MacGregor 26?

[Sailormann]

Does anyone know anything about the Montgomery 15 or the Com-Pac 17' SunCat?

I know that they are both better built boats than the MacGregor and that either one woud be an ideal first boat. Also consider the Montgomery 17, Precision 18 or 21, or if you are seriously interested in a trailerable 26 foot boat - find a Balboa 26.

[Lynx]

As you can tell, there is some people what are against the MacGregor. If you buy one, that is one thing that you will have to live with. I have had my boat for 16 months, Put 2900 water miles, 80+ days on it and had 2 light bulbs burn out. I use the boat for what it is intented. People see me and say that it is one tough boat that has gone far. Last trip I put 220+ miles in 3 days and on the hook every night.

I am not saying that the other boats are bad or do not have there merits. If I wanted something different I might have bought one of those, Just do not let somebody's bad viewpoint spoil yours.

[Tom Spohn]

Dunkers,
If you can get a Mac Dealer to talk to you off the record you will learn that most of their customers are Newbies that are not sure what kind of boating they will enjoy, but they want a boat that is safe and versatile with enough space inside. After a year or three and maybe a few sailing lessons that 30-36 ft. CataBeneHunter looks to be the perfect boat for them so they sell the Mac and trade up. The Mac dealers I know would give their eye teeth for a 30-36 ft. Mac, but the factory is so busy it can only keep up with the demand for the 26 footer.

[bmanley]

Wouldn't a 30-36 foot version negate it as trailable. I think that that is one of the selling points of the 26. A larger version would either compete with CataBeneHunter or compete with formal motorsailers. Would there be a market share for them?

~Brett

[nedmiller]

I absolutely love my Mac26x and pull it with a 6 cylinder van. If I could have a boat that does the same things and be 28 or 30 foot long, then I would buy it in a heartbeat even if I had to move up to a Ford 250 to tow it! If it couldn't be trailered then it would lose all the flexibility that the boat has and yes, might as well have a big heavy boat that you keep in a slilp. A few more feet would make the mac a much more comfortable cruising boat---and while we are wishing, we might as well get a few more inches of headroom put in it! The key is the ease of trailering it. Once I retire and have enough time to sail for weeks and weeks. I may trade for a bigger boat, but if I did that now, I would have to sail the same waters over and over because I only get time off in smaller packages. With the Mac, we will sail next week over 100 miles away from where we often weekend sail.

[Tom Spohn]

The trailoring laws limit the width of the trailor not the length. Perry's newly designed Far Harbor is 39+ ft. long but only 8 1/2 ft. wide and could be trailored.

[NewSailor]

I just came back from seeing my first MacGregor in person. Previously, I had only seen it from the MacGregor brochure and video.
My first impression was that the materials were somewhat 'chinsey', you know, the hardware seemed a bit lightweight and not very durable or strong. The dealer, a seasoned sailor and ex-military, spoke 'off-the-record' to me about the MacGregor. He did not seem that favorably impressed with it and seemed to imply that the makers of it stretch the truth a bit in their advertising about actual tow weight and other advertised 'facts' about it.
I looked at some of the Com-Pac's he had and I was very favorably impressed with the quality of the boat.
Now, I guess I am back to the drawing board as to what to get. The 'Mac' looked better on paper than in real life. So, I am back to square one as I search for a good beginners trailerable sailboat. Maybe the dealer was a bit hard to impress, in general, concerning the boats. Regarding the 'Com-Pac SunCat' he said: " a very well-built boat designed with classic lines and stable in the water and capable of being towed at under 2,500 pounds. But it doesn't sail 'great', just okay. In the water, you may feel like you are in a small 'dinghy', but you will stay dry as the rounded front bow spreads the wake out and away from the cockpit. Overall, it won't really sail into the wind, but otherwise, it may be able to sail about 6 or 7 knots in good conditions. The 6hp motor will get you in or out of a channel at about 6 knots. A safe boat, but not a great sailboat....'
Any comments?

[Lynx]

NewSailor - The 'chinsey' hardware is the right size for the loads that the boat takes. The hardware was upgraded in '05. This is a coastal cruiser. It is rare to find somebody where these have broken under Coastal use.

It is your choice on how much you "Load" the boat down. About 20% just put in their backpacking grear and go. If you do load it down with more stuff then you will need a bigger tow.

You cannot go wrong with either boat. Com-Pac is a finely built boat. If you are happy with it, then go for it. There is less than 600 Mac 26 built every year. It is not for everybody. It is for me though.

[Jack Tar]

Ned try the Hobie 30

[Sailormann]

Now, I guess I am back to the drawing board as to what to get. The 'Mac' looked better on paper than in real life. So, I am back to square one as I search for a good beginners trailerable sailboat. Maybe the dealer was a bit hard to impress, in general, concerning the boats. Regarding the 'Com-Pac SunCat' he said: " a very well-built boat designed with classic lines and stable in the water and capable of being towed at under 2,500 pounds. But it doesn't sail 'great', just okay. In the water, you may feel like you are in a small 'dinghy', but you will stay dry as the rounded front bow spreads the wake out and away from the cockpit. Overall, it won't really sail into the wind, but otherwise, it may be able to sail about 6 or 7 knots in good conditions. The 6hp motor will get you in or out of a channel at about 6 knots. A safe boat, but not a great sailboat....'
Any comments?

The guy is being very honest with you and is describing the sailing characteristics of the boat well. As this is your first boat, you want something that is going to be safe, comfortable, and fairly easy to sail. The wider a boat is, the more "weather helm" it is going to have. This means that when you are sailing on the wind (as opposed to off the wind, when the wind comes from behind you), the boat will have a greater tendency to turn up into the wind. To counteract this, you need to pull on the tiller, or the wheel. This can get tiring after a while.

There is a trade-off that you have to make between speed and comfort. This is particularly true with small boats. My advice to you would be to look at boats like the Catalina 18 or 22, with swing keels, an O'Day under 22 feet, a Montgomery17, or Precision 18, a West Wight Potter 19, or anything that you think you can comfortably trailer, that is not too wide.

There is no secret art involved in assessing a boat's likely sailing characteristics. When you look at them, if the hull looks big and fat and rounded all over, then the boat is going to sail like a bathtub. If it looks sleek, and streamlined, it is going to sail faster.

Look for well-built, popular boats - this means that they are a good design, and that the resale market will be good as well.

Regardless of what boat you buy right now, you will not keep it for too long. So get something that you can learn to sail on, that you don't have to put a lot of money into. Sail it for a year or two, until you have a basic grasp of the principles. While you are doing this, try to get rides on as many other different boats as you can.

Then take what you have learnt and go out and get something that is a little better and a little more comfortable.

Good luck, let us know what happens !

[NewSailor]

Thanks for the excellent post. I am going to look into all the suggestions you gave. Today, I saw a Precision 16 and it did, in fact, look better than the Com-Pac of the same size. I am trying to find a Precision 18 that I can look at as the 16 was a bit too small, but the 18 would probably be just right. The main thing is the cost and the Precision's seem a bit less expensive than the Com-Pac. Also, I need to pull something no more than about 2,500 pounds. Thanks again for the reply---I'll let you know what I find

[NewSailor]

Does anyone have any input as to what the relative strengths of the Potter 19 versus the Precision 18 might be, or are they virtually identical boats, in your opinion? Thanks. If you had a choice, all things being equal, whcih would you rather have?

[beau]

I would find it hard to describe the mcgregor 26 as a real sail boat.
They are built to a price, a very cheap price. However if you just want to sail around protected waterways on weekends, maybe.

I, personally, would NEVER go to sea in one. A friend of mine sailed down to Mexico from California in one. He never did it twice. On return he immediately sold it it and bought a real boat a Catalina with a KEEL.

[Lynx]

beau - Nobody in who owns a MacGregor will tell you that it is a blue water boat. Is is a light displacement coastal cruiser. When pushing it beyond the limits you can get into real danger just like any boat. Price - Macgregor only makes 1 type of boat and make around 600 per year. That gets the price down. I would neaver go more that 1 day out to sea in fair weather. However I do not want to do do blue water. Just to much to do in the USA coastal. Lots of places to go to with 1 foot draft.

[beau]

Lynx,
The problem is they are sold as real boats.
Your right nobody who owns one would consider going out to sea in one. but that is only AFTER they have bought the bloody thing.
Try asking the saleman for Mcgregor 26's "can I go to the bahama's" "can I go to the carribean" and they will say "sure" "one has sailed around the world" or some other rubbish.

If you want a 1ft draft buy a multihull and learn how to sail it.