More Ms than Xs?

[dlandersson]

The "special two years"? Special why?

I love that 2003-2004 layout, the special 2 years. So roomy for cruising on a rainy day.

But with the rug rats leaving, the is nice for 2

[SENCMac26x]

The "special two years"? Special why?

I love that 2003-2004 layout, the special 2 years. So roomy for cruising on a rainy day.

But with the rug rats leaving, the is nice for 2

Weren't those the years the galley was positioned along the bulkhead seperating the salon from the head? (Set up like the D I believe?)

[mastreb]

The "special two years"? Special why?

I love that 2003-2004 layout, the special 2 years. So roomy for cruising on a rainy day.

But with the rug rats leaving, the is nice for 2

Weren't those the years the galley was positioned along the bulkhead seperating the salon from the head? (Set up like the D I believe?)

Yes. It looses the ability to turn the dinette into a berth, and has more room along the port side with no sliding galley.

[Highlander]

Yep very poor concept really limits use of space & that's why the early only lasted 2 yrs sales dropped drastically , so Roger had to make a drastic change in cabin design for sales to pick up again

The early design was ok for 2 people , not good for a family , I am single & I hate the early design very poor use of space , when cooking cabin is restricted to galley use only , when dining cabin is restricted to dining use only , when dining every one on port side has to move to allow access to the head or V-Berth
The later design with sliding galley & side dinette solves that issue , gives u an extra 3/4 berth & with a minor mod u can have the double couch design the early had best of both worlds
Just my preference but to each his own !

J

[EZ]

Yep very poor concept really limits use of space & that's why the early only lasted 2 yrs sales dropped drastically , so Roger had to make a drastic change in cabin design for sales to pick up again

The early design was ok for 2 people , not good for a family , I am single & I hate the early design very poor use of space , when cooking cabin is restricted to galley use only , when dining cabin is restricted to dining use only , when dining every one on port side has to move to allow access to the head or V-Berth
The later design with sliding galley & side dinette solves that issue , gives u an extra 3/4 berth & with a minor mod u can have the double couch design the early had best of both worlds
Just my preference but to each his own !

J

Not sure why you think the cabin has to be restricted to galley use only for cooking. Works ok for me. However, I do only cook at dockside with a toaster oven.

I think you have good points otherwise, but these compromises are all workable. Everything has pros and cons. My boat has a larger aft berth and more foot space in the main cabin area (later boats trade this space away for the dinette).

To be honest, I don't have a strong preference for one layout over the other. If I was on the market for a boat today, I would be fine w the current layout. BTW, I have a family of four.

[raycarlson]

I have 08 M, I thinks its the later floor plan. I would never consider spending more than a day on the water with 3 or more persons unless they were little kids. 4 adults, no way jose.. 2 people is just perfect.

[Ixneigh]

I have the 11 M model and think the layout is so so. By the time you add storage for a few cloths and personal items, it's about right for two people. I did like the X layout a lot. The M has a larger aft bunk, however. And I am growing to actually like it's smaller cockpit since I usually single hand anyway. The head area is a huge waste of space on a boat this size but it's suicide sales wise to offer a layout without it. Some boats place it under the v berth and you can set up a privacy curtain for it. That seems practical for small boats.
Ix

[Catigale]

I have 08 M, I thinks its the later floor plan. I would never consider spending more than a day on the water with 3 or more persons unless they were little kids. 4 adults, no way jose.. 2 people is just perfect.

Ray..does this mean you aren't coming on next Junes Cuttyhunk outing with me and 6 hormonal teenage girls???

[dlandersson]

With many women and small kids, a dedicated head is a "must".

I have the 11 M model and think the layout is so so. By the time you add storage for a few cloths and personal items, it's about right for two people. I did like the X layout a lot. The M has a larger aft bunk, however. And I am growing to actually like it's smaller cockpit since I usually single hand anyway. The head area is a huge waste of space on a boat this size but it's suicide sales wise to offer a layout without it. Some boats place it under the v berth and you can set up a privacy curtain for it. That seems practical for small boats.
Ix

[mastreb]

Has anyone installed a flushing electric pump-out head on a Mac? I know the composting heads seem to be the most useful long-term head for our boat, but I'm just wondering what size tank would be reasonable.

[Terry]

Yep very poor concept really limits use of space & that's why the early only lasted 2 yrs sales dropped drastically , so Roger had to make a drastic change in cabin design for sales to pick up again

The early design was ok for 2 people , not good for a family , I am single & I hate the early design very poor use of space , when cooking cabin is restricted to galley use only , when dining cabin is restricted to dining use only , when dining every one on port side has to move to allow access to the head or V-Berth
The later design with sliding galley & side dinette solves that issue , gives u an extra 3/4 berth & with a minor mod u can have the double couch design the early had best of both worlds
Just my preference but to each his own !

J

I have the '03M and feel that it is the roomier model and makes best use of space. Much easier accessing aft berth which is the one we use. Very little cooking is done in galley, just boil water on that stove. We use BBQ grill and Coleman stove in cockpit for cooking, we eat up there often too. We only have breakfast (cereal) below. We occasionally take our two young grand nieces on trips and they fit quite nicely on the port/starboard seats, no galley in the way on port. This also keeps them separated so no quarrels during sleep time.
We rarely if ever put the dining pieces in place, it is much roomier without them. I also really love how easy it is to access the aft berth and I have more storage under the seats without the sliding galley.
We have over 50 boats in our MYCBC club and I have seen many different configurations and build changes over the years and I can say through observation that the early '03 models like mine (hull#72) were built slightly better than the new ones. Examples include the heavier stronger mast, steel winches, wood floors, thicker fiberglass in hull sides, upgradable traveller cause my center car is two pieces so I moved them to the ends and added extra pulley blocks for a 3:1 setup, the steel pole pedestal allows more foot room in cockpit and my steering linkage posts are superior to the newer ones, I don't require the BWY steering linkage kit, mine is very simple. Oh did I mention, I have the older heavy duty 6 lug wheel steel trailer with higher load rating! I am sure if I went out and looked closer I would find more improved differences but you get the idea. When they first came out there was more attention to detail and quality to maintain market share, they wanted to make a good first impression.
PS, my '03 also has the much coveted Highlander bowsprit which few others have

[yukonbob]

Has anyone installed a flushing electric pump-out head on a Mac? I know the composting heads seem to be the most useful long-term head for our boat, but I'm just wondering what size tank would be reasonable.

I’ve been throwing this around as well. I’ve thought of installing a manual head with a 5-10 gallon tank under the v-berth and pump out back up the bulkhead in the head to a deck fitting. I’d probably keep the intake under the V as well. It’ll be a few years before our little guy is out of diapers but we have another on the way now; so I thinks the PP won’t suffice past the two year mark.

[tek]

Has anyone installed a flushing electric pump-out head on a Mac? I know the composting heads seem to be the most useful long-term head for our boat, but I'm just wondering what size tank would be reasonable.

I’ve been throwing this around as well. I’ve thought of installing a manual head with a 5-10 gallon tank under the v-berth and pump out back up the bulkhead in the head to a deck fitting. I’d probably keep the intake under the V as well. It’ll be a few years before our little guy is out of diapers but we have another on the way now; so I thinks the PP won’t suffice past the two year mark.

A marine head has been on my 'to-do' list for a while, there are several threads discussing it on here (Some people have posted pics). Although I've noticed the threads often get hijacked by the Nature's head crowd, not as much info on tank with pumpout. The missing piece of information for me has always been what size/shape/model of holding tank to order to actually fit somewhere in an .

[yukonbob]

I've always figured somewhere between 5 and 10 gallons, basically whatever will fit under the starboard side V berth an still have some storage under there. We do just fine with the 3 (?) gallon pp for a long weekends with three on board and thats with no chemicals. I never leave it full when we leave for the week and I think I'd keep that up even with a larger holding tank. We'd be looking to be able to hold enough for five to seven days without having to empty as there are many places along the coast that do not have pump outs (let alone garbage disposal).

[Herschel]

I'm just wondering what size tank would be reasonable.

The PO installed an electric toilet and pump out holding tank on my 26X. He put in a 13 gallon holding tank, and I have found that size very helpful, especially for some of my longer trips on the St. Johns River and the ICW in Florida. After my experience with the 13 gal, I would hesitate at a 5 gallon. I think you could run into some issues, depending on your sailing habits. "Issues with tissues" comes to mind! Just being silly.