MacGregorSailors.com

I'm thinking about getting a bigger/more comfortable boat later this year. My 26M has been fun, but I'm sick of the small cockpit and the big noisy motor.
Pretty impressed with the Seawards. Yes you can beach them as seen here:



There isn't alot of owner information out there. They seem a stout vessel. I like the elegance of them.

But they are expensive! The 26 is around $100k nicely equipped. The 32 is around $200k. New prices of course, but not many used ones out there.

The part I'm struggling with, outside of price, which size boat to get. The 32 may need some permits to move it, but it is roomy with alot of features.

It's just me and occasionally a nervous guest. Which one with you go with and why?

I've looked at both the 26' and 32', and would go with the 32' if I had the money.
The 26' is probably better than the Mac 26M in heavier seas, but the interior is smaller than the Mac and it's harder to rig on the trailer. I also don't like the mast-raising system on the 26' Seaward, compared to the Mac as it's more complicated and takes longer to step the mast.
I was with 2 Seaward 26 owners when I was in the North Channel on Lake Huron. They really enjoyed their boats and stayed on them for several weeks at a time. They did like the fact that they were "more like larger sailboats", ie: head/holding tank, freshwater tank, installed stove, etc., compared to the Mac 26. I guess it really depends on your level of comfort and sailing missions.
The 32' is trailerable with a larger truck and has a nice interior layout, as well as being a good sailboat for skinny water and larger water.

I would recommend checking them out in person. They have them both at the Annapolis show every year. They are nice boats, but to me felt very tight for their size. The 26 is tighter inside and out than the X IMO. In pics they look roomy, but every year I purposely check them out again and have been unimpressed by them at the show from a useable size standpoint. The 32 is larger than the 26, but again much tighter than many 28-30 monos IMO.

The 46 on the other hand is the opposite extreme. It felt gigantic for a 46 and felt like it had about 10' of headroom.



To get anything substantially larger than the mac you pretty much have to give up beaching it, trailering or both. You can beach some cats and can trailer some slightly larger monos but not beach them. Some of the trailerable hunters are laid out a bit different than the mac with a larger cockpit, but you are still going to have an outboard.

Thanks for the good input.

I plan on traveling to the factory to look at both boats sometime this spring. Yes, pictures can be deceiving. They look huge using that wide-angle lens!

I do have a big diesel truck that will tow 17,000 lbs. I can imagine if I went with the 26, I'd use it much like my Mac - trailering it down to the lake for a weekend of sailing, bundling it up and returning home. The mast raising system looks positively archaic compared to the Mac's. Patents, I assume, at play.

I think if I went with the 32, I'd only move it for the season and keep it in a slip for the summer. Maybe trailer it down to the coast for a 2 week cruise or such. That would be a big change!
If I hit the lottery, I'd probably order that 46 straight away. It's more like $600k fully equipped. Ouch!

I have big dreams for cruising the Florida gulf coast, the keys and maybe the bahamas some day. Shallow draft is a must for these waters. Don't know if I could live with a 4' draft fixed keel boat - there certainly are many used ones available for cheap money, that is for sure.

Do the girls come with it?

You really want to consider your needs. I like the trailerable ability of the 32RK - but the cost is quite a jump.

My current tow beast is a Jeep Grand Cherokee (all paid for), so if I moved to a 32RK, then I've have to move to a bigger tow east (thinking 2500 Suburban).

And I would be giving up the tubing/wakeboarding ability of my MAC - which my kids really like at this point - so I keep coming back to my (which is also all paid for).

Of course, if I win the lottery, then I can have both. The Marina will certainly like that.

That Seaward 32 is a nice boat, but for $168k, there are nicer boats out there. I doubt you can tow it with anything less than a really heavy truck and with that beam probably a CDL license. So what's the point? Buy a Beneteau 34 for $145,000 or a Hunter 33 for $120,000.

The Mac is without equal at its price point and trailerablility. Take the trailer aspect away and just buy a nice keelboat.

If I was looking and had the bucks a Nor'Sea 27 would be high on the list of boats to consider....





With an 8 foot beam you could forget the permits which I think would be a royal pain in the a$$ to deal with. They have circumnavigate (4 of them) and over 160 Atlantic or Pacific Crossings and look like a great boat....

http://www.norseayachts.com/norsea27.php

Check out these guys web site as they have trailed and sailed everywhere with one and love it....

http://www.svguenevere.com/

They have made me into believers and I'd love to have one if I was younger,

Sumner

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Our MacGregor 26-S

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links
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Towing a 32 does not require a CDL. Just a permit in certain states. In SC, where I live, none is required to haul it to Charleston if I understand correctly.

The Nor'Sea looks like a stout, but expensive boat. I don't care for a mid-cockpit arrangement, and it's hopelessly small cockpit (even smaller than the Mac) as I indicated as one of my peeves.

I have a very nice Yamaha jet-boat that I bought year before last for tubing and what-not. It has 10 hours on it. The kids would rather play video games than get wet. Go figure! So it's getting sold even though I'll take a huge bath on it. Live and learn I guess.

I've looked at a lot of used boats on Sailboatlistings.com. That amount of money will buy some nice boats, probably bigger than I can comfortably single hand. But I keep going back to the idea of trailering occasionally and the extreme shallow draft. Lots to think about.

It is tough !!!! We keep meeting brokers and looking at boats .we have a dock but it still breaks my heart to go back to a keel boat .its either one or the other .to be really comfortable ,i believe at least for us we are looking at 38 plus .there was a seaward 26 on c.l here in Charleston in a girls back yard and she wanted well under 5k for it .but I passed on it for my mac.

We (Me the Admiral) were so really leaning towards the Hake, but then we saw the layout on it at the boat show we did not like it at all!

So as we were strolling around the Annapolis boat show, after dissing the Hake, we stumbled upon the Southerly.... We want it now. Great layout and the best part... IT HAS A CENTERBOARD! You can Beach it! And since I suck at navigation... I need a centerboard...

We will still keep our 26X as a tender!



In 10 years a 2014 southerly 47 should be in my price range. http://www.yachtworld.com ...may have to visit England to pick it up!

Looks like my boat below... just bigger!

A 1985 southerly 32 is going for $60k ... hmmmmm

A 1985 southerly 32 is going for $60k ... hmmmmm

You can also get the southerly 105 stateside as the Tanzer 10.5 for about the same price as new equipped

Inside steering station, full rear stateroom, a ton of light inside , liftkeel, beachable. About the same LWL and LOA as the Hake 32 but double the displacement and volume, not going to trailer it though.

wincrasher26 wrote:..... it's hopelessly small cockpit (even smaller than the Mac) as I indicated as one of my peeves.....

That small cockpit is a big plus if you want to be a blue water sailor in keeping you safe. Not so important if you are a coastal cruiser. Guess it depends on how many crew you will have.

Over 8-6 and you are going to need permits in a number of states and also can't tow at night in some.

Used they get more reasonable...

http://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/41109

http://sailingtexas.com/201401/snorsea27103.html

http://sailingtexas.com/201401/snorsea27103.html

I like the layout of the cabin myself, and like the boat would handle about anything I'd ever want to be out in,

Sum

============================
Our MacGregor 26-S

Our Endeavour 37

Our Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links

Sumner wrote: That small cockpit is a big plus if you want to be a blue water sailor in keeping you safe. Not so important if you are a coastal cruiser. Guess it depends on how many crew you will have.

I like the layout of the cabin myself, and like the boat would handle about anything I'd ever want to be out in,

Yes, just look at that boat. Deep long keel, super stable. Rounded transom for dealing with crazy following seas. That's a boat built to sail the world. You don't want a big cockpit that will fill with water in an ocean storm. However, I trust it has fast draining scuppers. That's looks like a safe boat to be in blue water.

It must be a SOLID boat to hold it's value so well.