MacGREGOR 26M.

[Major Catastrophe]

[ QUOTE ]
The Mac 26M was an earlier design

[/ QUOTE ]

Hmm.


From their website:

<span style="color:blue"> [ QUOTE ]
In March of 2003, MacGregor introduced the all new MacGregor 26M, to replace the 26X that had been in production for 7 years. Approximately 5000 of the X had been produced before being replaced by the M. The new boat is substantially different from the old. The following is a summary of the changes.

[/ QUOTE ] </span>

Sad I know, but as I said earlier, I have read EVERYTHING on the interweb about the MacGregor that I could find.

 

[tome]

[ QUOTE ]
lots available 2nd hand

[/ QUOTE ]

There's a surprise

 

[Guest]

Post deleted by danfoley

 

[machurley22]

There was a 26C IIRC.

 

[sailorman]

i belive their best "point of sail" is /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif40 hp of motor

 

[whisper]

I think you're correct. Goes back quite a few years though.

 

[machurley22]

If you really are thinking seriously about sail and this isn't just a wind-up (you rascal you) then go the whole hog rather than to the sort of half way house that the Mac represents. Get a boat that sails well and go small (read cheap) so that if you or the family hate it then you can afford to take a wee loss for a quick sale and still have your kitty for another mobo.

You could get a fine Anderson22 for £4k (where's Graham?) A good sailer for the loch and a good seaboat too if you decide to venture further. Lift keel for easy trailering. Nominally 4 berth but really only comfortable for 2+Callum and probably less than a quarter of the internal volume you currently have. Most importantly a good boat to learn to sail.

The first thing you'll have to learn though is to re-educate your eye. I suspect that one of the things which attracts you to the Mac (apart from the humungous outboard) is that it looks like a mobo.

IMO /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Alistairr]

No def not a wind-up, we've always known we'd move over to the dark side, its only a question of when and what with.

Currently we are looking at cutting cost for a while though!

Al.

 

[tcm]

Hi al. They are american so price is a big deal, and qualitydoesn't ooze onnem. But they do the job of entry level day sailer towable fun.

It's heavily marketed and affordable so lots available secondhand from fist timers who either love sailing and go bigger, or find they hate sailing and also sellit.

The mega advantage of these is that you can say "stuff this - lets go home immediately!" which you might with small kids etc - and the giant (for this boat) outboard will wham the thing along at 20knots. Haha, and bomb past everyone back home. Whcih is a *bit* why everyone hates them, and partly cos the saling characteristic with wiffy water keel won't be ace. But it will be saily and silent, all that, and make loch lomond feel bigger, until you want it to be under 30 minutes end to end.

I wd def go for a deal secondhand if poss, plenty of them must be just unused.

 

[Nautorius]

Al,

Seriously we nearly bought one. The 'best of both worlds' we thought. The problem is that they are good at nothing at all. In the end we bought a real Trailer Sailer, a Jeanneau Sun Odysea 24.2. See Here

BTW, I have an Interest in her...as she is our darker side
secret /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Cheers

Paul /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[machurley22]

While I fully accept your excellent points (and well made too if I may make so bold) even Brierley's "sterling defence" concludes "So if you are a competent sailor who understands the limitations of the boat.." which does not indicate a good boat for learning to sail.

 

[Kylora]

Hi Al

You must know Wendy .

A couple from near Newcastle tow her to Loch Lomond every year and spend at least 3 months cruising during the summer.

They usually spend midweek at the islands but come up to Ardlui at the weekend, but often anchor up the river.

We were aboard for drinks last summer and she wasn't as tippy as I had expected. They tell me that they often fly an asymetric. She doesn't go well to windward though - a few years ago in a stronge gusty N, I made much better progress than her when I was in Solitude, my Leisure 17 - but then they dropped the sails, fired up the outboard and were in Ardlui long before me - which I suppose is the point of the design.

IMHO you would be better speaking to the owner of the Jeanneau abandoned at the end of pier 2.

Wendy

Ash

 

[Alistairr]

Hi Ash,
Yes, i saw her for the first time, last year when we were up, she was moored on our pier, and i was amazed at the size of her, she is quite a big boat! And if i remember rightly, she also had a big canopy on the back, so you could sit out in the cockpit in the evenings.

Will need to look out for them this year and have a word.

Don't know the Jeanneau you are talking about, but I am going up to Ardlui this evening so will take a look.

Cheers

Al.

 

[gandy]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Why don't you try something like this
Hunter 27

[/ QUOTE ]

But, it is a yot, doesn't have fifty horses on the back and prolly doesn't go up onto the plane. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[/ QUOTE ]I wouldn't think it practical to trailer-sail a 27 foot fin keeler, anyway.

 

[Brierley]

[ QUOTE ]
I stand to be corrected but the Mac 26M is not the same beastie by any measure as the Mac26X. The Mac 26M was an earlier design, reasonably well built and looked like a boat - also I doubt a used Mac 26M would cost anywhere like £19k and more likely £4k, I think production ceased years ago. The Mac 26X in my opinion is a dog in just about every respect, and I have sailed one. As others have said, £19k is more than enough to buy a proper 26 footer. All in my opinion only of course.

Cheers, Brian.

[/ QUOTE ]

You're confusing the M and the C. The C was the early model, much more of a sailer and often didn't have the massive outboard on the back. M is the brand new model

 

[Major Catastrophe]

[ QUOTE ]
I wouldn't think it practical to trailer-sail a 27 foot fin keeler, anyway.

[/ QUOTE ]

I totally agree with you and once I have found out what a 'fin keeler' is, I'll probably agree with you even more. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Lakesailor]

To further your indoctrination into what happens underneath the shiny bits of boats you need to look here http://www.lakelandimages.co.uk/keels/

 

[Major Catastrophe]

Thanks LS for the many pictures of Bilge Keels on trailers.

 

[Lakesailor]

You're learning then.

Did you spot the fin keels?

Oh No! You think they're all bilge keels, don't you?

 

[Major Catastrophe]

No, honest I could tell the difference. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif I was alluding to the idea that a 27 foot bilge keel saily thing could probably be towed on a trailer, contrary to Gandy's post, having witnessed such contraptions in your pictures.

Just a thought, but do you have libraries of pictures fo every part of a boat?

Interested to see your collection of heads.