, lived on the coast and plenty of freetime to plan and take long trips (and wait for the right weather) then I would probable own 2 or 3 different boats, but I don't , so if you think the Mac is the right boat for you right now then it probably is......go for it !

 

[Habebty]

There are reasons why some of us just can't be bothered with scuttlebutt these days, one of them being the fact that so many have opinions based on little more than gossip, or the 'Oh I don't like the look/thought/idea of that, but other than that they know nothing. These kind of debates do nothing to help anyone, other than those who like to see their opinion, biassed or not, on view for the world to read. Doesn't help anyone, but hell, if it makes people feel good, as my daughter says. Whatever, only she misses out some letters



Salty water in the eyes is no fun in rough waters on a M26 when conditions mean you don't have time to change helmsman
I don't even look cool innit

You're right of course I don't know why I feel compelled to get drawn into some of these debates? must be crotchety withdrawal symptoms due to lack of sailing

 

[Long John Silver]

I have noticed that these appear to be quite cheap so I was wondering why

Trying to do too much with one design. As a result everything is compromised.

 

[aitchem]

This has been covered quite extensively in the forums at boatdesign.net.
Quite amusing if you have a few hours to kill.

 

[Lakesailor]

the fact that so many have opinions based on little more than gossip, or the 'Oh I don't like the look/thought/idea of that, but other than that they know nothing. These kind of debates do nothing to help anyone, other than those who like to see their opinion, biassed or not, on view for the world to read.

Oh no. You're not getting all Webby are you?
Will we have to submit degree certificates before we can express an opinion in future?

These are opinions. It's up to the reader to sift out the useful info.