New to the Forum

[tvanbeck]

Hello everyone,
I purchased a 26X a little over a month ago. I've been looking at them for years. I've owned a Potter 19 for the last 10 years and the family grew, so it was time for a bigger boat. I put the Potter up for sale thinking it would not sell for a year in this economy, but it sold in a week. I was the original owner and she still looked like the day I got her. One of those life lessons that if you take care of your stuff it is easy to sell. This put me in the market for a new boat. Well I found a 26x in Florida and it had been for sale for a while, so I knew it had problems. The previous owner told me that it would need a new trailer and it could not be trusted to hold together to Huntsville Alabama. I found a new 26M trailer for sale on this website about 4 hours from where the boat lived. So I got everything lined up and picked up the boat and met with the guy selling the trailer at a ramp and switched trailers and I pulled her back to Alabama on the new trailer. BTW – the 26x barely fits on the M trailer. I took about 8 to 10 hours to modify the trailer for the 26x. The only write-ups I could find on the issue said slight modification – yeah right.
Anyway I’ve been working on the boat since. She was in rough shape. She has been neglected for the last 13 years. Just to give you an idea of the amount of maintenance that had been done – the porta potty was still full . You can imagine my excitement about that. I have to keep reminding myself that I got a great deal and I’m paying for it in sweat equity.
I could tell the boat was bought by two owners who never sailed her. I would estimate the sails have been put up maybe 3-5 times. She came with 3 head sails all still folded like new from the factory. The main was the only one that had some wrinkles. (That was the only good news) Also the boat was rigged wrong in a lot of areas.
Anyway – I want to get to my point of this post. I took her out last weekend for our maiden voyage and all I can say is HOLY COW THIS BOAT IS AWESOME. Where do I start? Setting up the potter 19 from the point I got to the ramp then the point I was sailing was about 30-45 minutes. I did the same with the Mac and I was working through some issues. The Mac is more difficult to trailer because of the size, but that was expected. I was told by number of non Mac owners that she would be tender. My assessment - compared to the potter with a drop keel it performed better. I was beating into the wind – running 7knots, etc. Years of reading sailing forums there are many who never sailed the boat who would give bad advice on the performance. The Mac reputation has the same problem.
The best part was I sailed until 7:00pm and my wife said she wanted to cook dinner. I just fired up the engine and went to our favorite anchor spot with in minutes. It almost felt wrong
I’m going to take the boat to Cape San Blas, Florida for Labor Day – Must stop thinking about the boat and get back to work.
BTW - The boat was never named, so we are naming her “Keep Dreaming”. That is what my wife would say when I would ask for a bigger boat.

Ted Van Beck
Keep Dreaming
Huntsville, Alabama.
Keep Dreaming
Huntsville, Alabama.
http://vanbeck.com:8080/Boating.htm

[Bluecrab]

Welcome,

Great name. Now if we can just think of one for our

Wally

[red_sky_at_night]

Welcome! I'm another new Mac owner and have found this site to be a great learning resource, lots of good tips and great people -- see my post about my first trip, lots of helpful info from other members about how to set it up. It's good to hear that you've found the sailing performance to be better than expected, hope you have fun out on the water!

[Russ]

the porta potty was still full

Oh man!!!!! That is what I call neglected! Sweat equity is worth a lot and I'm sure you know your boat well because of it. I'm getting the feeling there are a lot of Macs that don't get used and are sold at a discount.

Welcome and congrats. Glad to hear you are enjoying your Mac and thanks for posting your story.

--Russ

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

Ted....Congrats....sounds like you got a good deal. We've been very satisfied with our "X", and so far, it has been the ideal boat for our crew. (knowing that it will float when flooded provides a lot of piece of mind)

Fair winds, happy sailing, and may your bilge stay dry.

[Rick Westlake]

Congratulations and welcome! You have, IMHO, lucked into one of the most "under-appreciated" boats around today.

Under-appreciated, that is, by those who don't sail them.

I really appreciate your comments on the West Wight Potter ... I happen to think they're "cute as the dickens," but it was reading on the Web about the Mac 26 that really lit me up to buy a boat, two years ago. When I got eye-to-transom with a 26M on its trailer, at the marina where I was taking sailing lessons in Flying Scots, it looked awfully big to me - but the Potter 19 that was parked next to it looked "just right". So I started shopping for Potters - and I found a Macgregor 19 near home ... a boat about the same size as the Potter, but water-ballasted and more "power-boat-y" (not as good looking to my eyes, but it's here and available and the price is right!) ... and the rest is my "history".

I learned to sail in that Mac 19, my "Beija-Flor". I kept her at the base marina, five minutes from my office; I enjoyed her for two summers, but I finally realized she would be too cramped for much more than the day-sailing I was doing ... and I wanted to do some serious traveling after my soon-to-come retirement. So last October I "traded up" to my 26X, "Bossa Nova": a boat big enough to stand up belowdecks, that would function as a "funny-shaped travel trailer" on the road; a boat, like yours, that had seen a season or two of active use followed by years of neglect. (Its half-full porta-potty had sat that way through a couple of Virginia-mountain winters. Eeewwwww. Been there, dumped that; and yes, a broken porta-potty fits in any dumpster!)

Sweat equity is definitely a good thing, to my way of thinking, whether it seems that way while you're doing it or not. When you buy a used boat for a "very low five figures" -in my case, $1501 more than "four figures" - you may have to add a lot of sweat, but you'll KNOW your boat by the time you finish. You'll know how to fix anything else that goes wrong, too; and you won't be afraid to modify her, if you hear of or have an idea that sounds as if it would make you safer or more comfortable. (You'll see a lot of those ideas in the Forums and in the MacMods section.)

I am particularly glad to hear your comparison between the Potter and the 26X! When I've looked at Potters I've always thought that "anything that looks that "classic yacht"-y must be a lot of fun to sail." Two summers in Beija-Flor taught me to appreciate Bossa Nova's stand-up headroom belowdecks ... but hearing an ex-Potter-Yachter say the 26X performed better ... well! I am really pleased to hear that.

And your name for her - "Keep Dreaming" - is SO apropos. Dreams DO come true, sometimes - and I congratulate you again that yours came true in such a way. Have fun with her - take her across the USA if you like - enjoy yourself!

Sweet dreams to you and your lady -
Rick

[kmclemore]

Congrats, and welcome!

Now that you're no longer 'shopping' you should update your forum profile to show your boat's model, serial, engine and any other details you feel you'd like to share. This information is really useful when you ask questions, or when you offer advice, as we know which boat in particular it applies to.

[Kelly Hanson East]

Full porta potties - nasty..!!!!

My racing partner has a J35 down in Jamestown RI - one season the yard forgt to empty his bladder type holding tank, which split (freezing in winter), emptied into the bilge, and then baked in an unusually hot April and May for 8 weeks.

The stench was so bad the Health Department was called the marina eventually

[Gypsy]

Our story is very similar.

We have always been powerboaters, except for my time in my homemade sailing canoe.
We are wanting to retire early and travel, live aboard for a few years. Its going to be on a beans and rice retirement , so we needed the most fuel efficent boat we could find. Our Mac 26X with a Honda 50 appears to fit that critera !

We are now in the midst of remodeling the boat to fit our liveaboard needs.
Refitting the head with a shower and larger sewage capacity ,
I have modified the Vee Berth , making it nearly 6 feet wide,
Remodeling the galley by adding shelves and doors , as well as a two burner propane stove , electric pumped water ,
and two solar cells , which we have not figured out how to mount , yet .

We researched MacGregors for years before buying. We would look at other boat styles , but always come back to the Mac . In the end thats what we decided on , and found one to our liking in South Carolina.

We bought a boat in excellent condition , but its still going to require a lot of sweat equity , to get her suited to our needs.

Now if we can just figure out how to get in the kayaks from her ,,,,,

[Kelly Hanson East]

We$t Marine had a boarding ladder on sale for about 30 USD that works well for us with kayaks..

[Gypsy]

I bought a ladder and added a small wood platform to the bottom of it , but havent tried it yet .

Our kayaks are Old Town Dirigos 12' and they have a vee bottom which makes them very unstable
getting in and out of them , but very stable once you are in them.
Once I see if the platform/ladder going to work , I'll do a thread on it.

[adrenaud]

Hello Gypsy

Let me know how you accomplish the mod for the shower, it's on my list of todo's

Andre
Just Relaxing
Montreal, Canada

[DaveB]

Hello Ted,
My last boat was also a Potter 19 and it to sold without me advertiseing (word of mouth). I picked up a 97 Mac.X without trailer for $7500 in Jan. 2008 and since than bought a aluminum tandum trailer and lots of upgrades and now around $12,000. That is around what I can get for it now or maybe more if I wanted to sell it. I doub't that would happen as I like the Mac.X for all the things I can do with it.
I still have to get a Autopilot and and couple of widow replacements but the boat is well equiped and set up for extended cruises.
I am sure you will enjoy the Mac. and have fun doing upgrades to your taste.
I mainly Sail the SW Florida and the Keys are but have taken my Potter to Pensacola sailing with the BEER cruise, very nice sailing area, we will be sailing the next 4 days to Cayo Costa area.
Fair Winds,
Dave