Macwester Seaforth

LittleSister said:
Like an earlier poster, a friend has a Macwester Wight. (I am not clear how different that is to a Seaforth.) He is VERY happy with it.

It is certainly very comfy and spacious inside compared to some of its competitors. Performance isn't this friend's thing, but he does do a lot of sailing in it.

I believe that with the previous owners it cruised the Med for some years, before being sailed back. So clearly it's a very practical boat, that gets a lot more use than many, how shall I say, esteemed craft of a more performance oriented bent. ;)
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For info' there are several Anderson 22's in the Med', one just came back to the UK and another is on her way sailing back sometime; others live in places from Germany and Austria to Norway, while one is off to live in Africa.

Being a lump of a boat like a Macwester makes for an unenjoyable liability, unable to reach port before bad weather and a sitting duck when in it.

I didn't mean this to become a Macwester / A22 argument as Nicholas123 is trying, that would be shooting fish in a barrel ! Merely to mention what I know of the Macwesters.
 
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Seajet said:
Being a lump of a boat like a Macwester makes for an unenjoyable liability, unable to reach port before bad weather and a sitting duck when in it.
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Nonsense! My friend gets enormous pleasure (and practical sailing) from his, and no doubt many others do, too.

You are undermining the credibility of your case by overstating it. Different people look for different things in their boats. Just because a boat wouldn't be your choice doesn't mean it is either unenjoyable or unsafe.

Neither a Macwester nor an Anderson 22 (nor many other classes) would be my first choice of boat, but I admire both of them for their particular qualities, wouldn't rule out owning either of them if push came to shove, and I'm sure both could give me a great deal of pleasure.

By the way, not all Macwesters are equally 'lumpen'. IIRC some later bilge keel models were tank tested and had deeper keels, so that, for instance, one or other of the 26 or 27 (can't remember which way round) had better sailing performance than the other. Of course neither were, or intended to be, a performance flyer, and both were very spacious, comfy and solid compared to their more performance orientated contemporaries.

As I've said, I don't know the particular merits and demerits of the Seaforth model, or what the OP's mate is particularly looking for, but think he or she should ignore those who suggest that no Macwester could possibly be enjoyable, practical or safe.
 
Seajet said:
Being a lump of a boat like a Macwester makes for an unenjoyable liability,
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Complete rot.My Mac 27 sails well is practical down to earth & built like a ship rather than a toy or shall we say yacht?
Just look at that seaforth & everything about it oozes practicality.That is one impressive boat in my opinion.
Not everyone wants to zoom from A to B & then sit in something about as charmless as a rabbit hutch seajet.
 
Nicholas123 said:
Complete rot.My Mac 27 sails well is practical down to earth & built like a ship rather than a toy or shall we say yacht?
Just look at that seaforth & everything about it oozes practicality.That is one impressive boat in my opinion.
Not everyone wants to zoom from A to B & then sit in something about as charmless as a rabbit hutch seajet.
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Haven't been in an Anderson even at rest, have you Nicholas ?! :rolleyes:

I zot around in an enjoyable way, and my boat has quite a charming interior thanks.

I didn't introduce the comparison, you did; the Macwester has enough problems already ! :D

Seajet out.
 
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Seajet said:
he was astounded by our rudder authority when we ghosted alongside at less than 1 knot
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maybe, but retaining decent steerage at low speeds surely isn't an uncommon asset. The macswester may not do it but loads of boats beside Andersons surely do. You can't have looked exceptional to this chap, unless the incident in question occurred thirty years ago.
 
bitbaltic said:
maybe, but retaining decent steerage at low speeds surely isn't an uncommon asset. The macswester may not do it but loads of boats beside Andersons surely do. You can't have looked exceptional to this chap, unless the incident in question occurred thirty years ago.
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Surprisingly uncommon, and 20 or so years ago; have a look at the big thick skegs in front of the rudders of the M word boats in question, key words being 'blanketting' and 'stall'.

Please let's refer to whatever assets Macwesters may have, I'm sure there must be something beyond declaring ' max weight layup ! " when playing Top Trumps cards. :)
 
Seajet said:
Surprisingly uncommon, and 20 or so years ago; have a look at the big thick skegs in front of the rudders of the M word boats in question
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Sure, that's what I mean, uncommon 20 or more years ago given the designs of the day. Not uncommon now surely. My Hanse keeps her steerage down to absolutely nothing on the log provided the wind isn't enough to catch her topsides. Of course she has a spade and shoal draft wing, so very different to a macwester, but not so different to your lift keel and transom rudder. As this is the rough plan of the AWB I guess plenty of modern boats will behave this way although I admit wetted area drag on the beamy designs might not help (the Hanse 301 is anything but beamy).

Anyway am in agreement about keeping the thread on macwesters.

Cheers
 
They are "motor boats" with sails.
I sailed on for many years. it was home finished, but it was an amazing boat.
The wind gets up and she comes alive. Feels powerful, and so safe.
Flaws, the bilge keels have steel shot in them with concrete. This rusts, I think when bilge water gets in. The bottoms of the GRP keels wear and the rusty shot will crack/split the keel.

Like a Westerly, but less refined in terms of finish. Check out Yachting Monthly, the article by the guy who ran his Malin up on a rock in Turkey, did no significant damage - good boat, in that respect!
 
Looks a great boat to me:

http://www.clippermarine.co.uk/clipper-brokerage/searchfullspecs.php?DocumentID=3745249

Ideal for the Continental canals. Short spars to stow on deck, leave the mizzen at home if you like, shallow draught. Excellent deep cockpit, easily fully enclosed for winter motoring, fine, deep, C shaped dinette, roomy heads plus aft cabin. Looks good with davits and can handle a fair sized tender back there - maybe an Anderson 22?

There will not be much one design racing on offer but horses for courses. Not sure I would want to pay 35 grand for one, but 7 - 10 thousand could be a winner.
 
I am in the process of refitting a long keel Seaforth,I think she was a prototype for a Super Seaforth that didn't get off the ground. She is rigged as a cutter rigged ketch and I can't wait to sail her,hopefully this spring.The Mac owners assoc have featured an article on this boat in the past.
 
Potentially good buy for somebody who is not influenced by style and wants a practical boat that is well sorted. Does, however, show the difficulty in recovering costs on bringing an unfashionable boat up to a high standard. Most of that class will be much older, built by a different builder and nowhere near as good as this one and correspondingly lower priced.
 
Is anybody looking at a 36' heavy displacement shoal draft bilge keel centre cockpit with pilot house ketch really going to compare it to a 22' lifting keel light displacement open cockpit boat? Apart from the fact they both have sails and go in the water I'd struggle find to any common ground. I'm sure the Anderson could sail rings round the Macwester. It'd need to 'cos the Macwester wouldn't even notice an Anderson 22 if one was foolish enough to get in the way. And regardless of how nice SeaJet thinks his accommodation is (and I'm sure it's lovely) I'd rather spend the night on the Macwester if it's with a few friends after Guinness and a curry or someone's darling children. On the other hand, for all it's stubby little keels you're not going to float that Macwester on wet grass the way you would an Anderson.
 
It's narrow inside for a 36 footer - very narrow, that's fine if you have a racer but the Mac has other benefits, justa bit of a pity it doesn't have the interior volume to go with them. Personally I like the Mac for the honest boat it is, it's a safe floating home that with the wind at 50 degrees plus will take you in reasonable comfort anywhere. Even when it was built it was outdated but honest.

But time for a shock - I checked the PY of the Anderson 22 and it's considerably slower than my Colvic Watson - does that mean I have a rocket ship or is the Anderson only fast when in the hands of a highly skilled racer, a man at one with his machine, the greatest living Anderson skipper? I think we should be told.
 
Seajet said:
Haven't been in an Anderson even at rest, have you Nicholas ?! :rolleyes:

I zot around in an enjoyable way, and my boat has quite a charming interior thanks.

I didn't introduce the comparison, you did; the Macwester has enough problems already ! :D

Seajet out.
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You started by making a lot of generalizations as you usually do & were very uncomplimentary even insulting to all Macwester owners so you mus'nt be surprised when people point out your own boats shortcomings.
I spent many years owning boats your size & prefer proper side decks & space on the fore deck to do anchor work & practical stuff like that......I am also revelling in full standing headroom & the no nonsense down to earth practical nature of my boat.I just love it as I dare say many owners do their boats even owners of seaforths who knows?
Cut out the bombastic attitude & you won't hear things you'd rather not seajet :rolleyes:
 
chinita said:
Oooops, my mistake...... it is actually a Macgregor he is looking at.

Any comments on those? (I knew it was something Scottish sounding).
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Oh boy! If you thought reactions to a Macwester were vitriolic, ain't nothing compared with what will be unleashed when folks know its a McGregor your mate is considering.
 
Nicholas123 said:
Cut out the bombastic attitude & you won't hear things you'd rather not seajet :rolleyes:
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Leopards and spots, I'm afraid Nicholas. He has to be right - how can you question the opinions of somebody with such a pedigree?

BTW, could not agree with you more. Honest boats that give lots of pleasure to people who like that kind of thing. And the designer lived a few doors away from my house so must have had something going for him.
 
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