Really Entry Level Sail Boats

[Divecoz]

I was a little surprised:
Practical Sailor this month has an article about Entry Level Sailing Cruisers.. They go on about how they are "fine" for a couple maybe even 2 couples for short periods and close to shore.. and then they hit you with $60,000.00 to $80,000.00 price tag's Really? I already know most the arguments for and against MacGregors 26' M X S & D's .. I know Roger sold a LOT of them.. and I am a little surprised that the jump from Day Sailor to Short Term Close to Shore Cruisers is thought to be 30+' and OVER $60,000.00 .. and honestly leaning towards the $80K+ slot.. and Beyond...
Thank You Roger I could have NEVER sold my wife on $60 - $80 K..as an entry level sailboat for us..

[Russ]

Thank You Roger I could have NEVER sold my wife on $60 - $80 K..as an entry level sailboat for us..

+1

[Ixneigh]

Perhaps Practical sailor assumes that beginning sailors don't want to be laughed at behind their backs, and have to listen to people tell them what a real sailboat is. They will buy a real beginners boats, get salty nods of approval, a big boat payment and dockage fees. In about twenty years when they have developed enough self confidence, they might buy something like the Mac, and tell those salty dogs to stick it. That's what happened to me.
Ix

[Three Gypsies]

I have noticed in my travels that Bayliners and MacGregors are economy boats and the butt of many jokes and myths .
I have also owned both these brands and know they are superior boats to other boats in their classes .

I have also noticed that any given marina will contain at least one Bayliner on the power boat side and at least one MacGregor on the sailboat side.

They can joke and tell tall tales all the want , meanwhile we have enough money left over to actually take our boats out and use them !

When I tell people we travelled 3000 miles and lived aboard our Mac for eight months , I usually hear , but its to small . This is coming from people who rarely take their boats out of the marinas .

Or the guy who had a 28 foot cabin cruiser that didn't believe me when I said I had taken our 22 foot Bay on a 1,000 mile two week cruise , of course he admitted that He had never slept aboard his boat .

[Catigale]

I'm not poor but 80k to enter a sport you don't know if you will like, with huge fixed costs?

Maybe I'm poorer than I think....

Last year before kids fly off to college. One more summer of me and six 18 year olds spending 3 weeks on the Cape at Cuttyhunk.... on our Waterbago

[J--]

I've never really understood Practical Sailor as a magazine.....

For a bunch of guys who have the jobs of testing and writing about sailing, they sure are cranky about it.

[kadet]

We have to be rich here no matter what as a commissioned after transport duty and tax is about $70k and a basic keeler will run a $110k+++

An entry level sail boat here is a beach cat

[mrron_tx]

Makes Me wonder Who was paying for that article and it's snide remarks BTW Kadet...I finished My version of Your dinghy davits...looks good works great... Thanks for Your help Ron.

[kadet]

Makes Me wonder Who was paying for that article and it's snide remarks BTW Kadet...I finished My version of Your dinghy davits...looks good works great... Thanks for Your help Ron.

Cool, this board has helped me many times so glad to be able to give back

[LOUIS B HOLUB]

Thank You Roger I could have NEVER sold my wife on $60 - $80 K..as an entry level sailboat for us..

+1

Amen, and another AMEN !!

[kmclemore]

Makes Me wonder Who was paying for that article and it's snide remarks BTW Kadet...I finished My version of Your dinghy davits...looks good works great... Thanks for Your help Ron.

Cool, this board has helped me many times so glad to be able to give back

!	kmclemore:
	That's what our little community here is all about! Thanks, guys!

[RobertB]

What is the name of the article? What month? I just looked over the March and April 2014 issues (online) and could not find what you are talking about.

[Loala]

I’ve said it once if not many times and I’ll continue to say there is nothing comparable! Love them or hate them, Macs are in a class of their own!

[mastreb]

If you want to get really truly entry level, this is what I recommend:

http://www.hobiecat.com/mirage/mirage-tandem-island/

$5500 gets you a near perfect day sailor that needs no motor, has an excellent roller furling carbon fiber unstayed mast, does 8 knots in a puff and 11 knots in real wind. Fully rigged its 200#. Launches easily from any beach. Retractable centerboard and rudder. Simple to put in on the $1500 trailer which can literally be towed by anything. Can also be cartopped if you want to ruin your truck with saltwater.

The MirageDrive is a revelation. An easy walking pace by one person makes 4 knots, vigorous work by two people makes six. It's so much easier than paddling that its hard to describe, and I see no reason for a motor on these boats.

They make an inflatable 12' model with the same MirageDrive that would make a reasonable tender for two adults and a kid. It's so stable my brother-in-law sails his inflatable in choppy San Diego bay without amas.

It's all the fun of true day sailing at a fraction of the price.

A lot of people on the Hobie forums talk about using tents and tarps and all sorts of craziness to try to turn them into campers, and to those people I say "MacGregor."

Matt

[DaveC426913]

They can joke and tell tall tales all the want , meanwhile we have enough money left over to actually take our boats out and use them !

Q: It's 150 miles from Toronto to Kingston. Between two sailboats, one $25,000 and the other $80,000, which will get there faster?

A: The $25,000 boat - because it can leave 5 years sooner!