Well, that escalated really rapidly...

[mastreb]

So...

Just as getting the final touches on my rig rebuilt, I went to the San Diego International boat show and showed my wife and family the Beneteau Oceanis 38 that I've been following since it was announced. I'd seen it earlier at a local boat show when it first arrived.

Short story even shorter, they loved it and so I bought it. So I'm going back to being a slip sailor, a little better prepared to pay for it than I was 20 years ago when I first did it. With my three teenagers getting bigger every year the 26M was getting really tight, and this boat will accommodate taking out more of my extended family when they visit.

It is my intent to continue participating on this forum, but I expect that my participation will wane over time as the issues get more remote, and I've always personally felt it was out-of-context at best and a faux-pass at worst to discuss other boats on this forum. Unfortunately, there is no owner's group for this boat as I'm the first person in San Diego to take delivery and only 40 have been built thus far. It's unlikely that there would ever be more than a few hundred anyway, and while I suppose it's similar to most boats, I'm not a fan of the other sailing forums that seem to be the typical destination for keelboat owners.

We're considering keeping Luna Sea and moving her to the East Coast to be stored there, but it's more likely that we would sell her.

I'm really kind of sad about drifting away from this awesome community, especially considering that there's nothing to replace it. I've never been able to get engaged with other forums, as all the photography, motorcycle, and kayak forums seem to be populated 100% by trolls and fools.

Send me a PM if you'd like to get my personal email to stay in touch--I've made some real friends on this forum and I'd love to stay connected. I'd also love the opportunity to come out and crew on a boat during events.

Thanks guys!

[Russ]

That sure is a nice looking boat. I love the fold down transom. It's hard to show a boat like that to your family and not get them excited. The admiral will love the shower with hot water. Slip boating is very convenient. You will surely enjoy that boat.

I'd love to have a bigger boat.
Our lake is huge, however it is also remote without full marina services. Therefore we must depend on ourselves for launching, so the Mac is as big a boat as you can reasonably trailer. There is a 34 Pearson for sale up there. It has a trailer however id have to pay a truck to move it and who knows how crazy it would be to launch off the trailer.

I know what you mean about this forum. It has the nicest folks and the mods keep things clean and friendly. Kind of unusual for a Internet forum.

Please don't be a stranger Matt. I consider you a valuable contributor and your knowledge might help a new Mac owner even if you aren't a Mac owner yourself. Heath, the owner of this site hasn't owned a Mac in years.

--Russ

[fouz]

Congrats on the boat.

Definitely stick around. I have read some of your post and thought "That guy seems to be really smart" so we still may need to pick your brain on some things

Hope you enjoy your new boat and all goes well.

[yukonbob]

What the hull! No picture os the new toy? Congrats!

[dlandersson]

Well, what kind of Bimini do/did you have? I might be in the market.

[mastreb]

Well, what kind of Bimini do/did you have? I might be in the market.

I actually have the BWY bimini, unmounted unopened in the box. It was going on in two weeks. So... sure, it's for sale.

Matt

[mastreb]

What the hull! No picture os the new toy? Congrats!

Well, I don't want to go too far off the MacGregor topic, but since you asked

These are of the actual unit (not just the model) being sailed by the dealership prior to my purchase:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCgSOGUD72Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ1fj-ScSGQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZ71UVj69Es

We're committing the mortal sin of naming the new baby the same as the old baby: "Luna Sea". We just love that name and aren't ready to let it go. And no, we're not naming it "Luna Sea II".

[Crikey]

Sweet! (and sour at the same time).....

You could also store in the Great Lakes region if you ever wanted to get out of that barnacle scrapin solitude. I could do it for free!
How bout LunaSea Too.

[dlandersson]

$50?

Well, what kind of Bimini do/did you have? I might be in the market.

I actually have the BWY bimini, unmounted unopened in the box. It was going on in two weeks. So... sure, it's for sale.

Matt

[bahama bound]

We have been looking as well ?? My wife has been calling brokers and we have been to Florida ,Beaufort and several other places we would split our time cruising maybe 6 months at a time and home 6 months ! My has lit a fire under my butt ...we think it would be a great experience for our girls !! We want to full cabins and 2 full heads ??? May end up with a cat ,looked at some really nice ones !we may end up keeping our Mac as well ?

[mrron_tx]

Matt : I am glad You have started the next chapter in Your life and I also will miss Your inputs and constructive guidance Just remember , You still have a spot around here , and I for one will always be happy to see You pop in sometime Fair Winds Sailor. Ron. Dauntless.

[NiceAft]

Matt,

Interesting video's. Can she be single handed sailed

Ray

[mastreb]

Matt,

Interesting video's. Can she be single handed sailed

Ray

She is configured for single handing with both a roller furling 110% jib (the mast and keel are farther aft that typical to accommodate a larger sail area jib that's easy to tack around) and an in-mast roller-furling mainsail. Frankly she's considerably easier to sail than the 26M, which is nice because I looked like a real pro on the test sail. It's interesting how much learning to sail the MacGregor makes you a better sailor overall. She powers up surprisingly fast in a puff and is actually classified as an ultra-light. She's exceptionally stiff in light winds and doesn't heel at all until the winds are over about 8 knots. While very beamy, she gets up on on the chines rapidly and more than 50% of the hull wetted surface comes out of the water almost like a catamaran, and you can feel the acceleration when the heel goes to 20%.

All lines are led aft to clutches, and it has an electric windlass, so you can literally do everything from the cockpit unless something is fouled. It has four nice self-tailing winches, on the aft gunnels and at the cabin top in the same location as the Mac. It's configured with a B&G autopilot, but could easily be single handed without it as the helm is not at all nervous.

She does have a few issues out of the gate:

:: The mast arch is right at my standing eyeline for the horizon, which is more than a little annoying.
:: The Helm seats need to be a bit higher, especially for the admiral to sit and see the horizon.
:: The 3rd cabin is impinged by the starboard lazarette, and there's surprisingly little storage for a boat of its size: It's likely that the 26M has more usable storage.
:: The fuel tank is rather small; The ETEC-60 has a longer range at the same speed with the stock 24 gallons of fuel.
:: The freshwater tank is similarly small.
:: The hull is solid glass, but the deck is balsa core which I'm a little bit afraid of over time.

I'll keep all my discussion of it to this thread.

Matt

[cptron]

You are still welcome to come back and join us here on the East coast anytime, with the mac, Or if you want to sell your mac we can always do a trade for a vacation like you talked about before. I hope we won't miss you too much as you will surely come back here to impart some of your wisdom to those of us who could surely use it. Keep us posted on the new mast and how it is working out. Good luck and fair winds

[Russ]

:: The fuel tank is rather small; The ETEC-60 has a longer range at the same speed with the stock 24 gallons of fuel.
:: The freshwater tank is similarly small.
Matt

Specs show a 24 gal fuel tank. With a 30hp diesel, that burns less than 3/4 gallon per hour that's a decent range.
Water shows 87 gallons. How much water do you need?


I agree, with the configuration, it should be easy to single hand.