MacGregorSailors.com

Why so much advocacy for a boat like this when the intention was stated as coastal cruising around Florida, the Keys and maybe the Bahamas some day?

It just seems wildly inappropriate for that kind of cruising. Especially when the source is Mac owners.

If you want to see a Southerly in action check out this couples site and TV show

http://www.distantshores.ca/

Seriously nice boat and amazing footage!

Very interesting topic, I love it.
I am dreaming about the new boat as well, she must be a cruiser. I am more inclined towards small catamarans, performance is not an issue for me. Catalacs cats are at least as controversial as our Macs:
http://www.catamaransite.com/

I've had a buddy this week giving me a hard time about wanting a new boat.

His advice is, if you are going to have to pay to keep a boat at a marina, you may as well get a big boat you can go cruising with and take people with you. He recommends a small cat like the Gemini Legacy 35 or a Gemini M105. New they are a bit more than the Seaward 32. Used you can get a nice m105 for around $100k. I've looked at some videos. Looks like a fairly nice boat that can be singlehanded, yet very roomy. Fits in a standard slip.

If you are going to trailer around, he agrees with the Seaward 26.

Soooooo
The reason for going from a Mac to anything like sized is because it's a cruiser...it's not better accommodations. The rk26 still lacks headroom. Other similar sized boats do too. Sure the build quality of the Mac is one reason to upgrade.
Ok but unless you are a serious die hard no ones taking any of these across an ocean. All that's been discussed.
But the Mac is a fine Bahamas boat and even my 22.2 got there with no issues.
How much would it cost to upgrade the macs build quality to the point where unless you just really wanted more space or wanted to trade up just for better sailing performance, it wouldn't be an issue?
If you started from just the hull in the mold what would one have to do to get a boat for, as one person said, the gulf, Bahamas and keys?
Ix

You are right, the appeal is build quality and more "cruiser" amenities.

I'm not sure yet if interior height is an issue. Doesn't appear to be in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFRyj4Ae0VA

I'm 5'10", so most times I don't have issues. My M certainly has a cavernous interior. But here in the south, it's often too blazing hot to make use of it.

There are alot of things I want out of a new boat - inboard diesel, better sailing performance, a proper head with a shower, air conditioning, large battery bank, generator if possible, larger cockpit and better galley with more water storage. Some of these could be fitted to an M, but not all, and not sure it would be worth the expense and effort. Certainly tired of the outboard.

I need to start thinking about putting my M up for sale. Spring will be here soon enough.

I've looked at the Seaward 26RK at boat shows. There's more room in my .

Plus, I can pull the kids tubing, wakeboarding, etc.

wincrasher26 wrote:I've had a buddy this week giving me a hard time about wanting a new boat.

His advice is, if you are going to have to pay to keep a boat at a marina, you may as well get a big boat you can go cruising with and take people with you. He recommends a small cat like the Gemini Legacy 35 or a Gemini M105. New they are a bit more than the Seaward 32. Used you can get a nice m105 for around $100k. I've looked at some videos. Looks like a fairly nice boat that can be singlehanded, yet very roomy. Fits in a standard slip.

If you are going to trailer around, he agrees with the Seaward 26.

His advice is, if you are going to have to pay to keep a boat at a marina, you may as well get a big boat you can go cruising with and take people with you. He recommends a small cat like the Gemini Legacy 35 or a Gemini M105. New they are a bit more than the Seaward 32. Used you can get a nice m105 for around $100k. I've looked at some videos. Looks like a fairly nice boat that can be singlehanded, yet very roomy. Fits in a standard slip.

That sounds like good advice for what you want to do. Check out both the legacy and 105mc in person. I have seen them both at the boatshow...I like the MC better.

If you have the place to park it and like fun of lake sailing maybe also look into a trailerable daysailer with large cockpit and small/no cabin. Boats designed for that purpose are all cockpit so you can take a few people with minimal fuss.

Whatever you do, it's money well spent if you invest in what you value. It's not like we can take it with us.

I've been considering the Pogo 30. There's a swing keel version that looks like just the thing for cruising from the Sacramento Delta to the SF bay and beyond. With the Euro losing ground the price just keeps getting more reasonable.

Roy

I've eyed the Southerly's before, but have difficulty justifying the cost. I've decided I can have a deeper keel ocean going boat and still keep my for less than one of those would cost, which would result in still having the for inland, Bahamas, keys, and coastal. Seems like a logical solution vs selling off the MAC entirely.

Ixneigh wrote:Soooooo
The reason for going from a Mac to anything like sized is because it's a cruiser...it's not better accommodations. The rk26 still lacks headroom. Other similar sized boats do too. Sure the build quality of the Mac is one reason to upgrade.
Ok but unless you are a serious die hard no ones taking any of these across an ocean. All that's been discussed.
But the Mac is a fine Bahamas boat and even my 22.2 got there with no issues.
How much would it cost to upgrade the macs build quality to the point where unless you just really wanted more space or wanted to trade up just for better sailing performance, it wouldn't be an issue?
If you started from just the hull in the mold what would one have to do to get a boat for, as one person said, the gulf, Bahamas and keys?
Ix

Have there been any incidents to bring the MAC's build quality into question?

I've had a personal incident pointing the other direction.

While tied to a fuel doc, my was hit by a 40+' not paying attention to where he was going, I had scuffed gelcoat that buffed out, the other boat took all the damage.

I think Roger was on target with build quality of the hull, and the cheaper fittings can be upgraded through customizing however we want as has been done many times in the MODS section. The MAC + upgraded fittings would be comparable at a lower price, and keep what we like about the MACs. Now the only concern may become future availability of such.

Oh, most of us have some issue with build quality. I bought my boat from MacGreogor factory sales. Figured out that my mast is not located accurately on the deck (off center) and as a result has broken part of the deck away around the daggerboard where the mast step rests (forward edge) . Not only a quality issue, but I cannot get any assistance from the dealer. On my own again to figure this out.
Then we could talk about the hose clamps that are rusting quite nicely (sink drain). Or the wiring that was installed loose on a common ground (stacked on a small screw, nut never tightened).

RobertB wrote:Oh, most of us have some issue with build quality. I bought my boat from MacGreogor factory sales. Figured out that my mast is not located accurately on the deck (off center) and as a result has broken part of the deck away around the daggerboard where the mast step rests (forward edge) . Not only a quality issue, but I cannot get any assistance from the dealer. On my own again to figure this out.
Then we could talk about the hose clamps that are rusting quite nicely (sink drain). Or the wiring that was installed loose on a common ground (stacked on a small screw, nut never tightened).

Hose clamps are understandable, as mentioned in my previous post, the fittings are substandard until replaced or upgraded.

The damage at the top of your trunk is surprising, makes me wonder if it is something common we need to watch for, or if the factory workers were having a bad day that day. I'm assuming you bought the boat new and it looks as if you can prove it is a factory defect. I would think there would be legal recourse you could take if not getting cooperation otherwise. That is a flaw that could become hazardous, I'd think it in their best interest to assist with repairing it.