MacGregorSailors.com

I will be there tomorrow (Friday), will stop by the Tattoo around 4:00pm and see if any Mac sailors are interested in sharing stories over a drink

Pics, we need Pics posted here guys. You can still take a pic in the rain lol

Unfortunately, I need to work today and will go tomorrow - but today does seem to be a real good day to go to a boat show.

With all the rain, being near a boat is a good idea Interstate 95 south of Baltimore was partially flooded/closed this morning - I have not seen that before!

OK, we're home after a long day at the Annapolis US Sailboat Show. We had a nice conversation with Paul and Laura, the owners of Tattoo, and they showed us around the new 26. There was a lot of interest in the boat with plenty of visitors despite the truly lousy (rainy/drizzly) weather. Here's a few photos:


Paul & Laura Sharp with the Admiral.


New dinette table with inset cubby.


New pedestal.

Note the new 'broken' stripe.


Lines-led-aft is standard on the Tattoo 26.


And gone is the traveler... replaced by a central attachment point and two more on the side rails (to allow outboard location of the boom).

New galley top with a granite-like look.


Note that the transom seat now hinges the opposite way making access easier. No more stepping on the steering linkage and it opens with more sensible access to the ladder.


Gone is the mirror (and all the smudges!).

Nice sail cover!


The underside of that new dinette table showing the depth of the cubby.


A cooler was located aft of the dinette and note that the cushions were custom-fitted around it.

The familiar "M" head.


Looking aft.


Control panel and lighting.

Hull logo - very bright and colourful.


Side windows.


Loved the vintage-look instrumentation.

That's the stock ETEC-60 RPM gauge (which I also like the look of).

Thanks for the great pix Kevin (tougher to do in the rain )--

Some nice details there.

“Granite” finish is a visual improvement over previous surface.

Yup - the tach on the binnacle is stock Evinrude. I see advantages to the new pedestal shape.

Help me out - I can't think of a single advantage, either to the customer, or the manufacturer, of relocating the steering linkage, engine harness pass-through point, ladder, and seat hinge to the opposite side of the boat, though.

Looks like the ballast valve and handle now need to be stepped over (they weren't switched over)? Maybe because the controls come out of the E-tec to the right of centre? An under-deck auto helm requirement? Similarity of parts shared with another (future) model that are on the right side? Any insight on that one from anybody?

I notice that the ladder treads have a finish (sealer) on them, or maybe they are just wet from the rain .

Very nice overall – good luck to Paul and Laura!

- Brian.

Brian, the only thing changed at the stern was the seat hinge was flipped to the other side. The steering cables, linkage, etc. are still on the right (starboard) side. By moving the hinge now the seat also flips to the right side, leaving a nice clear passage to entry on the same side as the ladder. Makes sense!

As for the ladder, I didn't note any protective coatings... It was just a very wet day and I expect there may have been wax on some of the stainless bits causing the water to bead up.

Thanks for the great pics Kevin. Looks like all good improvements over the M.

kmclemore wrote:By moving the hinge now the seat also flips to the right side, leaving a nice clear passage to entry on the same side as the ladder. Makes sense!

My ladder is on the Starboard side and the hinge is obviously on the port and works well. The ballast vent is on the port side. Were other M's configured with the ladder on the port side?

RussMT wrote:My ladder is on the Starboard side and the hinge is obviously on the port and works well. The ballast vent is on the port side. Were other M's configured with the ladder on the port side?

No, I think the idea was to move both so that you enter from the port side and no longer need to step over the engine's cables and steering connections.

Kevin,

I don't see how rear access has improved at all. The steering, the cables and the seat-hinge are on port and the ladder is on starboard on my 2008_M . The only change I see is that now you're stepping over the ballast handle as well. Beats me, why this was changed. I do like some of the other changes a lot, and hope that retrofit parts will be available in the future to update the M's .

Obelix