Newbie...Dad's buddy is "concerned"

[arknoah]

At the end of the day, its the big motor that scares the Mac bashing types. If Roger Macgregor had marketed these boats with a 8hp outboard, the bashers would just say, well they are a bit slow and dont point that well, but they were meant as a family cruising boat and not a racing boat and in that regard, well they tick most of the boxes pretty well.

I never thought about this, but it's likely a true characterization.

[Hamin' X]

I think the MacGregor would be a suitable choice as a lake boat but not in the sound or as an ocean vessel. It would be too top heavy, too much freeboard and not enough beam. The boat was designed to be trailerable and that really limits its seaworthiness."

Shhh, Don't tell the folks a Blue Water Yachts, they might have to recall the hundreds of Macs that they have sold to happy sailors in the Puget Sound area.

The Mac is a very capable boat, when sailed to her capabilities. I have sailed mine in 30+ Kn winds, with two reefs in and reduced head sail. She sailed fine and never heeled more than 20º, even when beating.

The only thing that I agree with on Buddy's statement is that more ballast in a keel boat is better. The Mac is not a keel boat.

I would not hesitate to take a Cessna 172 coast-to-coast across the country, but it is not a C-130 and I would not want to fly it into a hurricane.

Seamanship is an art and the art of seamanship is making good decisions, so that you don't need to practice the art of seamanship.


~Rich

[robbarnes1965]

I love my Mac!

Sunday I sailed about 15 miles, half of it in a straight line to my club. That path was diagonal from a shipping channel through very shallow spoil area (which is fortunately marked and sandy bottom if we're wrong) and on into the rest of the lake to the club. We sailed at 5kts on a close reach with the dagger board fully retracted. Being able to do this made our boat by far the fastest sailboat on the water when you consider starting point -end point. Other sailors need to plod along a tight channel to safely enter deeper water. We are frequently the only sailboat in some areas because of this same feature.

-rob

[pokerrick1]

I would not hesitate to take a Cessna 172 coast-to-coast across the country, but it is not a C-130 and I would not want to fly it into a hurricane.

I got news - - - I wouldn't want to fly a C-130 into a hurricane either

Rick

[Doug W]

by Boblee » Mon Sep 19, 2011 4:54 pm

Great pics!!!

[joesonio]

Pulled the trigger! Bought one this weekend, totally stoked. Question...what do you all recommend for a compact dinghy (probably inflatable) that can be nicely stowed on the Mac?

[davidbourne]

http://www.macgregorsailors.com/forum/v ... =9&t=19101

I'm also Mac shopping, as you can see from the post above. I used to want a new M with a 60 HP, too. Now I think I will get a used X with a 90.

My family wil carry a heavy load and we will want to tube and ski. The larger motors don't have to work as hard, so mileage is still good. You will have it get creative with mounting an "over rated" engine, though. Dealers won't like it.

Happy hunting,

DB

[davidbourne]

Pulled the trigger! Bought one this weekend, totally stoked. Question...what do you all recommend for a compact dinghy (probably inflatable) that can be nicely stowed on the Mac?

That is fantastic! I know you will love it and forget all I said about the 90.

I have a portable 12', but I hear it's too large for the Mac and is hard to setup on deck.

Db

[mastreb]

Pulled the trigger! Bought one this weekend, totally stoked. Question...what do you all recommend for a compact dinghy (probably inflatable) that can be nicely stowed on the Mac?

I've been quite happy thus far with our West Marine RU-260. Its made by Zodiac and has slat-board bottoms. It's easy to roll up and store in the cabin, it fits upside down on the bow easily and the jib can tack over it. It accommodates my wife, myself, and the three kids but only just barely. It's got a transom that will easily carry up to a 10hp motor. I might suggest getting the next larger model, but frankly being able to roll it up and store it permanently aboard makes it really easy to deal with. It pumps up easily with the included foot pump, even better than with my 12v pump. We board and exit it at the transom by flopping the motor to port, tying the painter line to the stern rail seats, and putting the swim ladder down atop the inflatable side. This way the line and the ladder tension everything and we can get aboard without the dinghy moving at all. Then we just push the ladder up and loose the painter line to cast off. I'm very happy with it.

[Mac26Mpaul]

Nice one Joe You're gunna have a ball with this boat
Now, you best grab yourself a 6 pack, a pen and paper, and mosey on over to the mods section - let the fun begin

[joesonio]

Thanks everybody for some really great, informative replies! It made my decision a ton easier...I really appreciate it. I'll probably be a regular on this forum now...promise to use the search function before reinventing the wheel every time I have a question. Thanks again!

@mastreb: Thanks for the tip on the RU 260. I may go check that out today at West Marine. BTW, do have any experience with the PortaBote?

[CampCook]

I had a Porta-bote and got rid of it. Admittedly, mine was a 12 footer and maybe a ten would be better. My problem was when folded up there were still a lot of storage to do in the form of rigid seats and hard transom. Otherwise, the boat is rugged and the ride is excellent. Some people tow them successfully but the SU 260 makes more sense to me although I'm not ready to spring for one yet.
Dave

[kitcat]

Congrats on buying the boat. The replies here really warmed the heart I felt, great to read.

As far as a dinghy is concerned, I would more likely recommend an inflatable and unless you want to travel distances or carry a stack of people, go for a smallish one, mine is around 6' long, it will be easier to manhandle, and stow below, out of the way. I stow mine at the back of the bed under the cockpit, and I can just about manage to get it on deck on my own, and inflate it on top of the cabin with the pump provided. I power it with one of those 2.3 Honda aircooled motors, which is as light as they come and will push the boat along plenty fast enough, although it won't get it onto the plane, even with only one person in it, you'll need a 4-5hp for that, and they are a lot heavier to lift out of the dink and onto the boat. When thinking about your inflatable, it is well worth going for one with an airdeck or inflatable floor in other words, you will keep your feet dry and it stiffens the boat up considerable as well as adding another bouancy tank, should it ever be required. You may even want to go for a V hull, which in effect is only a sausage shaped tube under the air floor, but gives a bit of shape to the hull and will help get onto a plane a little earlier, if you go for the bigger [and heavier] motor.

Paul

[mastreb]

I don't have any experience with the portabote, but to be honest I don't think there's any way that it could store more conveniently than the RU-260 unless you somehow made an outside bracket for it to store along the safety lines or some such?

You can also inflate the RU-260 in the cockpit and toss it overboard, and I'm pretty convinced that it would be very difficult to do this with any larger dinghy (the RU-260 is 8.5' long or so). Watching the videos on the site, It would be extremely difficult to assemble a porta-bote aboard the Mac at sea, which to me is a safety-critical capability as well as a convenience. It's also going to be very difficult to enter and exit the porta-bote without really tying it up alongside. The RU-260 is dead simple to get into and out of from the boat safely even with my little kids.

But don't get the RU-260 if you really want speed to go long distances in the dinghy--The floor is not rigid enough to really get up on a plane easily, so more than about 4hp on the back would be a waste. I really don't know that there's a dinghy that can be stored aboard and easily get up on a plane--if anyone knows of one, please mention it.

I currently just use the oars because I'm saving up for a torqueedo for it that I intend to charge via solar (and by saving up, I mean using it once when the Admiral has to row a significant distance, at which time the purchase will be immediately authorized). I'm not super happy with the oarlock mechanism, and they do hang-up quite a bit when the dinghy is upside-down on the bow--the oars should just be taken off if you're going to put the dinghy upside down on the bow.

I guess I'm saying that all-in-all there might be a more versatile dinghy for the Mac, but it's hard to imagine.

[Catigale]

Joe... Where are going to be sailing? this would influence dinghy advice considerably. Most of us never see seas that the keelboat guys yak about. I tow a 10 foot hard plastic dinghy up to 10 mikes offshore without major incident