New 26M Video

[Chip]

I ordered and watched the 26M DVD. I watched it very closely and figured out that yes, indeed, it is the blueness of the faster boat which makes it faster than its plain, white counterpart. The video-recorded difference in speed appears to be very significant.

It seems that MacGregor takes the position that speed differentials are attributable, in large but not exclusive part, to the rotating mast. Has this been discussed by you scientific types yet? Won't a rotating mast create a significant speed advantage by automatically and immediately adjusting to changes in wind direction? Just curious.

Chip S.

[Tom Spohn]

My experience has been the same as Scott's. The most able skipper will win. If you look at the original sales brochure for these boats you will see a few minor differences:

Code: Select all

                X                           M
LWL           23'                            23'2"
Beam         7'10"                          7'9"
Weight       3750lbs                      3700lbs.  (with ballast)
Mainsail      151 sf                         170 sf
jib           130 sf                         130 sf
Combined      281 sf                         300 sf
Genoa         206 sf                         206 sf
Hull sp.      6.86 knots                   6.88 knots  (1.43 x sqrt lwl)
main + gen.   357 sf                        376 sf

In our area most of the x's have the genoa and the M's have the jib. A good x skipper can use the greater sail area to good advantage.
The m can sail with more heel than the x due to the rounder hull shape.
The M has slightly less resistance at the centerboard/daggerboard water interface.
The M will be smoother in rough water due to fine entry of hull and deeper "V".
The M is lighter (OK not much!) But the newer engines weight more.
The rotating mast really does work.
The blue hull is faster.

When I had my X I tried to sail off the wind a bit more than the M's and kept the boat more on its feet to take advantage of the large main/genny combination. With the M (with standard jib) I let her heel a bit more and try to point a little higher. Downwind--say wing on wing--with foils up except for one rudder, with both boats standing straight up, the greater sail area wins.

In summary, although the M has a few very minor advantages in hull design and mast, as actually fitted out the x captain can be competitive by taking advantage of the x's positive characteristics.

Sorry about the formatting. The table looked just right as I typed it in, but the formatting was lost when it posted.

on edit: added the code tags--Thanks Moe

[Chip]

Tom,

Thanks for the interesting info. Why jibs on the M's? My dealer told me to get a genoa and a main, so that's what I did.

Chip S.

[Tom Spohn]

Chip,
I am not really sure why the difference in sail recommendations by our local broker, BWY. What they say is the M is balanced so it will sail without any headsail whereas the X needs a headsail. This has been my experience with the X. With the genny furled the main by itself wasn't getting the job done.

[Andy26M]

The 26M does indeed balance well with main sail only, if I am just out being lazy I often just furl the genny and sail with the main.

- AndyS

[Moe]

Garbage In = Garbage Out

The info on the MacGregors in their database isn't correct, so the results aren't either.

--
Moe

[RandyMoon]

I have the M video and it is pretty much like the X video, except that it offers living irrefutable scientific video proof that the M will smoke the X in sailing and motoring races.

It must be the blue hull that warps the time continuum through thermal molecular excitement and gives the M a spaceage teflon advantage. If you believe that, I have a turbo charged teflon dingy for sale.

Needless to say, it is designed to encourage X owners to beach their outdated slugs and buy a supercharged new model.

It is a really good video designed to sell sailboats. And I hope MacGregor sells lots of them. It is a great boat and I am proud to have one of them. If I get in a race with an X on my lake and the skipper is more experienced at sailing, I have my 90 horse ready for action.

Personally speaking, I get tired of people comparing boats. If speed is what you are looking for, get a speed boat. Otherwise, sailing is for relaxation and becoming one with nature (and drinking beer). A Mac is a Mac. A great boat to have fun in.

[Catigale]

Randy posts my sentiments exactly.....

I confess I do find the chat on what the impact of the rotating mast amusing, when, if you happen to leave your grill on board, you probably just wiped out any advantage...

If it turns you on, chat away, but I confess I skip all the threads except for the blue hull effects..

[Bill at BOATS 4 SAIL]

I think a blue 26X would be faster than a white 26M.

[Moe]

The saying, "Garbage In, Garbage Out" means you can have good software with the correct formulas, but if the data fed in is incorrect, the result will be flawed.

Pull up the specs for the 26M from the MacGregor website, and for the 26X from webarchive.org, and compare them to what's in your website's database for those boats. Note all the mistakes. Note that the X should be about 50 lbs heavier than the M, with whatever you include in the total weight. Also note your website needs foretriangle area in the Sail Area input, and if you don't have that, it tells you to use 85% of working jib area. This database uses the total sail area with 100% of working jib area for both inputs.

--
Moe