X Owners, would you upgrade to an M?

[delevi]

OTOH, Moe, a boat that can't do both is a compromise in itself. The Dragonfly 39' has an optional 150hp diesel which gives cruising speeds of 15 kts. Not bad motoring performance for a 39 footer... and she sails at 20 kts+ with enough wind. Compromise on that one is a skinny hull compared to a mono of similar length.

Leon

[Divecoz]

So in the end as this story line has played out since the production of the M there just is not enough difference to sell an X and Buy an M .
There are differences though between the two and Anyone who bought an M could have bought an X for less money. . plain and simple!!!!!
It was his or her choice both were and are available. This was not true before the 2004 season you got what they sold and it was the X
If you want a non-powersailer there are lots of those out there for sail/ sale . If they are even so much as slightly difficult. . .to trailer around many can be picked up for peanuts. NON trailer-able sailboats of this size are often on the market very cheap but you better like the water where it sits.
I wonder how many others have lost sales when the new perspective owner saw the boat on the trailer and realized he needed / absolutely had to to buy a dedicated tow vehicle.
For sure a Colgate 26 will out sail a Mac and most other boats this size.
But you wont be camping on the Colgate or towing it with your 6 cyl. Explorer and you wont be launching it just anywhere you see some bass fisherman launching his rig. You wont be towing the kids on toys behind it either. Nope ours is a specialty Item and Roger is selling lots of them and they are holding their prices quite well.
SOooooo.
If your desire is to have a sailboat but you dont live on the water big water. . .and you dont already own a big tow vehicle and you need to sleep 4 to 6 people on it for 2 to 60 days and tow kids behind it on water toys. You need to be able to launch the thing in a puddle if necessary.
Then you too might be in the Market for a Mac Gregor X or an M

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

Extended cruising with my family or 5 would be much harder with an M than it is in my X.

The aft head and open layout of the X works better for us. I also would miss having the large extended vee berth to sleep in with the windows for the view and the hatch for ventilation. Even though the aft berth is more open than the X, I doubt I would like being stuck down under in the back. The M vee berth is only useful for kids and I'd have a hard time dealing with the even smaller head of a M.

We'd also miss the large galley of the X. Ours's is setup with a ton of storage capacity, easily double what you get in the sliding M galley. All the underseat storage area's are also smaller in an M and we carry a lot of stuff with us. Likewise the much smaller cockpit of the M would be a squeeze for the 5 of us.

Finally as more of a power boater than a sail boater I would miss the extra performance you get from the flatter X hull when you strap a bigger motor on the back.

I would not switch to an M, it is just not set up right for extended cruising with a family. It's a good couples boat, a good weekender, OK if you spend every night at a marina with shore side facilities and you eat out alot. For days on end anchored out at parks with a full load of people it just wouldn't work for us.

[Divecoz]

Yes I think I agree with Duane . Maybe the X is better suited to larger families for longer periods of water time. But those families are very far and few between.
I honestly wonder if Roger was looking to and I guess he surly did, capitalize on a whole new demographics by starting the M .
BTW ..... Every great model has its run . Someone thought that market for the X was saturated for what ever the reason. Something caused the expenditure of a lot of money to develop the M and its proven its worth by the numbers it is selling.
It sure wasn't. . . . some competitor breathing down Rogers neck! There are NO competitors for direct head to head competition. Not right anyways and for sure not in head to head item for item sales race, not like Chevy versus Ford.

[Terry]

I know of some folks in our club who did sell their 2002 X and buy a 2005 M and now have a 34' Hunter as well. They appeared quite happy with their M purchase but now have plans to sail their hunter down south for winter sailing and keep their M for summer sailing here.
Most folks are happy with the boat they end up getting and justify all the positive attributes.
As far as room in the V-berth of the M, I am 6' 220 lbs and have no problem stretching out there. Every spring I have to get in there and polish/wax all the tan fiberglass so I know exactly how much room there is to move around and do the work. If I was 6'6" I could simply create an extension for the port side and still sleep in the V-berth. My wife still thinks we should make a little state room out of it. I insist on sleeping aft. Why???
Same reason as many other sailors. There was a thread in another forum ragarding the topic of sleeping fore or aft and the main logic for sleeping aft when possible was the lower center of gravity in the beamier section of the hull. This is even more pronounced in the MacGregor where the aft berth is a good 20" lower than the V-berth and in the most beamiest and flattest portion of the hull. Logic dictates that when the water gets choppy in the night that sleeping with ones weight furthest aft and lowest to the waterline will improve stability and a better nights rest whereas sleeping in the bow with a higher center of gravity and in the narrowest and tippiest portion of the hull one would actually induce more rocking movements. It is just a matter of physics, the most ideal berth is the aft berth.
As for changing demographics the market does appear to be targeting retiring empty nest baby boomers so a couples boat kind of makes sense.

[mallardjusted]

X Owners, would you upgrade to an M

No, we wouldn't. We had the opportunity to buy a new M, but the X cabin and cockpit layouts matched what we wanted to a much higher degree. In fact, if the X's weren't on the used market, we probably would have purchased something else. Everyone has their own criteria for how they will use the boat, though.

[Divecoz]

X Owners, would you upgrade to an M

No, we wouldn't. We had the opportunity to buy a new M, but the X cabin and cockpit layouts matched what we wanted to a much higher degree. In fact, if the X's weren't on the used market, we probably would have purchased something else. Everyone has their own criteria for how they will use the boat, though.

Then you would have changed what you wanted and what you got because there simply was no point for point alternative.

Some here talk like there was other very similar boat's out there, there wasn't. .there still isnt.

[mallardjusted]

dive,
Then you would have changed what you wanted

Yes, that's why we chose the X. Otherwise we would have altered our wants for a different boat .... probably a powerboat since that part of the multiuse function of a Mac was a little more important to us.

[jaguar496]

we have no yardstick to measure X:M, so we will LEARN to live on our , and create the atmosphere that Duane and others have done on their X's. we are the "couple" w/o children, have the big GMC hauler, and live darn close to the "big water", just on the other side of Pamlico Sound, and have the shallow pond water to launch into. guess we have the BEST one could ask for when adopting a MAC. blessings, blessings, blessings AND, we have grits, gravy, and biscuits thanks for the discussion. Alice and Stew,"THE RESTLESS TWO"

[ronacarme]

M cabin reminds me of my old D with more headroom......I bot my x because we much prefer the cabin layout over that of the D (and hence of the M). Also the M outweighs the X by enuf to require replacing my 3500# tow vehicle with something less fuel efficient. Hence, no way would I swap my X for an M.Ron

[Compromise]

Very interesting responses!
Lots of valid reasons to stay with the X versus the M, but I have to admit, I'm picking up on a slight bias. It's almost like the feeling I get from those "real sailors" or "Keel boat" owners towards us MacGregor sailors!
There is a definite hint of X vs M here which I was hoping to avoid. Apparently it's unavoidable.
As I mentioned earlier the Admiral has a large say in any 'new boat' decisions made and she really likes the M interior. (We do have kids too!)We are at least 15 years away from retirement and have the possibility of another job transfer during that time. The X realy helped last time we had to move. I lived on it (solo) while waiting to buy in the new location. If we had to move again,
I don't want to leave a high dollar fixed keel sitting here when we're living somewhere else and the obvious expense to ship it to where we may end up.
So we're looking at the classifieds. Maybe we can 'bridge that gap' between the X and M owners

[Divecoz]

So we're looking at the classifieds. Maybe we can 'bridge that gap' between the X and M owners

I dont think you'll find anything that compares with the Mac point for point.
You find lots that will do this or that but none on the market besides the twins does it all.
Thre is no Chevy versus Ford or Even versus Toy-ota
There was a fellow advertisng freedoms here kind of neat, pretty cool, but he offered nothing able to go head to head.........

[bastonjock]

for me,ill stick with my X,the m looks prettier inside with the wood effect but,i dont like the cabin layout and any performance enhansments can be equalled on the x by a simple mod.

If i go for another boat,im with Frank on sticking with trailer sailors and i do like the telstar 28.

[Billy]

I don't like to think of myself as being bias. I like the M, it just doesn't fit my requirements as the X does. I've done a bit of off-shore in rather rough conditions and like being able to navigate from below--where it's dry & warm. I have my instruments (gps&radar) so they can be moved from the cockpit and fixed to the dinette beside my laptop. My vhf is mounted thru the head wall facing forward. Using a booster seat at the dinette I can see forward giving a pilot house feel. I steer using the A/P remote. The M in the same configuration would have me staring at myself---not a pleasant thought.

As mentioned earlier, the flat bottom stern of the X really helps in "stepping up" on plane especially with the 140.

I don't look at it as upgrading or downgrading, but rather what fits.
Hope I never have to replace it, well maybe with one just like it, only bigger.

[Compromise]

So we're looking at the classifieds. Maybe we can 'bridge that gap' between the X and M owners

I dont think you'll find anything that compares with the Mac point for point.
You find lots that will do this or that but none on the market besides the twins does it all.

We're still Mac shopping Some nice M's out there.......