Newby-Looking to buy!! any tips or suggestions?

[bjmeunier]

Any helpful hints on what to look for would be great! I'm a long time lurker here, patiently waiting for the day I have my own Mac....anyway, I'm going to look at a 2001 X...

[captain frank II]

Avoid a boat with blisters, mostly found in first 6 inches deep of waterline, How does the bottom and bottom paint look ?

check out rust on trailer, make sure it is travel worthy

condition of cushions, sails, and motor. ask for a test sail, and put the motor and sails to work. check condition of the bimini top.

Check the shrouds, and all standing rigging for broken or worn or rusted cable.

get a marine surveyor to take a look at it, he may not sign off on the motor though.

Make sure all of the electronics that come with the boat work.

Ask for extras like a spinnaker, anchors, lines, life jackets, throw rings, water toys, etc.

[bjmeunier]

ok, thanks, I'll pay particular attention to the waterline. The paint is old and worn on the bottom(from the pics). I was told the boat was never sailed and the sails are still in the bags( I'll pull them out) and the mast raising system still has packing material on it. Thanks for the tips! I'll print all the ones I get and make a nice check list up...

[Kelly Hanson East]

void a boat with blisters, mostly found in first 6 inches deep of waterline, How does the bottom and bottom paint look

If it is painted, how do you know to avoid blisters???

[bjmeunier]

It actually looks like a lot of the paint is gone, but, these are the things I need to know to look for. I'm coming out of an express cruiser in which I never dealt with the hull(always had it done) so I'm just trying to get as much info on the possible problem spots as I can.

[Kelly Hanson East]

Motor is the big thing...is the one you are buying going to suit your needs or do you need to repower...??

Small 9.9 kicker 2k

"Standard Mac" 8k

Big fella 10-12k

[QuebecX]

Yea, i second what the other guys said, try to avoid anything that looks neglected and just check the hull over to be sure there's no blisters and general neglect there, especially on an exposed hull with no paint. i started doing a bit of reading up on it when i saw the 2001 on yachtworld for $9k i think it was. With what i read about blisters it can be labour intensive which costs and painfully keeps you off the water....rather pay more for a cleaner boat. Most of the older boats have them and most times they keep coming back, its a haul out once a year to keep on top of it once started. Also ideally you should let the boat dry out through winter before you epoxy and barrier coat it after repairs to prevent the frustrations of not having gotten all the water out first time... If it turns into a whole gelcoat redo underneath this is where big $$ fall out your pocket, repairable but time consuming and pretty costly mostly due to the labour involved from stripping the gelcoat.

Any pronlonged salt exposure on any boat does no good for stays engines or metal hardware, it weakens stays and corrodes motors, keep a good eye out, make a list of what youre likly to replace and get a quote from the dealer on it then you'll know where you really stand. Ask pertinant questions that tell you if the motor has stood for long periods of time, if its in sweetwater (raised out) then not too bad, if its salt be cautious, you want a motor you can trust. North or South boat? meaning has it been winterised properly, and the engine winterised.

you'll get the hang of it, the signs are usually there, good luck!

[QuebecX]

Check this one out,

http://www.sailingtexas.com/smacgregor26x149.html

not used much but left neglected,

Boat and trailor looks in good shape apart from a few repairable chips and he reports blisters, although i cant see on the photos. The honda 4 stroke 50 is also a great motor

[Russ]

Great suggestions above.

After one season in the water my new boat got blisters (on the bottom). It didn't affect performance that I can tell and in my view it's mostly cosmetic and I can't see them without scuba gear. They can be repaired if desired and wouldn't be a deal breaker for me.

Agreed on focusing on the motor. It's the most complicated part of the Mac. Other stuff, like rigging can be inspected with some common sense. The motor, may have hidden troubles or neglect. I suppose in a perfect world you should have a compression test done by a mechanic and whatever else a mechanic can inspect.

A used boat will not be perfect, so decide what you can "fix" or live with that is not brand new. All in all, great savings can be made on a used boat. Many extras will come with it that if bought new add up to a lot of dough.

Good luck.

--Russ

[QuebecX]

the boat for $9k on yachtworld...

http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/2001/Ma ... ted-States

Although maybe im getting ahead of myself, i cant really tell if its just growth on this one?

[Rick Westlake]

the boat for $9k on yachtworld...

http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/2001/Ma ... ted-States

Although maybe im getting ahead of myself, i cant really tell if its just growth on this one?

My, that one sat in the water for some time. With the outboard down, too, I reckon.

$9000 is a hull of a deal, but there's a lot of sweat-equity in that one. Tread carefully.

(Advantage to a trailer-kept boat - no bottom paint, no blisters! Bossa Nova spent a few years in a mountain lake before I bought her; she's stained and "ugly" below the waterline but not as badly as that one. Salt-water slip, I'd bet.)

[Kelly Hanson East]

Well they got the boat length wrong, and the mast is sitting on the cabin top without support - not exactly confidence builders in this broker.

My French boating colleagues have a very different take on blisters - strictly a resell issue. If you own a boat with blisters, dont fix them unless you are reselling. They dont lead to structural issues in their view. I have to confess, our ballast tanks on most of our slipped boats are permenantly full against non-gel coated FG and we dont even think about this.

On edit - that repo boat is probably a 5k price point - that motor is almost certainly junk.

[WD]

Additional Specs, Equipment and Information:
Builder/Designer

It's a rip off!! they are shorting it 2' !!! };~)

Builder: MacGregor

Dimensions

LOA: 24'

Beam: 7'

Engine(s) HP: 60 Engine Model: four stroke

Tankage
Fuel: 10

Are you looking for a project or for something to use and enjoy immediately?

[bastonjock]

blisters are not a big issue,its all repairable just takes some resin and sweat.

have a good look at the engine,check the dipstick and wipe some oil on the back of your hand,hold ot up to light and look for a sparkle,if it has metal in it,its no good,dont forget to check the anodes,have a look at the propellor looking for damage to the outer edge of the prop blades

go for a run with the motor on the water,run at 1000,rpm,2000 rpm.3000 rpm then go full throttle,make sure that the engine has has a good warm up before you go blast it,if there is any increase in vibration after 1000 rpm,that could mean an out of balance prop and that could mean a problem for the gear box.

Your head could well be buzzing with all this info,there may be an experienced mac owner close by ak nicely and he or she may help and you could offer to pay his gas and have his opinion.

[captain frank II]

This is my take on blisters.

Almost all blisters while not structural will slow a sailboat down.

If there are blisters now, there will be more to come....unless the boat is stored out of water on non sailing days.
Repair and prevention is either very time consuming or expensive if someone else does it.

This is the big picture.......With so many boats on the market you can find one without this hassle to start with.
If your "new boat" is pristine and you are going to wet slip it Then take the preventive measures now....before blisters start. Even then it is not 100% effective....but why gamble.

Blisters severely damage resale value.......so if you are buying please don't pay much for the boat, and don't expect to resale it at top dollar either.

Pleases don't tell me you don't care about speed: This site has an entire section devoted to this. A slick hull is as important for speed as any other.