MacGregorSailors.com

I bought a 1990 Mac 26s about a month ago to replace a 24 foot seafarer. I took the new boat out for the first time this weekend. Wow, it was a blast! I thought she would heel more than she did. In a 10 knot breeze I was making 5-6 knots and she seemed to want to lift off the water. I was single-handing her and realized, well into my day, that you can raise and adjust the halyards from inside the boat if you have the pop top up. A FANTASTIC feature if you are nervous about falling off the deck in a gust. The last guy also left me a tiller tamer which I found to be a necessity when hauling sail and convenient for tacking.

Water ballast is stiffer than I imagined it would be. Swing keel is too.

Beating, she has a huge variation in weather helm based on wind speed. Not that the force on the tiller was troublesome, but the compensation for heel was interesting. I was amazed at how I could null out helm by changing my weight location, much like a dinghy.

The "compromises" I thought the design was making turned out not to be compromises at all, but advantages.

I was the last one to arrive at our club mast-ups and the first one to leave. The sight lines are fantastic. She wants to fly with her foils properly trimmed. I am a convert.

Happy sailing, all.

t

great story!
Thansk for sharing.
I can't wait to get mine out on the water for the first time. Hopefully that new main sail will come soon.

Tom, I have a 91' 26S and love it. Just be sure your rudder is secured all the way down, othewise, will contribute to weather helm.

Your initial impressions of the boat, should be shown to all those nay sayers out there.

Thanks for sharing the story! I'm really excited too!
I'm getting closer to having mine in the water also...hate to see her sitting in the yard with the mast up (neighbors must love me!) and crying to get her feet wet...

"Just be sure your rudder is secured all the way down, othewise, will contribute to weather helm."

You know what? I am 99% sure I didn't tie off the rudder downhaul, and that would explain the variation I was experiencing.

Thanks a lot. Glad to be a part of this community.

t

I changed (what i thought was) up from a 26s to a 26x, i have to say i realy miss the performance, handling and fun that i got from my old S, i wish i could afford to have two, the X for stayin on at weekend with the better half and an S for fun.


Madguy

Yeah, sometimes I think it would be nice to have an X, maybe someday I will. I like the interior of the X's better than the M's, but I like the hull of the M's. In any case I can't afford either an X or an M, so for now I'll be quite happy with my S. The S is really a sweet boat!

And exceptionally affordable - huge bang for the buck.

Doug91mac26s wrote:Yeah, sometimes I think it would be nice to have an X, maybe someday I will. I like the interior of the X's better than the M's, but I like the hull of the M's. In any case I can't afford either an X or an M, so for now I'll be quite happy with my S. The S is really a sweet boat!

madguy wrote:I changed (what i thought was) up from a 26s to a 26x, i have to say i realy miss the performance, handling and fun that i got from my old S, i wish i could afford to have two, the X for stayin on at weekend with the better half and an S for fun.


Madguy

Hehe, she is a really great boat, so much fun, and I still think buying her from you was the best decision I've made in recent years !

Looking at "Tiller"Time" in the picture, its mast looks longer than normal. Is that true?

No, Tiller Times mast is OEM, standard issue.

dlandersson wrote:And exceptionally affordable - huge bang for the buck.

I couldn't agree more. I paid $5700 US, in 05'. But all boats being holes to pour money into, I have since invested probably another $6K, and there's no end in sight , but I'm having fun!

And that's the point - it's not like you can take it with you.

Doug91mac26s wrote:

dlandersson wrote:And exceptionally affordable - huge bang for the buck.

I couldn't agree more. I paid $5700 US, in 05'. But all boats being holes to pour money into, I have since invested probably another $6K, and there's no end in sight , but I'm having fun!

Oh, I should point out, of the $6K, $3K was just the cost of the 1989 Pacific trailer I rebuilt with all new parts. The original factory trailer saw it's day, and left much to be desired. You can check out all the pic's in my photobucket. The day I went to the launch ramp to swap trailers, the passenger side wheel of the old trailer fell off.



http://s33.photobucket.com/albums/d64/d ... s/Trailer/