MacGregor 26, opinions please ?

dancrane

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What do you mean? This is ONLY about the boat, surely?

MacGregor do claim that even with the weight of the water ballast, you Cantal the difference. Feta compli... Stiltons of unnecessary weight though. Must make a difference under whey.
 

Lakesailor

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I am not seeing any poached eggs on a bed of hot smoked salmon and steamed spinach on a English muffin smothered in hollandaise sauce..... or a short stack with fresh strawberries and whipped cream, accompanied by crispy back bacon and warm maple syrup from the Gaspe.....
Of course not. We served an English Breakfast. Not some poofy chef-inspired fanatsy.

We did offer kippers, salmon, or for the Germans and Dutch, ham, cheese and hard boiled eggs (never could work that one out).

But never got a sniff on the kippers or salmon.

You come to a traditional Lakeland stone cottage for a traditional English Breakfast.
 

Simondjuk

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So what boat would you choose to meet the following requirement seeing as the Macgregor is "the spawn of the devil !"

1/ trailer sailer
2/ beachable
3/ for a couple (in their 60s.)to have a holiday on as well as pleasure sailing
4/ clean inside and easy to clean as well
5/ ability to do canal work for long trip
6/ easy mast dropping single handed
7/ substancial room inside
8/ 6ft. headroom
9/ newish design
10/ between 10--15 K
11/ bearing in mind the canal/broads trips good motoring ability
12/ moderate maintainance
13/ ability in the sailing department limited
14/ SWMBO not the best of sailors
16/ store at home
17/ larger than 21 ft.
18/ easy to launch/recover

1/ trailer sailer
The manufacturer's info says something along the lines of, 'can be easily towed behind a two litre family car'. I guess they had something like a Morris Princess in mind in 1981 perhaps, which I admit I really wouldn't fancy. A substantial tow vehicle would be the order of the day.

2/ beachable
Yes. (Actually the keel is part down and resting on the bottom in this pic to raise the water line to make a wipe round easy, but will float freely in a little over a foot.)
View attachment 16481

3/ for a couple (in their 60s.)to have a holiday on as well as pleasure sailing
Yes.

4/ clean inside and easy to clean as well
If you clean it first and yes.

5/ ability to do canal work for long trip
If you unstep the mast, which the manufacturers must think is easy enough as they suggest trailering the boat.

6/ easy mast dropping single handed
See above. May need a second pair of hands to mind a line and a gin pole to do easily and safely though as it's a proper size mast.

7/ substancial room inside
Yes.

8/ 6ft. headroom
Yes, aft at least.

9/ newish design
Not exactly new, but there haven't been any revolutionary advances since.

10/ between 10--15 K
For an average one, yes.

11/ bearing in mind the canal/broads trips good motoring ability
Hull speed is about six and a half knots, so not much less than the 10 knots some say is the MaG 26's safe maximum.

12/ moderate maintainance
No more or less than any other boat.

13/ ability in the sailing department limited
Yours or the boats?

14/ SWMBO not the best of sailors
Nice motion.

16/ store at home
Given a decent sized driveway.

17/ larger than 21 ft.
26 feet.

18/ easy to launch/recover
Never tried, but I've no reason to see why not.
 
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Madhatter

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1/ trailer sailer
The manufacturer's info says something along the lines of, 'can be easily towed behind a two litre family car'. I guess they had something like a Morris Princess in mind in 1981 perhaps, which I admit I really wouldn't fancy. A substantial tow vehicle would be the order of the day.

2/ beachable
Yes. (Actually the keel is part down and resting on the bottom in this pic to raise the water line to make a wipe round easy, but will float freely in a little over a foot.)
View attachment 16481

3/ for a couple (in their 60s.)to have a holiday on as well as pleasure sailing
Yes.

4/ clean inside and easy to clean as well
If you clean it first and yes.

5/ ability to do canal work for long trip
If you unstep the mast, which the manufacturers must think is easy enough as they suggest trailering the boat.

6/ easy mast dropping single handed
See above. May need a second pair of hands to mind a line and a gin pole to do easily and safely though as it's a proper size mast.

7/ substancial room inside
Yes.

8/ 6ft. headroom
Yes, aft at least.

9/ newish design
Not exactly new, but there haven't been any revolutionary advances since.

10/ between 10--15 K
For an average one, yes.

11/ bearing in mind the canal/broads trips good motoring ability
Hull speed is about six and a half knots, so not much less than the 10 knots some say is the MaG 26's safe maximum.

12/ moderate maintainance
No more or less than any other boat.

13/ ability in the sailing department limited
Yours or the boats?

14/ SWMBO not the best of sailors
Nice motion.

16/ store at home
Given a decent sized driveway.

17/ larger than 21 ft.
26 feet.

18/ easy to launch/recover
Never tried, but I've no reason to see why not.

What a nice looking boat:)
 

Simondjuk

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:D The give away is kind of in the picture of her afloat, but the other way round. I've never put it on a trailer.

Funnily enough though, the maker's blurb does suggest using it as a caravan when en route across Europe to one's cruising ground in the Med or wherever. Not that a Morris Princess would ever have towed it far enough to prevent one simply walking back home from the breakdown point for a kip and a rethink.
 

Cruiser2B

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1/ trailer sailer
The manufacturer's info says something along the lines of, 'can be easily towed behind a two litre family car'. I guess they had something like a Morris Princess in mind in 1981 perhaps, which I admit I really wouldn't fancy. A substantial tow vehicle would be the order of the day.
.

That is a lovely boat, and would say nicer all around (and especially inside) than the MacG, but the weight of the boat and trailer has to be around 2000 kg - I'm sceptical that a 2-litre car could tow that.
 

TSB240

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That is a lovely boat, and would say nicer all around (and especially inside) than the MacG, but the weight of the boat and trailer has to be around 2000 kg - I'm sceptical that a 2-litre car could tow that.


Its quite amusing to see the old advertising blurb for 70s and 80s trailer sailers.

Ours shows a ford escort hitched up.:eek:

Simon . Nice job on refurbishing. What size engine would you fit if you want to get home at 25 knots?:D:D.

2000 mexico?
 

Simondjuk

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Its quite amusing to see the old advertising blurb for 70s and 80s trailer sailers.

Ours shows a ford escort hitched up.:eek:

Simon . Nice job on refurbishing. What size engine would you fit if you want to get home at 25 knots?:D:D.

2000 mexico?

The three and a half litre V8 from a Rover SD1 Vitesse surely. :)
 

Simondjuk

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There's another one for sale at a shade under £15K if you look in the usual places. Probably not quite as smart as ours, but may be worth a look. They would be a fair lump to trail regularly, probably needing a 4x4 to get a legal towing weight capacity. A believe a forum member, possibly Clive G, tows his regularly though.
 
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aquaplane

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There's another one for sale at a shade under £15K if you look in the usual places. Probably not quite as smart as ours, but may be worth a look. They would be a fair lump to trail regularly, probably needing a 4x4 to get a legal towing weight capacity. A believe a forum member, possibly Clive G, tows his regularly though.

A chap in the TSA tows his to the Clyde cruise most years, and Windermere at the end of the season. He keeps it on the Dee most of the time. It's big for a trail sailer but he treats it as one. He uses a SWB Trooper IIRC.
 

CreakyDecks

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Well, a whole can of worms opened up here !
So what boat would you choose to meet the following requirement seeing as the Macgregor is "the spawn of the devil !":eek::D

1/ trailer sailer
2/ beachable

17/ larger than 21 ft.
18/ easy to launch/recover

and several other requirements too many to list (without boring you)

Since I bought my boat, which is only 21ft and was originally sold as a trailer sailer, I have revised my ideas about what is practical in terms of "trailer sailing". I certainly wouldn't want anything bigger. As it is I would not want to try to retrieve her on anything other than a good dry concrete slip without a 4WD. I'm afraid my original idea of towing her to remote sailing spots for a weekend is just fantasy. I'd spend more time stripping down brakes and bearings than sailing!
 
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