Survey-MacGregor Hull stiffness

[Dnomyar]

Hi all

I have dropped over from another boat site. There is a discussion there

http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/motors ... post425422

about the hull stiffness of Macs.

One member claims that he came across a model at a boat show, where he could depress (tin-can) the top half of the hull about midway along the cockpit.

I dont remember that being the case when I owned my M series Mac, but can other Mac owners confirm or refute this please.

Thanks for any input.

[Divecoz]

Pretty hard to believe. Will the hull reflect.. yes it will in upper portions.. The Purpose of this boat , is to be able to Trailer it.. There in, is why it weighs in or about 3500lbs going down the road.. Being towed by even a minivan ( I dont suggest it but several here do) They need to rent a special built trailer and Hire a Semi Tractor By the mile to move their boats ..
Most of, those kinds of post's come from Blow Hard ...Sail little talk lots folks.
99.9% of those Passage boats never go anywhere where These boats dont and haven't gone as well. Lots of Videos showing these boats doing......... what those guys have never done.. Everyone DREAMS of someday making a Passage Very Few Every do.. All Talk... No Action.
If you want a boat the drops in value severely every year ? Buy one of those... If you want a boat that holds its price year after year buy one of these. If you desire to Have To... Pay for a slip and then to have pay to have it hauled every year and pay for storage every year again buy one of those.. If its important to have 9 to 30 feet of beam buy on of those. If you would desire to take this boat here and there on a trailer buy one of these. 30,000 Mac's with not one hull failure says it all. Need or want to replace your motor on one of these 4 hours DIY done deal. One of theirs You pay someone in a Marina 12 to 24 hours at $60 to $100 per man ..Different boats for different folks .. If You ever relocate and want to take your boat across country? Hook her up and take her there ... One of theirs ? Be prepared to spend $5000 to $20,000 to do just that same thing.. Choice is yours. What do you really want to spend and what do you really want the boat to do.

[Catigale]

I browsed the forum you tagged and the thread had the usual tone of "Ive been sailing for N years therefore I'm a structural engineer" tone, albeit, i grant that there was no mac bashing and several who defended the mac niche.

Ill give you some data when i go out to start the Admirals car this morning, to be helpful.

On edit - deleted comment due to tone - with apologies to Raymond

From the driveway this morning

Midway between chine and gunwhale, halfway back from companionway to transom...I applied an estimated 20 N force over 1 cm^2 area and saw a deflection of 2mm on my 2002

[c130king]

I have never tried to guage how "stiff" the hull is but my thinking is "who cares?" and "what difference does it make?". The boat has its limitations and a smart sailor will be aware of the limitations of his/her boat.

There have been many thousands of Mac's made over the years. Many thousands of Mac sailors have had many thousands hours of pleasure sailing/motoring on their Macs. And they seem to last a long time. Don't see hull thickness/stiffness as an issue.

If some <insert your favorite term here for people who really don't know any better but still want to bash Macgregors> wants to make negative comments on these boats then let them...

As for me...I will be taking my thin hulled Macgregor out for a nice cold day of sailing on Saturday.

Cheers,
Jim
Sailing on König

Please excuse the grumpiness...I think I need another cup of coffee

[40Toes]

One member claims that he came across a model at a boat show, where he could depress (tin-can) the top half of the hull about midway along the cockpit.

Sounds about right. I didn't read the link, but as stated above it is a weight issue. I drilled a thru-hull below the waterline and the plug was 5/8", so it is definitely tapered with less material on the upper part of the hull around that area . Take from it what you will - the boat is what it is.

Rod

[Finn]

Hello Dnomyar and all others,

I'll be towing my 26M to Lake Havasu to join the Havasu Pocket Cruisers Convention 2011 in February. I'm planning to go to San Diego in May 2011 for about one week. http://www.sailhavasu.com/ Check it out and come on over.

I would like to invite anyone with a "stiffer" boat to join make similar overland trips with their boats. I know that this point has been made over and over again, however, the mobility of this boat was one of the main reasons I bought mine in 2007.

Finn

[kmclemore]

I see we're back to the silly arguments from the hostile forums again. *sigh*

Look, it's a cheap boat, and it's a compromise. Deal with it. So was the Volkswagen Bug, and look how many of those they sold, how long the little buggers lasted, and how well-loved they were, despite being made comparatively cheaply.

And the Mac is not made for rough, offshore sailing, and isn't sold as such. Indeed, when Roger recently filmed the boat in very heavy wind and seas he clearly advises against it, though he and Mike Inmon do demonstrate that the boat can take it, if you happen to get caught out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smlP6iXnk2s

(The only problem I see in the video is that the hatch is wide open... If I were in such seas I'd have battened things down a bit more, just in case a rogue wave were to hit, or in the event the boat gets knocked down by a flash gust.)

You want a 'real' power cruiser? Buy a Sea Ray or Boston Whaler.
You want a 'real' pocket cruiser sailboat? Buy a Beneteau, Hunter or Catalina.
You want an inexpensive boat that does both? Buy a Mac.

Simple.

Do I sound irritated? Yeah, because I am. I'd like to be "Mr Helpful", but this is about the three-hundredth time we've seen this sort of thing posted here, and it's just bloody tiresome. And it's almost always started by someone who has never posted here before. Search the previous posts... there's plenty about this already, and we don't really need to rehash this all over again.

[c130king]

I guess I am not the only one in a grumpy mood this morning...

Looks like Kevin needs another cup o' coffee as well...or maybe he has had too many already...

[kmclemore]

Yeah, Jim, I'm grumpy.

First, because this sort of thread is a complete waste of time - it's all been said before (ad infinitum et ad nauseum) and can easily be found via a simple search. And besides, all this sort of thing does is fill up the forum with a bunch of "why the Mac isn't a piece of crap" rubbish, and is that ever useful for any of us? Time is better spent on helping folks that truly need it, and discussing things that interest Mac owners (or truly potential ones)... not defending our choice in boats.

Second, because the original posters of this kind of thread in the past have almost always been "post-and-go" first-time posters (read: troll)... they drop their 'bomb' into the center of the forum and then sit back and watch all the fun as we scramble about, trying to defend our boats... and they almost never post back again to join in the discussion or show that they appreciate our advice.

• (Note: I am NOT saying the present poster is a troll -- I suppose it's entirely possible he/she truly was a Mac owner, though I do wonder that if he/she was, how they heck could even ask such a question -- but I can't overlook the fact that that virtually every other first-time poster who has posted 'Hey, I heard the Mac was made like junk' has indeed been a troll - complete with the pointy hat.)

Third, because I know as moderator I'm gonna have to watch this thread like a hawk now, because 9 times out of 10 this sort of discussion rapidly goes into the "religious war zone", and then I'm gonna have to get involved with either 'censoring' nasty posts, dealing with some kind of argument where someone said something insulting to someone else because they disagree with the other person (or just thinks they're an idiot), or ultimately locking or deleting the whole thread because the member(s) end up repeatedly violating forum rules.

Just ignore the trolls, please, folks.

Yours truly,
Mr. Grumpy (and his dog)

[Catigale]

I see your point. You dont go onto a Jag forum and say British cars suck....you just sod off and buy something else.

If you do, you cant complain if you get banned, shunned, or whatever.

Im giving the OP the BOD but if its a troll post with no follow up, I dont think anyone will care if the Mods wipe it off in a day or two..

[kmclemore]

I see your point. You dont go onto a Jag forum and say British cars suck....you just sod off and buy something else.

Indeed. It reminds me of when "Top Gear" pulled the stunt of going down to Alabama with "NASCAR Sucks!", "Hillary for President!" and "Man-Love Rules!" scrawled on their cars, and then were surprised when the locals were annoyed and wanted to take a whack at them...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jG0D2nRGrQ

I wonder, if they'd gone to Manchester UK in cars with "Manchester United Sucks!", "Bobby Charlton Likes Little Boys!" and "Alex Ferguson's a Poofter!" written on them, how long it would be before they all ended up in casualty?

Some folks just love to wind other people up... they get their jollies that way.

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

Look, it's a cheap boat, and it's a compromise. Deal with it. So was the Volkswagen Bug, and look how many of those they sold, how long the little buggers lasted, and how well-loved they were, despite being made comparatively cheaply.

You want a 'real' power cruiser? Buy a Sea Ray or Boston Whaler.
You want a 'real' pocket cruiser sailboat? Buy a Beneteau, Hunter or Catalina.
You want an inexpensive boat that does both? Buy a Mac.

Guys, I had episodes of TWO (2) unplanned "tests" with my 1999 Mac-X, concerning it's hull strength.

I posted two threads concerning "side swiping" HEAVY PILINGs when motoring (single handling, not paying attention). I hit 'em hard, and aside from a lots of noise, no damage at all, including the side railing.
Personally, I think the Mac is a well built boat. IT also handles a pounding when throttled down in rough water. In addition, some Mac owners put on a lot more horsepower than the recommended 50 HP with no problems.

I dont mistreat my Mac, and dont intentionally broadside big PILINGS, or throttle down in rough waters. But, it has endured my mistakes.

Its a fine family boat. A keeper (claimed by many already)
Just my (happy owner) opinion, and 2 cents worth.

The "hull strength" may not handle MOTORING-FAST in shallow areas where there are STUMPs, ROCKS, or DEBRIS.

[kmclemore]

* SIGH *

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

* SIGH *

I know...
Sorry -- I just had to weigh-in.

As a previous Beetle owner, Im trying to restrain talking about my love for Volkswagens too. Now, that's where we can discuss some hull-strength.

Cheers

[kmclemore]

* SIGH *

I know...
Sorry -- I just had to weigh-in.