So why is the mac 26 x or m not a good sailer

[Gravydon]

I know it doesent have a keel< but how slow is it.Will it sail 6 or 7 n, In the video it looks to sail fast, So give me some input Please. I know it has a trailer and a big motor to go when i need it but how does it sail. The good and the bad.....

[Gravydon]

The reason I am asking I want to buy a mac 26 x or m after the new year and what is the differents from the x and m is there 6 ft headroom on the x and how does it sail.Thanks..........

[Gravydon]

Hey I know you guys have these boats give me some input.........

[John McDonough]

I own a 26X. 5`10" I have no problem standing in the cabin. All 15 square foot of rug to walk on..If I want to go to the V-berth I have to step up 6" and bend over a little.

is a more modern but similar . A new costs more than a used

I always owned fast sailboats in the past, my Macgregor Saleman showed me the new 26X back in 1996 or 1997 claiming it was just as fast as my Mac 26D, It had more comfortable cabin, plus it could take a 50 HP and reach motor sppeeds of 25 mph. Like an Idiot without doing any Homework, I Just bought the 26X because it was so cheap. I was just going to keep my 10 hp.

On my very first sail, the same boats that I always blew off were all ahead of me. The man who I sold my 26D would not trade or sell back. Planing on more frequent crossings of Lake Erie, I bought a 50 hp honda. It goes about 18mph, not 25. I motor when calm, sail when windy.

In 2000 I decided to buy a better Sailboat. I went to the Cleveland Boat show, and found that Macgregor had re-designed the 26X. No other brands at a affordable price had the faster motor capability, so I bought a new 2000 26X.

I like the fact that I can motor across lake Erie in a couple of hours. You really dont relize how slow the Macgregor is, unless you are Sailing next to another Sailboat. The thrill of Sailing is still there. If your really in a hurry you should not consider a Sailboat.

Another factor is.. How much money do you intend to spend. similar brand boats are almost double the price of a Macgregor.

[Gravydon]

I am looking at a mac because of price I am married lol and the trailer and motor part. But I read that they are not good sailer that is y i am asking I want to know as much as i can before i buy so i am asking for all the info i can get thanks..........

[Gravydon]

If i buy a x can i put the mask from a m to a x to make it faster

[John McDonough]

The increase in speed, maybe -1mph vs all the work involded changing masts and rigging.

As i stated before, the macgregors are the most eonomical. My 26X is not the fastest boat, but the point is to get out on the water, Hoist Sails, enjoy Nature and the winds. I sail on the great Lakes. I follow the big fast Sailboats. They may Sail faster and arrive in Port 30 minutes or an Hour ahead of me, but that reallly means I am out on the water longer/

When I get there Sailing, I find them all drunk at the dock.

If the winds should fade, and we all turn on our motors, (26X @ 18-20mph vs Yacht @ 6 or 7 mph) I will arrive at the next port 1 or 2 hours ahead of the Real sailboats and they find half my crew drunk at the dock.

[bubba]

My wife and I bought our 07M Thanksgiving 07 it was slightly used and we got a deal buying a less than year old Mac. We realised to sail our well outfitted M it still needed some upgrades in gear like: better line ,a 3rd reef in our main sail, 2 spinnakers one A type and the other down wind with pole. With upgrades and 105 days and nights on our boat in a year I think we could sail with the best cruising sailboats and with the rotating mast we can point up better than most.
We have bottom paint which is good for growth but slows it along with the weight of extras that racing sailors would not usually have on there boat like TV, Frig, BBQ, large potty, etc.. The thing we like about our Mac M the most is the trailer and quick setup, we live 3 blocks from a lake on the Columbia river and it is 4 hours and I can be across the Cascade Mt's. and in Puget Sound or 2 hours away large lakes in Idaho Mt's or cruse to Florida.
One thing that on the averages is Mac's are a lot of folks first sailboat or motor sailor and the purest sailors don't have much of a motor and these things are pluses and minuses.

[2BonC]

Hallo Gravydon,

You must know to have a multypurpose-boat like a Mac is a allways a compromise. After having a for about 4 years I changed to a three Years ago.
As far as sailing is concernd my impression was: a difference like day and night, motoring with the same outboard (50 HP Suzuki) was much better with the .
I´m quite happy with the sailing abilities of the however doe to the small daggerboard, rudder and underwater part of the hull and it´s relatively big overwaterpart of the hull there is a problem to tack against the wind. My experience is the stronger the wind the more this applies. A pure sailing boat of the same size will gain more hight against the wind.
Sailing accross the wind ore in some angle in front of the wind there is allmost no difference to a pure sailing boat, if there is one it´s in the area where a good sailing technic will equalize this.
With "good" (around 3-4B) winds I usually sail around 4 -5 kts, the most I have seen on my log was 7,5 in straight front of a strong wind with a big genua, no mainsail.
To be honest as I´m most of the time sail on south German inland waters (in general You have there eather no wind or thunderstorms ) unfortunately I see only 2-3Kts on my log

To give my resumé: With a You will have a small disadvantage during sailing but trade this against the ability transport the boat on the trailor whereever You want and to move quite fast with the engine and . If You want to race select a different boat if You want to have a real allrounder for this money You can hardly find another boat .

Rainer

[craiglaforce]

8.5 mph is about the top speed I have had under sail, with bottom paint, standard jib and a few hundred lbs of gear. (typical speeds are around 5-7 mph) 1997 26x

The boat initially came with too much mast rake, which can easily be adjusted out to give good sail plan balance and improve upwind performance.

The hull is much flatter than a normal sailboat. Great for shallow water sailing if you rig the rudders to kickup with bungee cord since the centerboard will also kick up if you cross some shallows.

If you really pay attention to tuning the boat, it will beat a lot of other boats out there, but of course is no match for a J boat or other racing boat.

The big motor has a couple of advantages. If a storm pops up, lowering the sails, the boat is like a tank and will punch through just about anything. I have seen other sailboats with small outboards lose prop immersion in big waves and blow ashore. I have also seen big keel boats with inboard engines get barnacles on the prop and not be able to motor against much of a headwind. The heavier 50 hp motor tends to keep the prop in the water, the prop never gets barnacles because it is raised when docked. Also, it lets you empty ballast while on the water and motor to cover a large distance quickly and gives great margin of safety.

Its a lot of boat for the money, performs pretty well if you pay attention to the setup details. The boat does not sail well if you don't understand and pay attention to the tuning and sail trim. You absolutely must balance the sail plan and take care not to stall the centerboard. If you do this, it sails nicely.

It does a lot of things for the money, is roomy, versatile, easy to take care of and pretty safe for inland and coastal sailing. If I was ever buying another sail boat under 30 ft, the X would be my first choice again. (The M is similar, but has a rounder hull, daggerboard, some permanent ballast built in, a taller rotating mast, and different cabin and cockpit arrangement). I prefer the X design over the M, but just my opinion. I like sailing in shallow bays and would not like to worry about the daggerboard breaking off, plus prefer the larger boarding space in the transom, but I've never sailed an M. Maybe they sail better (at least that is the claim by the factory). I would not put an M mast on an X.

I would also like to add a few points:

I believe some of the negative sailing comments come from those who are used to sailing traditional keelboats and try to sail this one using their same methods. This boat has its own quirks and if you don't take them into account, a negative first impression is easy to understand.

Smaller, long narrow, underwater foils are more efficient when not stalled, but not at all forgiving if stalled. The hull stability is part from the form of the flatter hull and partly from the water ballast. This is very different than a rounded hull with almost no form stability but more deep ballast stability. (step onto the rail of a mac and a regular keelboat when at the dock. The keelboat rail will go down about a foot while the mac rail will barely budge. In calm waters this favors the mac, but in large waves the mac will be moved around a lot by the wave action and dump air from the sails. The boat is lighter than a normal sailboat, and requires less sail area to move near hull speed. Hence the mast and such look "puny" to a traditional sailor. But this is how the boat was designed. To be lightweight for trailering, to have a flattish hull and sharp transom for planing ability with the outboard, The sharp transom does create drag when sailing. (Part of the trade-off to have a boat that will plane). This was a groundbreaking design that broke the rules resulting in a boat that did a lot of different things, within a very modest budget.

[Gravydon]

well thankyou all for the input, That put my mine to ease, I was worried that it was not going to sail good but 4 to 7 kt is good enough for me, I have been looking at the use boats forsale here on the sight and i think you guys are wright on buying a use one Thanks alot........Gravy

[Gazmn]

Gravy,
You can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it was this

If you get a used or where the warantee is expired, I'd throw on the biggest engine you can afford; including >90hp. This boat is not a great sailor -- Never will be. & sometimes speed is the need It is a fun camper on the water, that you can motor or sail.

Have Fun

&, or this statement

I see a lot of transoms when I sail, because I'm always in the back

that I made in another posting that got you going in this one. I'm glad others chimed in rather than me sticking my other foot also in my mouth.

Re: sailing speed, I have reached 6kts sailing in my little bay. I don't know what the winds were blowing, but they were blowing

I would recommend you sail on a MacGregor or any boat you're considering purchasing before you buy it

If that means you have to wait, then wait. You can save yourself a lot of heartache you may not otherwise be able to reconcile. Reread John McDonough's post.

I like and enjoy my boat because I appreciate what it Does, as well as does Not do.

With a Mac you can have a lot of fun - but you won't be winning any races

[Nautek]

I have found my Mac X to be comparable with other cruising boats of a similar size.
All too often people come from racing boats to the MAC and expect the same performance.
Down wind or on a reach are the best for the MAC (gentlemen don't sail to windward)
The flat transom is a liability as the drag from this does slow you down a bit but you can't have it every way.

If you want a comfortable cruising boat capable of coastal cruising then a MAC is a good choice
However if you have the need for speed then don't even consider one.

Allan

[baldbaby2000]

If more Macgregor owners would race it wouldn't matter. After all, most sailboats are slow; the 26X and 26M are just slower. But if we're racing against one another, it's not as obvious!

[BK]

I have the 50 Suzuki HP on my 2000 X and it goes easily 14 MPH at 5000 RPM to Catalina fully loaded. Even if I bought a new M I think a 5o HP is plenty good. The extra cost and weight of a 60HP or larger is not worth a couple miles per hour or to get to Catalina 10 minutes eariler. Its like putting a V8 on to a VW.
If you want to sail a little faster in light winds, put up a genny. My jib works fine in 90% of wind conditions here in Socal. If there is too much wind, I don't go out.