MacGregorSailors.com

Hi....I'm new to this site and new to sailing.....I am investigating purchasing a Macgregor and would like to know if the 26M sails better than the 26X.....I have read that the 26X has problems with tacking and is not a very responsive boat.....are there any other differences that affect performance ....any replies/opinions would be appreciated....thank you in advance....flo

Hello Flo, Welcome to the community and good luck in your quest!!

I will reccomend searching the archives first before opening this can of worms.

Both the M and X are great boats but some people are alittle prouder of what they own than others and this has been a point of contention in the past.

I and Im sure others will soon post links to the archive where we have discussed this in the past ad nauseum.

There's been a lot of discussion on this topic. An archives search will entertain you with freindly discussions. There's no consensus opinion because:
Some sailors can prove the X is a better sailer.
Other sailors can prove the M is a better sailer.
However, for the vast majority of non competitive family sailors, both are almost equal as sail boats. If you are looking for a go anywhere, safe, easily launched or trailed family sail boat, pick your favorite color, interior plan, budget capacity, and buy a Mac, either X or M, and you won't be sorry.
If you plan to sail in shallow water mostly, (ICW, Gulf coast, rivers, shallow lakes), then i recommend an X because of it's kickup centerboard reduces damage potentials when grounding.

Both boats have advantages and disadvantages.

All design is a compromise and design choices were made in both boats.

For some people, the decision is basically one of new vs used, although Ms are entering the used market... That was basically the deciding factor for me. I wanted new, and you can only get new Ms...

If you can, and you would seriously consider a 4+ year old boat, go look at both. Get in them both. Beg for a ride on both (I bet a 6-pack is all it would take - if that)... Whatever you can do... That might just be looking at pictures of both...

The bottom line is that the choice is a deeply personal one, and therefore only you (and your admiral) can make it... All we could ever do is tell you why we like ours, and that horse is all pulp by now... Oh, we could start another fight over it, but nobody wants that...

If you are new to sailing I doubt there would be much difference in sailing capabilities between the X and M to you. Do yourself a favor and go test sail one at Blue Water Yachts in Seattle. I hear good things about them and received excellent service when buying parts from them. The X or M is an unconventional boat and you will get a lot of opinions from people who don't know squat about them but will tell you how horrible they are because they go against the conventions of what they think a sailboat should be.

P.S. The guys who own the X don't want you to know this but Blue Water Yachts will give DVD which will prove the superiority of the M

http://bwyachts.com/

I have a M and love it. It has great features. I can also argue great features that are on the X. Either one will make a great boat for you. If new to sailing, I doubt you would notice much difference in performance. The layout of the interior is probably the most decernable difference.

Why do I feel like we're being baited? Sigh.

This issue has been beaten to death - and a lot of folks have been beaten to death with it. I don't want to appear rude, but what say we just refer folks to the archive and drop the subject?

flo - try doing a search on this site. I like my M but I bought it because it is the only new Mac and I wanted a new boat. They sail about the same. These are coastal cruisers trailable motorsailors. Not the very best at any but Great all around boats to do just about everything, not just one.

Here ya go, Flo! Searching that topic on this site might be quite an effort since the search routine is a bit strange. I just browsed through the past 4 or 5 pages of the main discussion forum and snagged those threads that seemed to address aspects of your question. These thread titles may not all seem relevant, but I think you'll find good discussions with a couple of hours of related material (and, since your thread title is pretty specific, a future search for X vs M should turn up this list.)

Considering Purchase of 26M

26M Hype vs Reality

Mac26M PHRF

Buying a Mac26

Selling My 26X

Largest Trailerable

Differences by Year

Franks post was the one I was waiting for KMC

Thanks, Scott, yeah, I guess that's appropriate. I wonder if it would be useful to create a locked thread that points to these (many) discussions so that folks like Frank, you, me or any of the other helpful folks here in our community doesn't have to go back and research that age-old question every time some person pops in and asks it?

Now, thats not to say that there aren't probably a few legitimate folks who might ask this question, but I suspect much of this is folks just wanting to see us falling all over ourselves like a bunch of nuts, and I can't help but feel like a rat in of those spinning things... every time they want to see us run they rattle the cage by posting that question, and then they watch us do our little dance not trying to offend each other - or worse yet, we get sucked into a nasty and useless argument amongst ourselves. I mean after all, how many of the folks who have ever asked this question have actually even stuck around to participate in the discussion, or further still, have ever gone on to actually buy a Mac and become a contributing member? I'd venture to say the list is a *very, very* short one, which leads me to believe that much of this is just 'a bit of sport' on the part of some nefarious jokers from outside our community. And we fall for it every blasted time.

Anyway, maybe I'm an old man and just a nasty curmudgeon (guilty), but I'd like to see folks like this just sent to the existing locked topic which points to existing locked discussions on the subject, and then have their initial question post deleted after a day or so to prevent rehashing old rubbish. Hey, color me inhospitable - Im just sick of seeing the nice folks in this forum used for sport.

The Mac Sailors I've visited with that either own an "X" or an "M" definately like their boats. I own an "X" and rate it as a #10, out of a scale of 1 to 10. I would rate the "M" a #10 also...
sigh...I betcha Im not much help...

The versatility of the MacGregor simply makes its a great choice for a motorcruizer/sailingyacht/camper/vacationingrig/fun boat...

Happy Sailing...

kmclemore wrote: I mean after all, how many of the folks who have ever asked this question have actually even stuck around to participate in the discussion, or further still, have ever gone on to actually buy a Mac and become a contributing member? I'd venture to say the list is a *very, very* short one, which leads me to believe that much of this is just 'a bit of sport' on the part of some nefarious jokers from outside our community. And we fall for it every blasted time.

Maybe we need a list of questions we ask them to gauge whether they are actually interested in purchasing a Mac -
"Are you now or have you ever been a member of the sailing anarchy site?"

Flo, some of our members are not inclined to give anyone the benefit of the doubt, sigh. we have had to endure some furious arguments over X vs. M, and are not inclined to open that door again. I chose an M because I wanted a newer boat that was designed to sail a little better than the X? My experience is that J-22's, u-20's, Capri-22's, and a host of other sport boats can sail circles around my M. They lack the overnight capabilities , and motorsailing, of course. I chose a 150 genoa for a headsail, and have found in racing that it is a handicap. I am currently looking at a traditional Jib for sailing upwind. The genoa is not particularly good for sailing to weather, but I shall miss it on a reach. few competitive boats use a genoa upwind I have come to discover. Most races start with an upwind leg, and it is very discouraging to try to catch up on the reach. I have also decided to upgrade the rudders as I believe they were underdesigned due to the large motors. Motoring fast with the rudders down can lead to serious problems. I'm sure novice sailors like myself haven't helped the Macgregor reputation. Nevertheless, the good outweighs the bad , and I am the only single-handed sailor racing a boat over 14' in our club

reminds me of the old saying, about England and the United States.... something like " ... two countries divided by a common language "