Still looking to buy a Mac

[capajaffa]

Hi all
I am looking at a late 2006 He is asking $56000
Extras are: bimini; furling jib; electric brakes; vang; mast raising system;cusions; Garmin sonar; feul tanks and engine cover
What do you all think about that price?
As far i can see it looks like new but has been stored outside.

[Clemo]

I can't comment on the price or the boat.

I expect that you are keeping an eye on Blue Reef Yachts & Power Sailor Marine. They both publish their stock lists on their websites.

& Trade A Boat was a pricing reference that I used while researching Macs.

I M H O, most boats in that price range will generally be well looked after. If it is out in the weather it will polish up.

Where are you proposing to sail?

With electric brakes, is the trailer aluminium? That would be an attraction to me. Sailing in saltwater, as many of us do, (again I M H O), the steel trailer under my '03 X, is a weakness that I will have to remedy.

Good luck with the research, 'n keep us informed.

Tks
C ya
Clemo.

[Boblee]

Capajaffa I presume you are in Aust, what are your intended uses and location???

[capajaffa]

Thank you all for the reply.
Most of the time I will be using the around Robe , Kingston se, and Capa jaffa in South Australia but also have dreams to explore the Kimberleys,e.g. Wallcot inlet
I am not sure if the is suitable for this.
And maybe whitsundays

[Boblee]

Capajaffa
We were headed for the Kimberlies this year but had to pull out due to the Etec playing up again, absolutely nothing to do with the boat which is very capable given the right preparation both of the boat and consideration of logistics.
We have travelled down the Murray from Wentworth to Wellington, up the East coast visiting major rivers and coastal areas including Tin can Bay to Maryboroughand the Whitsundays, we have also cruised extensively around the Gulf of Carpentaria coastal and along the Norman, Macarthur and Roper River systems also spent 7 days exploring Darwin harbour and various inlets.
The Mac is capable of anything you want to do around our coasts and rivers but in the Southern Ocean would be more careful with weather.
We bought our boat with the intention of keeping it for three years but it is now almost five and if we had got to the Kimberlies it would definitely be on the market and it still maybe but that hasn't been decided yet as the kimberlies are a magic part of our country and the only way to complete the experience is to see the coastline and the Mac is the perfect vehicle Lake Argyle would be good too.
There is no boat that can do it all as good as the Mac.
Bob

[Clemo]

Cappajaffa, just a couple more thoughts.

Hay, is Bob Jane (the tyre man) connected with that marina? About 40 years ago he was racing a Mustang and wearing a bright redishh/orange helmet. For some, he will allways be "Jaffa-cap". (Sorry, I digress....)

1/ There is a cost to moving a Mac around this great country. No point in saving $1000 if the boat is in Brisbane.

2/ The best attachment we get with our choice of boat is the trailer. This is especially true if you are working. Limited to weekends, you have to take the weather which is on offer. But with a trailer you can pick your cruising ground to some degree. In my case, crappy weather we motor up the Clyde River. If its fresh we sail out on Batemans Bay. Some times we just overnight in the marina with shore power for the TV. With the boat on the trailer we can go where it suits and we have the most comfortable, spacious sailboat that has that facility.

Having recently retired, midweek sailing is now an option for me, as is touring. I havn't considered long distances, but from where I live, I have a lot of options within 500km. A whole lot more than I would have with a keel boat.

3./ I endorse Boblee's thoughts on the Southern Ocean weather. Ne experience myself, but it doesn't get good press. But then, no boat is fun if it is being bashed around. And with 50hp on the stern, while others are still in their wet weather gear, we can be home and in the hot shower. Put it this way, "character building" is not an attribute I value in a boat.

4./ Yes, all boats are a compromise. For me, the mac ticks a lot of boxes. If you look at the range of activities undertaken in Macs, from caravanning, to long distance cruising. Its hard to find another boat offering that versatility with our level of comfort.

Tks,
C ya, on the water.
Clemo.

[capajaffa]

Very helpful information thank 's again. Clemo I don't think the (tyre man) has anything to do with the C. J. marina, lots off storeys going around, I am not sure what to believe of it but nothing would surprise me. Bob sounds like you have done some amazing trips I hope you make it to the Kimberley's. I am all looking forward to purchasing a and do the same journeys you have done. Just found out that you can buy a new basic in US for $21500 US dollars, Does anyone know how much it would cost to import a ?

[Mistral]

The importation costs are anything between A$10K to A$15K, depending who you use. I paid A$13K, but had a few hassles with quarantine. Time and frustration is not counted in that.
The U$21.5K is a bareboat and youw ill spend a lot more on additional gear, such as engine, etc. No warranty either.

We find the Mac a great boat and suits our needs.

[capajaffa]

Mistral How long did you have to wait for the Was it worth doing at the end.

[Mistral]

I purchased mine second hand and from start to finish the process was about 5 months. This was from the moment when we decided which boat to buy to the front door.
That included a seaworthiness test, waiting weeks for a container, i.e boat to become available, delays on docking the container ship, container unloading and than quarantine inspections.
Did I save money rather than purchasing a second hand Mac here, most definately. It was a good exchange rate than, as it is now.
Would I do it again? Probably, but would also consider going through the local distributor. Then again we intend to hang on to the boat for some years yet.

[delevi]

A brand new, reasonably equipped with Etec 50 or 60 will run around $33K US. That excludes local taxes. Don't know the exchange rate and other costs you would encounter but with the other info you got, this may help you do the math. Don't be misled by the $21K price tag. That's a boat with a mast and standing rigging and nothing else.

Good luck with your purchase,
Leon

[Boblee]

Buying a s/h Mac (which is all you can) from the states possibly has some advantages but also disadvantages as some/most of the gear will not be covered by any warranty and local agents don't want to know you, as mistral said about $13,000 saved but we did it cheaper and am not sure if that option is still available.
There are quite a few issues and you need to investigate carefully before jumping although after the last time the dollars almost reached parity a few new players got into the job and could be gearing up again now, don't forget about duties and taxes and also who foots risk and quarantine costs if required etc.

[Mistral]

With the OZ dollar climbing it seems questions are asked everywhere. This my response on the TSP site about importing a boat from the USA. The price quoted was for a new Mac.

The price is correct, but is a very basic boat and no warranty.
Spend a lot more on extras to make it comfortable, with many of the parts and extras only available in the USA, (for example I need to get some pelican hooks to suit and unless I wish to change the lifelines I am stuck with the USA ones) and you have the hassles of importing it. Shipping cost anything up to $15K, this includes the duty and GST.
There are many threads on this on the US site, but also here.

[The Mutt]

The shipping agents will tell you that you get a break on the taxes importing a boat/trailer manufactured in the US, the only problem is that you need an official document signed from MacGregor Yachts, we had no luck there.

Importing:

There are two ways to get your boat here, RORO (Roll On Roll Off) and Container, RORO was going to cost us more than it was worth to bring the boat into the Country making unprofitable, a Container cost us from memory $8000 to $8200 USD that included everything including packing and US Customs, etc.

Keep in mind that trucking costs in the US can blow things out of the water, it took a little coaxing to get the Shippers in Aus to get their US counterpart to use her contacts and get our to the coast, I found out that a lot of the shippers use companies that have have some space on the truck every so often when they have a scheduled run without a full load, BINGO only had to wait about a week for an opening.

Glenn

[capajaffa]

After listening to you all, about import and the cost, I think it may be easier to look for a good secondhand .I can see plenty for sale but all of them are over priced,e.g.the I talked about before, 4 years old for nearly the price of a new Depreciation on a new boat surely has to be around 10% a year ?? How do you work out a secondhand price?