Prospective X Purchaser

[dlandersson]

If you want to manage the furler from the cockpit, you'll want a roller furler - highly recommended.

Boat I’m considering apparently just has standard OEM main and jib rigging. Looking for opinions on whether the jib can be managed from the cockpit single-handed. I was thinking it might be essential to have a furler based on my reading and videos. Experienced sailor / sales guy says the foresail can be handled “no problem” from the cockpit.

Also, can any of the sails be reefed without leaving the cockpit with OEM standard running rigging?

[dlandersson]

Ditto with a 97 X

Have an 2002 on a perfect day I get 5.5kt under sail. Ive hit 6 a few times briefly but not been able to sustain that. Anything above 4 feels great imho.

[Russ]

The Mac X/M are hybrid boats.

As a "motor/sailor" they don't sail as well as a pure sailboat and don't motor as well as a pure powerboat. They were built very inexpensively so they could be sold to first time boaters. Stock boats came sparse. Didn't even have a head sail or motor. Roger MacGregor left much of the outfitting to the dealers and offered a super low sticker price.

With that said, despite being manufactured at a high pace with some lower quality finishes, the safety record is impeccable. Tens of thousands of these boat were manufactured and I could list accidents on one hand and ALL were because of poor captain decisions.

You will not find a 26' boat with more cabin space period. Many would be powerboaters buy them for this reason only.

If you want to win sailing races, this is NOT the boat for you. Every other PURE sailboat will out run you. However, you can out run them back to the dock under power. The ability to get up to 16mph and tow kids behind is something no other boat can do.

Sailing from the cockpit is doable and many have outfitted their boats to do so. A roller furling headsail should be part of that plan. Reefing can theoretically be done from the cockpit. Honestly, at this point, I've taken all the reefing lines out of my main. If I need to reef, I take down the sails and motor back. It's not fun for me to be in that stuff.

The mods section of this forum has 20 years of ideas how to customize these boats. It's one of the easiest boat to modify to your specific needs.

There is a video in this thread that is excellent and explains many possibilities.
viewtopic.php?p=367756#p367756

[pitchpolehobie]

Here is a list of my mods tallied up to my 2002 26X with most visible in pictures. I can single hand from the cockpit everything except reef. My 0.02 is to use it for a few months before you upgrade anything and just see what annoys you and are you sailing coastal cruising a week offgrid or inland lake evening cruises for an hour. Parts get expensive!

viewtopic.php?t=29332

[burningblue]

Thanks to all respondents for the helpful and informative feedback.

[dlandersson]

Wait till you get the bill

Thanks to all respondents for the helpful and informative feedback.

[JotaErre]

In Spain, as bilge pumps are mandatory, all 26s (X and M) had a manual bilge pump as standard equipment (the importer installed it in each boat before selling it).

[burningblue]

Thanks. Interesting fact. I thought all hollow-hulled boats over a certain length had to have bps, even if design specs could prove the hull 'unsinkable."
Noticed many respondents on the topic and in the Mac 26 community at large have installed their own or advocate doing so.

[NiceAft]

Noticed many respondents on the topic and in the Mac 26 community at large have installed their own or advocate doing so.

I’m sure many have; I am also sure they are a small percentage of the total overall ownership.

[Russ]

In the USA, I believe vessels 26' and above are required to have a fixed bilge pump. Our boats are 25' 10" and are not subject.

This is the first boat I've owned that didn't have a bilge pump. I've never installed one and I've never had water in my "bilge".

All the Mac owners I've read have rain water infiltrate and usually a sponge works best to remove it.

[burningblue]

Thanks to all respondents on the bilge pump topic.

[Gordo]

In the USA, I believe vessels 26' and above are required to have a fixed bilge pump. Our boats are 25' 10" and are not subject.

Curious where one would find a refence for this?

[Russ]

In the USA, I believe vessels 26' and above are required to have a fixed bilge pump. Our boats are 25' 10" and are not subject.

Curious where one would find a refence for this?

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR ... 82-520.pdf

[dlandersson]

So that 25' 10" length becomes really important.

In the USA, I believe vessels 26' and above are required to have a fixed bilge pump. Our boats are 25' 10" and are not subject.

Curious where one would find a refence for this?

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR ... 82-520.pdf

[Russ]

So that 25' 10" length becomes really important.

Makes me think Roger did it on purpose. Also, many homeowners insurances used to cover boats UNDER 26'

I bet it also make a difference in what will fit in a shipping container.