Macgregor 26m

[johngsandusky]

Neither classic nor wooden, but interesting. I sailed on one yesterday. It is an interesting design. Boxy, shallow, with a raised deck. It reminds me of a Bolger design. It has a simple interior with lots of volume, a galley that slides fore and aft to give sitting or sleeping room. A daggerboard gives lateral area without intruding in the accomodations. Water ballast gives stability with a low trailer weight. She has a soft chine with a fairly flat bottom that provides stability, easy launching, grounds upright, and carries a large outboard making her a motorsailor. The rig has a pivoting mast with shrouds attached to bails. It also carries a permanent gin pole with a winch for raising and lowering the rig. Overall the boat is innovative, with many capabilities in a modest hull. It's clever design features are what remind me of PCB. Outside the box thinking that works.

[Thad Van Gilder]

Well, let me be honest and say I think they and the 19 which they put out first are dangerous.

1) people seem to take them to places where they get in trouble (ie, in front of storms), and expect to hit the engine and get her outa there. however, by that point the sea conditions are such that the boat has to crawl, as it does poorly in any but a flat sea state.

2) people get used to the stability with the water tanks flooded and drain them to motor, and are shocked when the stability changes substantial when the rig is still up.

3) they sail poorly in most conditions. they are fine in flat seas with 8.4 knots of wind, but low winds or high winds... not so much.

4) they both look like a mini Macgreagor 65. A 65 footer for $150,000 new... need I say more about the cut corners?

5) After years of working on many different models of macgreagors from the big catamaran to the ventures to the motorsailors, the quaility is uniformly poor.


-Thad

Just my opinion and I mean not to offend.

[James McMullen]

Very much a compromise motor-sail boat, from the ones I've seen. I've never sailed on one, but I have sailed right past one, dead to windward, in a 19' lugsail rigged, skin-on-frame umiak. It must have pissed him off to be outsailed by such a primitive-looking boat because just a couple minutes after I had gotten ahead of him, the skipper had rolled up his sails and went roaring back to the dock on plane. Sailing performance doesn't seem to be their highest priority.

The thing about Swiss Army knives is, if you've actually got access to a real screwdriver, you generally won't want to go looking for the versa-tool first.

[johngsandusky]

Of course you would reach for the screwdriver first, but if all you had was the knife, you'd be glad it had a screwdriver. These boats try to accomodate many uses, and won't excell at any of them.
This one performed fine in light air. In about 5 knots breeze, she sailed at 4. In a wind that I couldn't feel and oily calm sea, she still sailed at 1-2 knots.
Of course she's not everyone's cup of tea. I'm not buying one. I did feel that she was lightly constructed. But she does have many interesting and well thought out solutions. Some of these features have been discussed on this board. I also don't think the boat can be faulted for a user's poor seamanship. You should go aboard before you judge them too harshly.

[Jonas]

I owned a MacGregor 26X for a few years. Seemed like a good idea when I bought it, but soon discovered that it was nothing more than "recreational" boat, something to fool around in on a Sunday afternoon when conditions are not too challenging. It didn't sail terribly well, but then, it wasn't all that bad either. Neither did it motor terribly well. Compromises in quality make for an affordable boat. I sold it after two years for the price that I paid for it new -- there certainly is a market for these boats. I then bought a used Dufour for half the price, and have been sailing very happily ever since. I don't think that a boat that claims to do everything can do these things very well, since everything is a compromise.

[CharlieCobra]

While I don't care for the 26X/M class of boats, my first boat was a Venture (Mac) 21 with a swing keel. Great little boat that would show it's transom to many a more expensive and larger boat. I hear the 26S with the swing keel was a nice little sailing boat as well. Good boats to learn on.

[Mike Vogdes]

I like the concept... Having a power/sailboat that can live on a trailer when not in use is a great idea, the technology still needs a little tweeking at MacGregor though. I visited the factory a few years back while visiting my parents and watched them go together. Yes they are lightly built, so are their trailers.

Hunter also builds a power/sailboat called the Edge. Its a little bigger and in my opinion a little better, its also a little better looking.
http://www.huntermarine.com/Models/27Edge/27EDGEIndex.html

Theres also a UK builder making a power/sailboat that actually crossed the Atlantic a few years back.

[JimD]

Anybody else have a favourite piece of plastic junk they wanna talk about?

[Ron Williamson]

I have the plastic junk,but don't really want to talk about it.
Shouldn't you be asleep?
R

[BarnacleGrim]

I'm disturbed by the amount of superlatives I hear about MacGregor boats. The first hit I get when I Google MacGregor 65 says that it's one of the most beautiful sailing yachts ever built.

The MacGregor 26, along with the Stevenson pocket yachts, fits my definition of a toy boat. I'm sure its a fun boat to start off with, and if you happen to like it, good for you, get/build one. However its lack of capabilities means you will outgrow it real fast. The only MacGregor I'd want is designed by Iain Oughtred.

[JimD]

Shouldn't you be asleep?
R
Yes.

[Hwyl]

Mac 26 nightmares?

[JimD]

Mac 26 nightmares?

I see dead people, sailing Mac 26s, everywhere.

http://images.starpulse.com/Photos/Previews/6th-sense-movie-02.jpg

[johngsandusky]

Anybody else feel like being cranky and dismissive? :)

[Dave Hadfield]

I sailed a Mac 26S, the standard-sloop-looking model, for 9 seasons. We went all over the place, including Lake Superior.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y79/DaveHadfield/MacGregor26showingpop-top.jpg

As you say, very innovative. Very clever. And light? Of course it's lightly-built -- the whole thing is a package, and it wouldn't go well if it was heavy.

Never had a problem with it. We only sold it because the kids grew too big.

I sure wish I had my current sailboat here in my yard, where the Mac lived, instead of up at the marina.

My next boat, which I'll have to build, will be trailerable again, about 32 ft, and will borrow most of the features of that model Mac 26S.

Dave