MacGregorSailors.com

currently considering buying a mcgregor 26x - still not sure - love the look of it but some websites are v derogatory about its sailing characteristics - say it is v tender and suffers from windage, unstable and only suitable for within 1km of coast - obviously realise it is a trailer sailer and not a blue water sailer - mainly will be using it for rivers waterways and lakes or around local islands (quite sheltered).
any suggestions please.

ian wrote:mainly will be using it for rivers waterways and lakes or around local islands (quite sheltered).
any suggestions please.

There's your answer. You can go smaller if you don't plan to stay on-board very often, but your intended use perfectly describes what these boats were built for. They are more tender than a traditional sail boat but you can keep these in your backyard and upkeep is minimal in comparison. That said these boats can take more than most owners can.

As for the derogatory comments, same goes for all boats, I know old sailors that don't consider it a real boat unless there's no engine and its made completely wood, all others are fake; mono vs multi; full vs modified vs fin; manufacturer vs manufacturer and the list goes on and on and on...; there's always something that someone doesn't like that they can pick out about any boat (outside the one they own ).

Take one for a test sail.

You're the best judge of what you're comfortable with.

But +1 for everything YB said.

DaveC426913 wrote:Take one for a test sail.

You're the best judge of what you're comfortable with.

But +1 for everything YB said.

x2 post your location and see if someone on board here is close by.

It's initially tender, but stiffens up nicely at 15-20 degrees, where it likes to sail. The rig is smallish for a 26 ft boat, and the M model has a taller rig (but those blue hulls slow them right down ). They have a cavernous interior for a 26 ft sailboat, including an enclosed head, and can go very fast, especially when you dump the 1400 lb of ballast water and fire up the OB (and some folks have 90's or larger on them). Even faster when on the trailer booming down the highway at 65 mph. They're built light so you don't need a diesel dually just to haul it.

Folks find all kinds of 'technical' reasons why they're not yacht club approved, but if Roger built them that way, they'd be mostly sitting at docks since they'd be too heavy to move with the average large car or SUV, wouldn't be able to tow a wakeboard or tube, owners wouldn't get nearly as much use out of them, and my Admiral wouldn't be going on trips with me, since there wouldn't be room for the head (or you'd be duck walking below decks, as the freeboard would be very low), nor would we be able to leave Lake Ontario easily, or get to faraway spots on the Lake in reasonable time. Like the dock queen I sold to get my X. And I use the X about 4 times as much, if not more. And which costs me very little to own. All of which makes me happy.

As I see it, of course.

Yah, ian, where are you located?

thanks for your replies - hopefully will go down to Sydney and have a look at the weekend.
will let you all know how we get on
ian

If you have not done so already, you might do well to look over the videos of your fellow countryman and Vegemite aficionado "Davila7" about his lovely Mac 26M "Little Annie". These may give you more than a few ideas concerning what might be done with a nice little trailerable motor-sailer down there. As it happens, I've already followed one of his special video tips and got myself a couple of those little $3 flexible Chinese USB fans he recommends to help keep things cool and airy in the cabin. And of course you'll also want to let Roger MacGregor himself tell you all about the 26X.

Personally, I'm overjoyed that I got my own 26X late last summer, and have been tinkering since then with this and that each weekend towards my maiden launch [batting eyelashes coquettishly] in Spring. I had also been sort of looking over other "blue water" craft, but am glad now that I "settled" for the Mac. Whatever salty scow shall mayhaps carry me away towards the furthest horizons parrot on shoulder with pine-tarred locks anon, the Mac 26X is certainly the right boat for right now, wending my way through the shallows and gunkholes of the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay.

Also, you know, despite some of the hard(ly informed) words you describe that are sometimes hurled against the Mac 26X and 26M by some "real sailors", it's not like I haven't also come across confessions of former owners of the breed who, having succumbed to two-foot-itis and bought larger craft have learned to somewhat regret that move, or at least view it ambivalently, often mentioning how they missed the flexibility, economy or mobility of their old Macs. After all, you can't just run a Catalina 36 up on the beach...Well, I mean, you can, but it won't be pretty...neither will the cost of transporting it by road.

Happy Hunting!

Hi Ian,

Welcome to the forum. There's a lot of bad press and rubbish all over the internet concerning MacGregors. Almost all those stories have one thing in common: the writer has never been in one, let alone owned a Mac. Keep that in mind when you read those stories. If you want an honest opinion, this forum is the place to be. Folks here will be the first to admit that these boats have pros and cons. As for me, I sail in tidal waters, where a lot of traditional saiboats dare not even venture.

I am a owner, but can tell you that these boats will be used more, and more widely, than anything else out there. I currently live in the UK, and can easily trailer to any of the best cruising grounds on the island. Those "real" sailors have to either get really used to the area around them, or routinely have a couple of weeks free to get to somewhere else (and back). Additionally, I am one of the few who can explore tidal waters without worrying about getting home against a 5 knot tidal flow, and that is a really great sense of freedom.

They are more tender to 20 degrees or so, but you can learn your own boat's properties, and can sail pretty much upright in most conditions (or...you can put the windows in the water if you want..just not with the Admiral or kids aboard)..

My 2 cents...

Here ya go

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXum10dY2j8

ian wrote:currently considering buying a mcgregor 26x - still not sure - love the look of it but some websites are v derogatory about its sailing characteristics - say it is v tender and suffers from windage, unstable and only suitable for within 1km of coast - obviously realise it is a trailer sailer and not a blue water sailer - mainly will be using it for rivers waterways and lakes or around local islands (quite sheltered).
any suggestions please.

ian wrote:. . . only suitable for within 1km of coast - obviously realise it is a trailer sailer and not a blue water sailer . . .

The 26X will actually take quite a beating, more than I care to subject myself to on any regular basis. And I speak from experience, as can many others here.

But it's true that it's a coastal cruiser, not a blue water boat. If you want blue water capable (as in, the intended use), there are trailer boats out there, but you'll pay waaaaay more money for one, and it will be waaaaay heavier to tow. Here's a Nor'Sea 27 being launched, from its 3-axle trailer (the Mac OEM trailer has a single 3500 lb axle).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_fu44SFNVE

It's listed displacement is 8100 lb (it has a 2-cylinder diesel inboard, too), but that's before putting your personal kit on board. And all the other stuff. Like maybe filling the water and fuel tanks all the way. Should be well over 10,000 lb with trailer and supplies. List price new is around $150k, but used ones from the 70's are around $30k or so.

http://www.norseayachts.com/norsea27.php

And look at the hull shape. Not designed to go fast, but definitely designed to handle conditions that most people would rather not sail in. Should be good in a following sea, too.

Oh, and you can pull a tube with it, but only at hull speed, if that fast. But it sure is a sweet looking boat.

My point being that the Mac motor-sailors were designed to do a combination of things almost no other boats do, at a low enough price point that many folks can afford to play, and light enough that they don't need a heavy pickup truck to haul it, while being able to float on/off (the Nor'Sea needs to be winched, by the way, but at least it doesn't need to be crane launched/hauled). Of course there are compromises. If there weren't, it would look like the Nor'Sea or some of the other, far heavier, far more costly boats, most of which can't go fast.

p.s. Take a lesson from the guy in the video with the bow line, who panicked and tried to tie it off to a rail. Know in advance what's going to happen, and what you're going to do when it does, and when it starts running away like that, just put a steady pull on the line and it will slow and stop unless there's a strong current pulling it away from you. Good thing the lady with the stern line didn't let that one go, or someone would be swimming after it.

But it sure is a sweat looking boat.

No sweat

WHRoeder wrote:

But it sure is a sweat looking boat.

No sweat

You haven't seen me by the time I'm done rigging it prior to launch.

I agree with all the above. We've sailed on 26X and our 26M. We've sailed with a number of other macs and non-macs. I'd suggest only listening to those detracting non-mac sailors whenever they share wisdom on sailing, navigation, conditions and such----but as for your own boat, Determine what you are wanting to use the boat for and begin there.

These boats are phenomenal as long as you exercise common sense when sailing in varied conditions and enjoy the boat for all that it can do! True, they crab and true they heel; however, that just makes me a better sailor in the end. Take the time to exercise basic seamanship with these boats in all conditions so that you react naturally when life throws a curve at you (Don't know if that metaphor translates.. baseball phrase basically meaning that the even the best laid plans can and will change)

Anyway, I found the 26X to be a great boat. less tender than the 26M. What I do know is that we do more with our mac than most sailors I've met with more traditional sailboats and that this site is one of the best sites for getting straight answers and help. If you can, have someone take you on a sail!!!

It's true that our boats do not always sail as well especially on some specific points of sail as the 'traditional sailboats' but neither do their traditional sailboats always sail well in conditions that favor ours-- my wife & I sail with non macs often and our goal is not to have a boat that sails like those boatsl --but that we have a boat that allows us to experience what we want to and that we sail it to the best of our ability!

And now for a bit of gratuitous self promotion, check out some of our sailing videos and see how we use ours in a way that none of the other 3 dozen sailboats in our local fleet can do or would be able to...
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL ... 49paWcIOMv

The 26X has some wonderful features! (of course the slow white hulls are either a safety option or a handicap...much depends upon your point of view)
Doug & Angie
Galactica