Was I ripped off?

[kmclemore]

Now she hikes out on the Harpoon

So... does that harpoon go as fast as I said it would?

[Catigale]

Its a smoker all right - and I dont even have it tuned up yet...we hauled off downwind and the apparent dropped to almost zero - enough that I told the girls (4 up ) that's when you know you are really moving...

[kmclemore]

Super - glad you're enjoying it! Yeah, my Harpoon had enough power to pull two healthy 16-year-old boys through the water fast enough that they both had one heck of a good time. They are truly the 'Mercedes 300SL' of day-sailors.

I will *never* sell my Harpoon.

Never.

And, to the original thread poster... well, 'ripped off', like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. If you love the boat and you and your family have fun with it, then you got value for money, and that's what it's all about.

[TAW02]

A boat is only a small part of the scheme of things. A transport vessel to parts unexplorable by no other means. If getting there by canoe is the only way (quite often it may be the case), and it's worth exploring, then a canoe it is.

It's a part of life where capturing memories on film, shelling, metal detecting for lost gold relics coins or nuggets and being the first to have done that ... in your neighborhood, frienship circle, parish or otherwise just a first for you and your mate!

It's all about everything that is exciting outdoors and afar. And in the evening when the day unwinds, it is a comfy cozy sportsman den with a TERRIFIC VIEW!

A sailboat is a boat that will get you to places (and sometimes faster) than any powerboat. And in a tiny fraction of the price. Free if you dare.

In a Tampa bar ...

I read a piece where a wager was made by two sailors. One a stinkpotter and the other a sailboat captain. The object of the wage was made by the captain of the powerboat saying, "Pick a destination and I will get there before you."

The sailboat captian licked his finger and held it up to an east wind; took that bet and then pointed west across the Tampa Bay to Mexico and declared, "Cancun, my friend ... that's my destination".

Needless to say, the entire bar took that bet.

[BrazDaz]

You could always tell her you want to learn to fly and buy your own airplane.
I have the same trouble, we have had our for nearly a year have been out about 20 times and sailed 4-5, I get down when she doesn't want to sail but at least we get out. I also agree with the others don't force her to sail when the wind is up, just take her out and make it your mission to show her a wonderful day on the water, with good friends, good food, & good wine, 5 -10 kts of wind and lots of sunshine. shell love you for it. We often go out on the river and motor for half an our then just anchor and sit for hours,the kids watch a video we eat swim and sleep it doesn't get any better than that if you think about it. except when you get the sails up and do the same.

Good luck and keep smiling
Daz.

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

Hello All:

I guess this is a kind of "Dear Abby" question to all my fellow Macgregor owners.

My wife wants me to sell my boat, but the boat is one of my favorite pleasures and the source of a lot of learned skills: sailing, weather, navigation, mechanics, etc. BTW my wife hates to sail and prefers big power boats. I thought the Macgregor was a compromise, but my wife she never sails anymore, she's really frightened of heeling under sail.

What do you guys think? I need some moral support. The pressure is on. I like to sail. Some guys fish, some like kit cars or motorcycles. Am I an odd-ball?

Ray

Hi Ray ... Here's the deal...the Mac-X is an 'all-round' fun-boat "keeper"...especially if you enjoy power-boating, sailing, camping, or many other funzies on the water.

QUEBEC has a good suggestion...tie up in a nice Marina...having elect., clean facilities, good boating neighbors...and just spend a week-end or two at "transient rates". The wife will enjoy it...getting out...visiting with good friendly folk that enjoy boats, and etc. It's awesome fun.

When taking the boat out...dont frighten the wife, leave the canvas rolled up, fill the ballast, and motor/cruize in protected waters...and where there's some nice scenery...then drop-anchor and it wont get much better...(sandwiches, knick nacks, small talk, fishing, and just enjoy the time together)

Hope it all works out

NOTE: concerning the price...just compare it to other same sized sail boats...the Mac is the better deal, in my opinion. Especially, when considering: trailerable, sailable, 50 horse-engine-power, nice interior accomodations, and much more.

[ALX357]

The math of worth is tied up in the time part of the equation .....

I paid a reasonable sum for my X, and have put many hours into mods and maintenance, but was it worth it ....?

It would have been so worth it if I had been able to use it more often.

(TIME on the water) / ( $ spent ) = Value

Calculated this way, my boat has cost me about 33 dollars per hour to enjoy on the water.

This is not the boat's fault. It is a great boat, but so far it has not been "worth" to me what I have paid out.

Hopefully, most Mac owners are doing much better than that.

By the way, my main problem is exactly the same ..... my Admiral is actually .... a Field Marshall of the Army.

Now that I am resigned to single handing most of the time, and gas is too expensive for gratituous motoring, I am willing to sell my boat, and looking for a bulb-keel shallow-draft Catalina Capri 18 MK2, and a 8 hp 4-stroke motor to stick on the back.
That's all the more motoring speed I really need, and all the cabin room I need, and would gain a stiffer sailing ride.

[Indulgence]

I think it's fairly clear your question is not really so much whether you
paid too much for your boat, which you did not, but rather a call for
help with a reluctant admiral.

I have a suggestion: see if she'd be willing to take sailing lessons with
you. The knowledge of good boating skills will translate to whatever
boat you end up owning. I don't like the way the Mac throws over right
away either. But when I took my Admiral out for sailing lessons with an
instructor, his calm demeanor was invaluable in getting her aclimatized
to the boat. Now her and her daughter avidly watch the "heel-o-meter"
and eagerly call out every five degress past 15. Worth a shot.

[Catigale]

[Catigale]

I talked to the Admiral about this over coffee this morning and she offered the following

- She figured out after a couple seasons that a lot of her anxiety was low level seasickness - if she took non-drowsy SS medication like Bonine (tm) she enjoyed herself a lot more

- It wasnt the actual heel angle that was stressful as much as the change in angle - the Mac is tender compared to most boats, especially the first 15 degrees (when you hardly changing the vertical position of the ballast.)

- Small boat (15 foot) sailing didnt upset her at all - our theory there is that you are more connected to the force of the sails and ergo the brain can balance the heeling with the forces involved..

Of course, after many seasons and never getting dunked, the experience that, in the conditions we sail in, it really is pretty much impossible to dunk a ballasted Mac, eventually wins over the fear too.

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

We're seeing some awesome suggestions from the Mac'iers...all great ideas in my opinion.

But, here's another slant...if the Admiral doesn't ever cater toward having the MacGregor, and it becomes nothing more than a burr under a saddle -- the marriage is worth more than the Mac. "When mommie aint happy....'aint no one happy"

I'm thinking some of the ideas provided from experienced Mac'iers within this thread will be a solution...lets HOPE.

And, once again...Hope it works out.

[Highlander]

OK Ray
Here's the deal any good wife would never asked her hubby to give up one of his best hobby's , whats her faverite pass time ! ? , met a lady told her I had a mistress "my boat" . Told her if you want to hang out with me "its summer on the boat winter I'm all your's she said no its your "first passion" she had never been on a boat untill she met me ! two yrs later she say's it her or the boat ! , I told her Honey I had this boat before & I'll have it after ! She left . So she goes home and has time to think & decides she made a bad move !!!, needless to say I gave her lots of time to ponder on her actions ! 6 months later she's back on the boat !
Bottom line was I was spending too much time doing rigging mods on the boat , so now I added the comfort creatures like radio, tv , dvd, accented lighting does wonders on any evening on the boat with a bottle of wine , heat and cooling fans bedding instead of sleeping bags , hydro when she wakens up in the boat to a nice fresh cuppa T/H Coffee ,
One thing I'm not married so it does not cost me anything to take this action
Anyway what I did was take her out on my boat on nice sunny windless days water like glass & powered around & let her steer the boat ! , on good & nice sailing days I took her out on my friend Beene's boat & he'd have his two young daughter's with him so when she seen the kids were not afraid of the boat heel she was less edgy, gradualy worked her up into teaching her how to sail this summer , we just spent 4 days on the boat first two days & nights winds up to 50mp/h so no sailing ! , rained three outa four days , we walked through the old century village at the marina evey day & evening was a full moon retired to the boat every night with a bottle wine ! & as I have a window hatch mod in my V-Berth slepted to wandering Stars every night ! so when its was time to leave the boat she did not want to go home !!! considering the weather I was amazed !
Like Q1 said make it a special occasion , an event she will not want to pass up on , make it an adventure going out for dinner at least one night to a fancy restr. not a dinner !! , so mix up the activities
So take my addvise & do a better job selling the boat to her & happy sailing , hope everything works out , whats that song again "Loney days & loney nights"
As for Bertrands furry bed partner no thks , I prefer clean shaved !!

J

[kcblues57]

Ray--I may be completely misreading your post, but generally the first thing said is the most important thing. You open with the value you find in the boat--lots of upgrades, great enjoyment, and new skills--and then jump to her saying you paid too much. There can be other explanations, but it seems to me as if she's saying one of two things--

1) You're not very smart and after all these years of ownership she still feels compelled to remind you of that fact. Hopefull this isn't what she's doing.

2) Between the initial investment, the upgrades you've made and the annual cost of docking and maintenance, the boat habit is consuming too much of the family finances. Is she suggesting that you trade the Mac for an expensive powerboat? If that's the case, then I'm probably off base. If your finances are tight, then you probably need to have a realistic discussion about where your resources are better spent. As much as you love the boat, if she feels as if she's sacrificing so that you can enjoy your hobby then her resentment is likely to grow. And that's probably not a good thing.

If heeling really is the issue then lessons might help. Or going out with a well-experienced sailor whose skills she trusts. We just got our 26M and had only one outing with the previous owner with very low winds before trailoring it to our home lake. Our second time out, we took a neighbor with years of experience on a Mac. Winds were stiff and he had us heeling more than he probably should have, but I trusted him not to kill us and learned that the Mac can heel to 40+ degrees without going over. If my husband had done that without an expert beside him, I probably would have whacked him hard once we got back to the dock. Actually, you can remove the "probably" from the previous sentence. I still prefer a quiet sail to heavy heeling, but I don't hate the heeling.

Only you can assess whether sailing is putting a strain on your budget or if the issue really is the heeling. Or maybe you could ask her. I'd add a smiley icon here if I knew how!

Good luck!

KC

[vizwhiz]

Straight from the Admiral's mouth!!

[ALX357]

Re. the Admiral not liking sailing ... ( if it is your chosen lifestyle ) .... well....

I did not know what true bliss was, until I got married, and then it was too late.