Is this the boat for me?

A forum for discussing topics relating to MacGregor Powersailor Sailboats
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dive4it
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Re: Is this the boat for me?

Post by dive4it »

One more thing I'd like to add to the motor size discussion....with a good 50HP 4 stroke, the charging system will top off those batteries a lot quicker than a small magneto charger on the lil' kickers....just my two cents worth.

JT
Noboatnow
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Re: Is this the boat for me?

Post by Noboatnow »

Thanks for all of the great information!

As always, that leads to more questions.

Is there any published information on the 26 as far as what changes were made and when? To be quite honest I was thinking about the M because from what I read it performs a little better and I was thinking the keel was an upgrade over the X. People love to bash swing keels, but then again, people love to bash everything.

One of the main reasons of many that I'm thinking the Macgregor would be such a good boat is to be able to reduce the draft while motoring, but it seems the swing keel can provide some safety when sailing too.
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armadillo
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Re: Is this the boat for me?

Post by armadillo »

If you are not thinking in a big engine why not a 26s? 2 years ago I had a laser2. I had a lot of fun, but I wanted something bigger where I can sleep, easy to prepare and sail single handed. After some research I decided the Macgregor 26 was the best choice. At that time a macgregor 26 X or M was at least 12k and the 26s around 4k or 5k. I found one 26s cheaper that needed some work.
I have learned a lot sailing in the lakes around and have made some trips to the coast. I am preparing now for the Bahamas. In my opinion the area to live in the boat is really small so a lot of adaptations are necessary. But opening holes to the boat is part of the fun.
After buying the boat I found out a lot of things are necessary. Like, deep finder, gps, radio, water tanks, gas tanks, solar panels, fridge, batteries, anchors, maps, etc. (I tried canned food, but that is not for me)
Im doing risk management, so Im checking what backups are necessary. I decided to have a dinghy and an extra engine. I bought a tohatsu 8 or 9.8, so both engines share almost all the parts. I have also practiced cleaning the carbs and changing some parts.
Well. And I havent gone yet. So maybe I need to buy a lot of things more....
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Ixneigh
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Re: Is this the boat for me?

Post by Ixneigh »

I don't know what your price range is, but There are some other makes that are building some nice looking shallow draft small cruisers too. They seem to be in the 50 60 boat buck range, with 5 more shipping to the US. Swallow yachts I think.
We also have the Seaward Fox here in the states. The RK26 is expensive and heavy. From my research it didn't have the space inside that the X M do.
Finally, tattoo yachts is working on a nice looking 22. I might be inclined to pick up something really cheap like one of the older venture 23 s and learn the ropes with that until the new 22 comes to market.
Ix
Ix
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dlandersson
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Re: Is this the boat for me?

Post by dlandersson »

Yes it does, one reason I have an X 8)
Noboatnow wrote:...it seems the swing keel can provide some safety when sailing too.
Noboatnow
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Re: Is this the boat for me?

Post by Noboatnow »

Ixneigh wrote:I don't know what your price range is, but There are some other makes that are building some nice looking shallow draft small cruisers too. They seem to be in the 50 60 boat buck range, with 5 more shipping to the US. Swallow yachts I think.
We also have the Seaward Fox here in the states. The RK26 is expensive and heavy. From my research it didn't have the space inside that the X M do.
Finally, tattoo yachts is working on a nice looking 22. I might be inclined to pick up something really cheap like one of the older venture 23 s and learn the ropes with that until the new 22 comes to market.
Ix
Ix
Yes 50 to 60 is way above my pay grade, but I appreciate the information.

The M & X seem really hard to beat for space!

Not that you can't sell a boat and get a good bit back, but I'm hoping that this isn't going to be my last or largest boat.
Noboatnow
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Re: Is this the boat for me?

Post by Noboatnow »

armadillo wrote:If you are not thinking in a big engine why not a 26s? 2 years ago I had a laser2. I had a lot of fun, but I wanted something bigger where I can sleep, easy to prepare and sail single handed. After some research I decided the Macgregor 26 was the best choice. At that time a macgregor 26 X or M was at least 12k and the 26s around 4k or 5k. I found one 26s cheaper that needed some work.
I have learned a lot sailing in the lakes around and have made some trips to the coast. I am preparing now for the Bahamas. In my opinion the area to live in the boat is really small so a lot of adaptations are necessary. But opening holes to the boat is part of the fun.
After buying the boat I found out a lot of things are necessary. Like, deep finder, gps, radio, water tanks, gas tanks, solar panels, fridge, batteries, anchors, maps, etc. (I tried canned food, but that is not for me)
Im doing risk management, so Im checking what backups are necessary. I decided to have a dinghy and an extra engine. I bought a tohatsu 8 or 9.8, so both engines share almost all the parts. I have also practiced cleaning the carbs and changing some parts.
Well. And I havent gone yet. So maybe I need to buy a lot of things more....
I'm still trying to figure out prices. They seem to be all over the place with some older Xs listed for much more than some of the Ms. I know equipment can factor in and I have been taking that into account.
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Seapup
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Re: Is this the boat for me?

Post by Seapup »

I'm still trying to figure out prices. They seem to be all over the place with some older Xs listed for much more than some of the Ms. I know equipment can factor in and I have been taking that into account.
Yup, I have been flipping a few salvage and donation boats. Bought/sold a west wight potter 19 last week. Take a look at sold listings on ebay for a start, bidding shows what people will actually pay. Sailors are stingy, because its a trailer boat people will only pay the amount of the cheapest one within a days drive, no matter if one is clearly worth more.

There will be a 2015 Tattoo 26 salvage being listed on ebay March 10th in Ruskin FL, no details on its condition yet.
Noboatnow
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Re: Is this the boat for me?

Post by Noboatnow »

Seapup wrote:
I'm still trying to figure out prices. They seem to be all over the place with some older Xs listed for much more than some of the Ms. I know equipment can factor in and I have been taking that into account.
Yup, I have been flipping a few salvage and donation boats. Bought/sold a west wight potter 19 last week. Take a look at sold listings on ebay for a start, bidding shows what people will actually pay. Sailors are stingy, because its a trailer boat people will only pay the amount of the cheapest one within a days drive, no matter if one is clearly worth more.

There will be a 2015 Tattoo 26 salvage being listed on ebay March 10th in Ruskin FL, no details on its condition yet.
That's really interesting. I know that there are deals to be had on keel boats that require storage and cranes to splash them, etc. I figured selling a trailer sailer you would have a larger market, and potentially sell quicker for a higher price. Many of the ones I see listed seem pretty high and many are encouraging offers.
whgoffrn
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Re: Is this the boat for me?

Post by whgoffrn »

I have seen some Xs priced way too high up in the high 20s and 30k which is ridiculous ...im not sure who would be silly enough to think they could get that.... I have solar GPS fridge ais garmin weather-x 3 reefs roller furler 2 Mantus anchors hypalon dinghy with wheels and 3 dinghy motors and 100 other things and maybe 16k total in everything .... if I were you I'd find the cheapest boat with a roller furler you can find and buy the stuff you want..... I favor Mantus anchors maybe you'd favor rocna... I got a hypalon dinghy maybe u want a pvc to save weight (which is what I wish I had done now) If you pay premium for a boat with lots of "add ons" you will pay a lot extra for things you may find you don't need or want
Noboatnow
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Re: Is this the boat for me?

Post by Noboatnow »

whgoffrn wrote:I have seen some Xs priced way too high up in the high 20s and 30k which is ridiculous ...im not sure who would be silly enough to think they could get that.... I have solar GPS fridge ais garmin weather-x 3 reefs roller furler 2 Mantus anchors hypalon dinghy with wheels and 3 dinghy motors and 100 other things and maybe 16k total in everything .... if I were you I'd find the cheapest boat with a roller furler you can find and buy the stuff you want..... I favor Mantus anchors maybe you'd favor rocna... I got a hypalon dinghy maybe u want a pvc to save weight (which is what I wish I had done now) If you pay premium for a boat with lots of "add ons" you will pay a lot extra for things you may find you don't need or want
Sounds like a smart way to go about it. Electronics seem to get outdated quickly and don't last forever, so why not buy new? I would go everything anyway and probably just end up redoing most of it. I've spent most of my working years repairing things that people "fixed", so I'm not one to trust other people's work on land, let alone water.

Plus one persons priorities can be much different than someone else's. I would choose new rigging over new cushions!
whgoffrn
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Re: Is this the boat for me?

Post by whgoffrn »

If youre serious about buying there's actually a cheap 10k 99x in eBay and a 4500 mac s on eBay right now
whgoffrn
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Re: Is this the boat for me?

Post by whgoffrn »

I'm a tightwad and did the exact opposite I bought a 7 year old Garmin because I just use my tablet with navionics for all my navigation.... I only bought the Garmin because I wanted weather outside of cell phone range .... So yeah everyone has their priorities they want ....some would feel my $600 fiorentino drogue is a waste of money when I habe a $75 dollar 5" Garmin when I think it's silly to spend 2grand on a 10" raymarine GPS when my Samsung galaxy and navionics does just as good..neither way is right or wrong it's just where you want the money to go to... if you buy a decked out boat you may find you're buying a boat that is set up how someone else wants
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Herschel
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Re: Is this the boat for me?

Post by Herschel »

whgoofrn said
I got a hypalon dinghy maybe u want a pvc to save weight (which is what I wish I had done now)
For what it is worth, I went through two PVC dinghies in about as many years :( before I moved up to Hypalon. And that has lasted three years without nary a problem. I hasten to add, however, that the PVC models were the cheaper versions (e.g., Navigator, Intex). Nonetheless, I am really enjoying the reliability and potential repair ability of my Hypalon Achilles. The peace of mind has been worth the extra money to me. :)
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Bilgemaster
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Re: Is this the boat for me?

Post by Bilgemaster »

Three pages in and with no clue to be found in his profile, I'm still wondering where "noboatnow" hails from, and just where exactly he'll be learning the ropes before setting off down the ICW to the Bahamas or Timbuktoo or wherever. I assume he's somewhere on or near the Eastern Seaboard, since he mentions the ICW, but where will he be sailing first? I also have no idea what his budget may be--only that the combined equivalent of a year's tuition and lodging at Harvard is probably a bit on the high side.

I'm not much further up the learning curve than he is, but it still seems to me that his locality and its prevalent conditions might help determine the most sensible choice of boat. Will he be gunkholing around the shallow shoally Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries like me? Well then a 26X with its swing keel might be well advised. Will he be coastal sailing, like banging around Long Island Sound, out along Cape Cod or other more "blue watery" locales? Well then maybe a typically more expensive 26M with its stiffer fixed keel and additional ballast weight might be a kinder ride. Then again, a particularly well-found older non-hybrid 26S (swing keel) or 26D (dagger board) with some sort of little kicker motor might be a way to just get out there on a really tight budget (though great care should be taken in what is allowed to follow you home, since all those "little things" needed to get such a now 20+ year old "Classic Mac" safely up to snuff can add up very quickly). Still, unless you're going to dangle a really hefty "iron wind" off that stern, I think half of the real purpose and potential of a 26X or 26M is just wasted. Tear-assing around and annoying traditional "Sailor Bob" types with our unseemly velocity is almost our God-given duty as mutant hybrids.

So, "noboatnow" please now do yourself and us a favor and answer as best you can the following germane and crucial questions:
  • Where do you primarily plan to sail this season and next?

    What do you have to spend on both the boat and trailer and their inevitable fixin' up & toys without selling a kidney?
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