NEW 2005 M OWNER

[FISHMAN]

Hello all, we are taking delivery of my 2005M on Monday, 27 June. My wife and I are new to sailing. I owned a small 15' runabout many years ago, so I'm more familiar with the power side of a Macgregor. For the past several months we have been practicing sailing on rented Catalina 22's and 25's. My question for you all is how the sailing characteristics of these three boats compare? I don't expect perfection from my new Macgregor as I realize it is a compromise boat. (That's why I picked it.) We're just wondering if the things we learned about sailing on the Catalina's have prepared us for our new adventure on the Mac.

[DLT]

Congrats!

You'll be better prepared that I was earlier this year when I got mine... I'd only sailed hobies and the like, and then not with much skill. The Mac really is relatively easy to sail, especially if you're not expecting much performance.

As you learn and gain experience, you'll be able to customize your boat to gain more performance. This board is replete with performance mods and tips...

[Don T]

Hello and welcome:
All experience is good. Knowledge is power. All you have to do is stick it in the water and hoist the sails. Everything you have practiced will be useful. Each boat has it's groove, all you have to do is find yours.

Good luck and have a great time.

[Catigale]

I have sailed some of the Cat family - the Mac will heel more quickly, especially the first 10-15 degrees than the Cat imho. It then gets stable - but the first 10 degrees comes so quickly you might be spooked the first time it happens...I suspect the is better in this regard as you have more total ballast, but it is slower of course....unless you have the speedy blue hull....

[FISHMAN]

Thanks for the replies! Yes, I do have the MUCH FASTER blue hull, so I anticipate great performance.

[richandlori]

Way to go FISHMAN, Congradulations!

Let me answer your question this way. I went out on a 2004M for about 2hrs and decided I had to have one. This two hrs was my FIRST 2 hrs EVER on a sailboat. 30 days later, my brother and I took out my new M for the first time, and after a few "mistakes" we were sailing at 5nts in about 7-10nts of wind (by GPS) having an absolutely great time!

from that first fabulous sail almost a year ago, I have had my family out on the boat 18 different times, done three overnighters, and am planning on a 6 day sail in two weeks around the Ca Channel Islands with about 8 other Mac's.

You will love the boat and it wont be long before you are searching this site for "how to get .00053nts more out of the Blue Hull Baby"

Let me also give you some advise. Don't get worried on your first few trips if you have a hard time manuvering the boat. The Mac does take some time to get the "Feel" of and it took me a few times to get the feel of her and not thinking that I was steering a garbage scow, so relax.

Enjoy and be sure to post stories about your delivery and first sails, we love hearing those stories.

Rich

[Catigale]

...and once the blue wears off, the even faster white hull is underneath!!

[DLT]

Yeah, I had mine delivered with all the blue crap already removed...

[baldbaby2000]

I've sailed both Catalina 22s and 25s. You won't be as fast as the 25 but you'll be able to beach it a lot easier! The main thing I had to get used to is a wheel instead of a tiller. In my opinion a tiller gives a much better feel of what the boat wants to do; weather helm, etc. I highly recommend a setup that easily lets you disconnect the motor linkage for sailing. The boat has a much better feel. If the motor is locked straight a head you can still motor and steer with the rudders; just keep the speed down below 6 knots or so. You probably want to reconnect the motor before coming into a marina so you have good control.

It also took me a bit to get used to wheel position vs rudder position because even with a piece of tape on the wheel, it's position doesn't correspond to a unique rudder postion because the wheel turns more than once. I kind of solved this by implementing an idea someone on this forum had. Have 2 strings tied to the top spoke of the wheel hanging down on either side with a weight on each one. At a glance one can see if the wheel is one way or another. There is a rudder position indicator available that goes on the hub but I heard it doesn't work well.

My wife and I are happy with our boat. Welcome to the Mac family and keep us posted!

[RandyMoon]

FISHMAN... practical advise from someone with a 2005M and had about the same power boat background.

When you launch your Mac for the first time, there is NO comparison between a powerboat and a ballast sailboat. YOU HAVE TO FILL THE BALLAST TANK, PUT YOUR CENTERBOARD DOWN, PUT YOU RUDDERS DOWN!!!

If you don't, you will entertain people people on the shore watching you. If there is a lot of wind, you will be like a cork getting blown anywhere.

After you get past that, the MAC is a fine sail boat. I hear all the bull about being a compromise sailboat and I do not agree. It gets down to the degree of sailing you want to accomplish. If you want to compete in races, yes there are specially designed boats for that. It really gets down to the experience of the sailor. It takes years to learn how to be a good sailor and you will enjoy every moment of sailing you Mac.

I love my Mac.

[flbum]

I had a fair amount of experience on a Catalina 250 before purchasing a 2005 M. I was able to transfer my sailing experience to the Macgregor but noticed some differences. The wheel steering felt different than the tiller. However, I learned to like it quickly. I prefer the wheel. Among other things, it is easier to tie off quickly with my one dollar autopilot, a bungy cord. Its true that you don't feel the pressure against the rudder with the wheel. So, you can't rely on that tiller pressure to help indicate sail imbalance.

Other differences are that the Mac blows and skids around a lot more than the Catalina. You need to have some daggerboard and preferably rudders down for maneuvering at slow speed.

You have to have more momentum to tack the Mac than the Catalina. I did not notice the tenderness and quick heeling so much as others Mac owners have described. Maybe that's because I enjoy the heeling.

Of course, the performance under power will make you feel much more in control than that tiny kicker your used to on the Catalina. On the Mac, you no longer have to listen to the motor grind away for half a minute before the boat thinks about moving or maneuvering.

Enjoy your new Mac!

Regards,
Rob
http://smartegy.com

[Don T]

Hello:
Reminds me of the joke about the guy who bought a new Squire stationwagon. He began tearing off all of the wood grain trim. When he was done he stepped back and said "I think it looked better in the crate."

So blue hulled M's must still be in the wrapper?

[tcoltrane]

I just took delivery of my new
2005 M. The dealer took me
out to help with the first sail.
I have to say I was truly impressed with how she sailed.
I will have to get used to
steping the Mast and rigging
the sails as I have a huge tendency to get impatient with
this kind of thing. I plan on
taking her to Man-O-War next
June and July so I have a whole
lot to learn this year. I
think I am going to love this
boat!!!

TColtrane

[richandlori]

Great to hear. I jsut got back from a GREAT weekend of sailing. The admiral and I managed sustained seeds of 6.5-7.0 knts for the sail back from Ventura to Oxnard Harbor. Man what a Rush, I will post the full story later.

Rich