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I deliberated before buying my 26D. It comes down to buying the right tool for the job and understanding all boats' tradeoffs.

Anything, even a small sailboat, kept in the water costs significantly more to maintain over time. They suck money, and most of it you will never see again.

The Mac sucks money too but at a significantly lower rate.

I looked at where I wanted to sail, how many people I wanted to sail with, and how often. My honest assessment is that I would mostly be sailing alone or with limited crew and most of it was < 3-4 days on the water in semi-sheltered waters. For those times where I need a bigger boat, for extended family to join us I'd just charter something.

I could have afforded a much more expensive boat, but figured I'd be happier with something modest. All those habits from years of wealth accumulation are hard to kick.

Hi All!

Nice question….. We looked around for a while at different boats… Bigger, smaller, DIY kits and even designing/building our own to the extent of starting lofting plans for an aluminum swing out trimaran cruiser with retractable hard side decks.
Went as far as also working out the preliminary logistics of fabrication and handling the structures during the process within our garage and concrete side yard.

We wanted something we could trailer and launch ourselves as well as store ourselves rather than at a boat yard.
Something suitable for regular highway and interstate travel.
We wanted something that would allow us to fit into a standard marina slip.
We wanted something that was primarily a cruiser to explore the ICW and other larger waterways.
Something comfortable for two adults and pets.
Something we could bring guest on for company if desired.
Something maneuverable in potentially tight spaces.
Something with enough free board to handle coastal water, wind and waves if the weather turned south.
Something with enough speed to get out ahead of a storm and to a sheltered location.
Something that had the option to sail if we chose to.
Something that looked nice and was reasonably easy to maintain and use.
Something with an outboard engine, preferably one.

While the self designed an built trimaran cruiser would have been unique, fun to design, fun to build, fun to use and a nice end of professional engineering career project it would have taken the better part of two to five years to realize.
The reality check was two back surgeries and the years of recoveries right after retirement… Yeah, a real reality check…
Did we really want to spend all that time and effort on a project or wouldn’t we rather enjoy the time & adventures on the water?

That’s where the Mac26X came to the fore!
For what we were looking to do in retirement it was nearly perfect!
Trailerable and self launchable - Yes
Highway & Interstate travel - Yes
Two adults plus - Yes
Sail option - Yes
A functional cabin with sufficient space to cruise - Yes
Outboard powered with speed - Yes
Easy to maintain - Yes
Standard slip size -Yes
Freeboard to handle wind, waves and weather - Yes
Maneuverable - Yes
Speed and range - Yes
Fun - Yes
Self storage - Yes
Extended Cruising capable - Yes
Looks nice - Yes

Rodger MacGregor had already designed and built the boat that met our criteria and did so with a sense of style too!
The MacGregor 26X!
It was already a well proven design with hundreds of happy user examples in use in nearly every corner of the globe doing all sorts of remarkable adventures.

We have a vessel that is nigh onto perfect for our needs and desires and it’s ready to go now! Not years later.

We purchased our Mac26X back in 2020 and it was the best choice for us.
We’ve spent 70 nights (2 plus months) living aboard on Lake Champlain from September to November.
There have been separate 2 week adventure living aboard and another week plus traveling the ICW as we went up to Charleston, SC.
We have traveled from NH to SC to VT and using our boat as a camper enroute and just for fun.
We’ve had the fun of making modifications to the galley, interior, fuel system and added a new Suzuki DF60AV 4-stroke engine.
For us it was the best choice and has provided us with what we desired (without the wait).

Would we want to sell our Mac26X and get a larger boat? Nope!
We’ve found, or rather I should say, Over Easy found us and we are having a great time!
There are still many more adventures afield and afloat ahead of us!

Best Regards,
Over Easy

We are looking in the Mediterranean for something in the 10-12 m range (under 40 foot), not as a replacement for our , but as a place to summer. Has to be more of a deep water boat to handle conditions there, but the real driver is that it must be comfortable to live aboard.

We are delighted with the as a weekender, but I couldn't imagine being on it for several weeks.

Outlander wrote: ↑Thu Jul 25, 2024 10:16 am I sold my San Juan 21 four years ago and bought a 26M (wanted something bigger to say overnight, etc),

I know this is an old post, and I'm glad it got brought back in our search for our friend BOAT.

I came here to say that this was my journey too, for the same reasons. I had two San Juans before I got my 26M and when selling my San Juan, I couldn't imagine owning a MacGregor because of how much they went for.

Quite a fun post to read through everyone's replies, I have nothing to add, you all said it perfectly.

-Toros

PS, I too have a 14' Hobie Holder..

To give an example supporting my "cost to own" reasons for our boats.
My Johnson 120hp mix your own fuel, stupid simple but smokes a lot motor started giving me issues.
A little research, spent about an hour replacing the coils/wires/plugs, new fuel with seafoam, new primer bulb, back in business.

Have you looked at the Gemini 105m's?

Piddle and Futz wrote: ↑Wed May 21, 2025 8:36 pm We are looking in the Mediterranean for something in the 10-12 m range (under 40 foot), not as a replacement for our , but as a place to summer. Has to be more of a deep water boat to handle conditions there, but the real driver is that it must be comfortable to live aboard.

We are delighted with the as a weekender, but I couldn't imagine being on it for several weeks.

dlandersson wrote: ↑Fri May 23, 2025 4:14 am Have you looked at the Gemini 105m's?

Piddle and Futz wrote: ↑Wed May 21, 2025 8:36 pm We are looking in the Mediterranean for something in the 10-12 m range (under 40 foot), not as a replacement for our , but as a place to summer. Has to be more of a deep water boat to handle conditions there, but the real driver is that it must be comfortable to live aboard.

We are delighted with the as a weekender, but I couldn't imagine being on it for several weeks.

We haven't looked at the Geminis.

Catamarans don't make a lot of sense for our needs. Partly that is not wanting to pay double for docking fees. Part is my utter lack of experience on cats outside of a Hobie 16 decades ago (such a fun ride!).

Cruising cats are a rare thing in the ports we have visited in Spain. I think that reflects local wisdom. Most of the Med has deep waters. Catalonia also has a strong prevailing wind called the Tramontana. These aren't the shallow sea, light wind conditions for which catamarans are designed.

I'm aware that cats are very popular as charters in the Adriatic and Aegean. That is a function of their shallower seas and maximizing the number of cabins and accommodations for clients. Again not a fit for a sailing couple.

Add to that the fact that most cats are far more expensive to buy and operate than an equivalent monohull.

We may run into a cat that ticks all the box s for us. I'm not ruling it out altogether... Just don't think it is likely.

Hi Piddled and Futz!

Sounds like a nice summer!
How long are you thinking of staying?
Are you thinking of a base port and day sails or changing locales?

Best Regards
Over Easy

The Gemini 105M is 14' wide - just a single slip

Piddle and Futz wrote: ↑Fri May 23, 2025 6:50 pm

dlandersson wrote: ↑Fri May 23, 2025 4:14 am Have you looked at the Gemini 105m's?

Piddle and Futz wrote: ↑Wed May 21, 2025 8:36 pm We are looking in the Mediterranean for something in the 10-12 m range (under 40 foot), not as a replacement for our , but as a place to summer. Has to be more of a deep water boat to handle conditions there, but the real driver is that it must be comfortable to live aboard.

We are delighted with the as a weekender, but I couldn't imagine being on it for several weeks.

We haven't looked at the Geminis.

Catamarans don't make a lot of sense for our needs. Partly that is not wanting to pay double for docking fees. Part is my utter lack of experience on cats outside of a Hobie 16 decades ago (such a fun ride!).

Cruising cats are a rare thing in the ports we have visited in Spain. I think that reflects local wisdom. Most of the Med has deep waters. Catalonia also has a strong prevailing wind called the Tramontana. These aren't the shallow sea, light wind conditions for which catamarans are designed.

I'm aware that cats are very popular as charters in the Adriatic and Aegean. That is a function of their shallower seas and maximizing the number of cabins and accommodations for clients. Again not a fit for a sailing couple.

Add to that the fact that most cats are far more expensive to buy and operate than an equivalent monohull.

We may run into a cat that ticks all the box s for us. I'm not ruling it out altogether... Just don't think it is likely.

I've done a lot of homework of all the different versions of the Gemini Cat since the mid 90s, and have seriously considered going to that boat. It checks most of the boxes for our needs and its value proposition for coastal cruising, considering the costs to own/operate, is really quite good.

For us at the moment it just boils down to costs. Marina slip fees are 30-40% cheaper for the MacGregor, I only have a $20 annual county ramp fee and my driveway vs $500 travel-lift and $2k hard-stand storage costs during the off-season. If I want to change boating location within North America I can trailer it myself for about $0.30 to $0.50 per mile (not including price of my truck) vs $5.00 to $10.00 per mile to hire a moving firm or crew to sail it. Insurance would be about 50% more and so would annual routine maintenance costs. Lastly, I would probably need to finance at least $100k of it vs. owning my 26M outright.

It boils down to about an average of $40k annual higher costs to own/operate at generally the same level and type of usage. That includes paying to move it do a sailing destination that would be too far move it myself with work and time constraints and back to home at least once a year. Even without paying to move it and just staying local, its $20k more a year to own/operate. Someday soon, but not until the last kids are off of the payroll.

v/r
dustoff

Ditto

dustoff wrote: ↑Tue May 27, 2025 6:54 am I've done a lot of homework of all the different versions of the Gemini Cat since the mid 90s, and have seriously considered going to that boat. Someday soon, but not until the last kids are off of the payroll.

v/r
dustoff

For us, we are always on the lookout for a new boat (at a good deal)
The wife would love nothing more than to get a cat and do the "you tube" cruising thing.
But that is a HUGE jump in price and maint.
For instance, a basic 35' Tomcat/PDQ cat that would be more for the great lakes... a 20 yr old one I would think you would be in for $80k PLUS refit/maint that the previous owner did not do.

So for us.. we are very happy with a 26m (We liken it to the VW Camper of the Seas) and its minimal maint.
If we do go bigger, it would have to be an "all in" type thing.. or nothing. A Sirius DH35, mono... or a Xquisit 50 cat.. or its not worth the $$ and extra effort/maint.

Right now I have very old parents (90yrs and 96yrs) that still live on their own.. and have to be there for them (bring food... I have fallen and cannot get up.. etc..) so for now.. we cannot even go away for a few days anyway. So the ease of maint is a huge thing for use at this time..

I would say we motor a lot.. up little rivers and explore, when out on the lakes.. we "goof around" sail, then Motor the heck back and put some steaks on the BBQ.

Even sailing up the Detroit River, Coast guard has stopped MANY FRIENDS, and insisted they motor or at least motor sail, but would not allow them to flat out sail it. (never heard of any laws forbidding it...)


AD

adudinsk wrote: ↑Mon Jun 16, 2025 6:38 am ...
Even sailing up the Detroit River, Coast guard has stopped MANY FRIENDS, and insisted they motor or at least motor sail, but would not allow them to flat out sail it. (never heard of any laws forbidding it...)

AD

A quick review of Coast Pilot 6 (https://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/publica ... B6_WEB.pdf) which covers the Detroit River did not reveal any specific local regulations that would prohibit sailing in the river.

You did not mention which part of the Detroit River this occurred on but many of the navigable parts of the river are relatively narrow. Large ships in this area are going to be very restricted in where they are able and allowed to travel.

Colregs Rule 9(b) (International-Inland) states that a vessel of less than 20 meters in length or a sailing vessel shall not impede the passage of a vessel that can safely navigate only within a narrow channel or fairway. I suspect that this is the legal basis of the Coast Guard instructions.

While I do not doubt that there are those who can sail between the channel and the shore without causing undue alarm to the ships in the channel and the smaller vessels outside it, my personal experience would lead me to expect that those sailors would be a very small minority. Some of the remainder would (based on personal experience) incorrectly believe that being a sail boat "gives them right of way" over those large ships in the channel possibly with tragic results.

I suspect that the Coast Guard has found it easier to forbid all sailing in those areas in the interest of protecting life and property than to make an individual assessment of the ability and judgement of the captain of each sailing vessel.

We were with friends sailing last year, right in front of the Windsor Riverfront (right down town by the Renaissance Centre) Cnd Coast guard insisted to at bare min moto-sail. We did challenge them they would not have it. Said it was too dangerous with all the commercial traffic.
We were off well towards the Canadian shore/side.


Never heard of this before. Never saw anything about NOT sailing...

Have sailed (years ago) OFTEN down the river. Maybe they were worried about the current (it gets strong around there at times..??)
Several people have had run ins.


AD

Hi All!

Interesting bit about the ‘sails only’ restrictions…. But given some of the attempts locally at sailing I’ve seen locally during the weekends I might understand the Coast Guard perspectives. The process of sailing is an adaptive learned art form that is difficult to truly master … it take time and practice and more time and more practice…. It’s easy to make a less than optimal movement or adjustment and have a perfectly good setup fall apart especially in narrow areas of transit with other vessels in play. I know that I haven’t for most of our local waters so we choose to be in cruiser mode which works out for us.

Locally we’ve seen several sailboats attempting to tack back and forth across the designated ICW channel with apparent disregard for the maneuvering limitations of larger vessels. Some of these vessels and barges are huge with tens of tons displacement. It’s impossible for these vessels to stop on a dime or turn out from the channels, and even when they do it results in hazard and damages. Yet time and again one can see these primarily day sailors closely approach and/or cut in front of of these larger vessels without regard to the mayhem they cause to professional vessel operations as they gleefully or obliviously laugh or shirk their way along. If/when accidents occur it’s way too easy to ‘blame’ the larger vessel when in fact it was the smaller vessel’s actions.

IMHO I can see that the abundance of caution by the Coast Guard can be more than warranted in and around high traffic areas.
It’s for the common good and safety of everyone as Be Free has pointed out.



https://www.google.com/gasearch?q=sail% ... DzWrQ,st:0

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/ ... -1.6153251

Best Regards,
Over Easy