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Request a little advice on which. A 2002 26X or a 2003 26M?

Thanks in advance.

Troy

We like the layout of the X below decks better.

Jesse

My 2 and 1/2 Cents (take it with or without a grain of salt)

Here's a list

Shallow water X (swing keel and put auto release cleats on rudder), deep Water M, Dagger is sacrificial to protect the hull.

Private Head with sink X Almost private Head with no sink M (although M has head room for Midgets. X will accommodate up to 5'6" people before having to resort to Houdini like contortions. Plumbing the head for pumpout is much easier on the X. On the M, most of the overhead surfaces are rounded and difficult to find a good area to saw that 1-1/2" hole and still leave a surface to mount the inlet.

Seating Areas X - Sleeping Areas M X is like a dining room, M is like a bowling alley. If you tumble down the stairs the M is a better land... (unless you left the table in). The X Has a pole to grab onto but you could really get mangled on all the liner items like seats and galley. I still like the X here. And I think the Pole on the port and the Bathroom (starboard) give the deck a lot of support. On the other hand I think they beefed up the deck to accommodate this. The M has thicker cushions and a usable aft berth area. The X is claustrophobic by comparison. It 's a toss whether you like single bunking (settees on the M) or double Drop table (X). If your very tall I think the V/Table makes for a nice 14ft bed (X).

Headroom (M) more of it. the X headroom is localized to an L in the back of the cabin, fortunately for the X it's shared with the head.

Good Sailing M, Moderate Sailing X

Easy to Launch X Almost Easy to launch M

Trailer over long distance Either... Make sure your boat is all the way up on the M or the little bunks in the back can dimple the boat. (boats should be all the way up anyways)

Have a slip? M

Easy to wire? X The M is close but you may have to push a wire now and then back into the channels.

Easy to plumb M but the X is more flexible with 2 sinks and a fiberglass floor in the bath.

Steering (Both have ups and downs)

Motoring M has an edge in tracking at high speeds.

Parts... X (its just been out longer)

Anchoring? M swings a bit less pain to put a light in... X is easier to install anchor light

Trailer (M) has a better coupler that lets you back and I think still has disk brakes (not sure they keep changing) X fits the hull better.

Quality Year to year. So far I've seen a few perfect X's I can always find a blemish or small booboo on an M... (could be transit on some) When I got my X I could not find a single scratch or void on it. Either way , M or X the boat is solid. I'll call this similar.

Docking.

Both are a nightmare in crosswinds. Although this can be learned with experience.

Choice (for new) M very few X's out there are fresh. Owners of X's like to use them.

Some X owners are trading them in for M's but there is still a strong demand for them (X).

Better Deal ... that depend on you. They are both deals. If your a sail junkie go for the M. If your a family person I think the X might be your boat.

In any case boat wisely as sailing (or boating in general ) is considered an inherently dangerous activity.

What would I buy... (I'll keep that to myself)

Putting my critical thinking cap on....think think think...(a-la W the Pooh)
Why not get both?

Do you have the option of trying both? Might be fun. We have an X and I doubt the interior of the M would suit us...but we bought ours before the M came out so didnt have that chance. Get each owner to take you out for a day. The interior may not be as important to you as it is to us. We like to spend a week or more at at time on it and my husband is 6'2".

the mate likes the x,we sleep on an extended v-berth,she would not even try the black hole in the back that is now storage only,,she likes and i suspect all women do the head with a door and sink,,and to her 5'2" and under 140 she thinks it is large,, she likes the raised dinnette where she can see out,especially if the weather is bad,,and yes we have had a chance to get on a in st.augustine ,fla,,so i am glad i did not sell the last year when another mark was interested in it ,as i probably would have just had to replace it..remember though that sailing is no fun if the mate is not reasonably happy,,so let her choose and you can't go wrong and that is my humble opinion

We're like you 'Idle Time' we spend a week to eight days at a time on our X and below decks is very important to us. I wouldn't have been happy with the M layout.

Jesse

It's always going to depend on who you ask. An X'er like Bob will have both real and slightly exaggerated reasons his boat is better for him. As much more a sailor than powerboater, and a M'er, and a defender of the M -because I'm defending our choice of boat, here's my pocket change.

BobCardz wrote: Shallow water X (swing keel and put auto release cleats on rudder), deep Water M, Dagger is sacrificial to protect the hull.

Both can be rigged with auto release cleats on rudder, both can be beached and run equally in shallow water, the X has like an inch advantage.

BobCardz wrote: Private Head with sink X Almost private Head with no sink M

The X devotes a big chunk of the only standing room the boat has to a porta potty any sane person is going to have to sit on to do the nasty deed reqardless. The M crowds the head forward, but gives you a huge open feel where four full sized adults can sit and stretch out in a large area with equal standing room.
If crowds are your thing, you could probably manage 8 to 10 people sitting and standing and moving around down below in the M. That just can't happen if 25% of the space is an enclosed potty.

BobCardz wrote:Plumbing the head for pumpout is much easier on the X. On the M, most of the overhead surfaces are rounded and difficult to find a good area to saw that 1-1/2" hole and still leave a surface to mount the inlet.

You lost me on this one Bob. How flat are we talking? There is no advantage or issue here.

BobCardz wrote:The M has thicker cushions and a usable aft berth area. The X is claustrophobic by comparison. It 's a toss

The M beats the X hands down when it comes to the rear main berth. You can sleep several adults there, many kids, or store everything you could fit in three X's on the one main berth and probably still sleep one there.

BobCardz wrote: Easy to Launch X Almost Easy to launch M

Quite a few X'ers have made this mistake, it's not that the M takes two seconds longer to launch, it's that the mast is two feet longer.

BobCardz wrote: Trailer over long distance Either... Make sure your boat is all the way up on the M or the little bunks in the back can dimple the boat.

Again this is a new one on me Bob. Especially the part about how what, the M is vulnerable to dimples that the X is not.
If I had to guess, the two boats are within a few thousandths of an inch of thickness, and the fiberglass forming is the same. The basic construction is the same.

BobCardz wrote: Have a slip? M

The whole reason for owning a Mac is it's trailerability. Bob sounds like an X'er for sure with this statement.

BobCardz wrote: Easy to wire? Easy to plumb?

I don't think either is enough of an issue, or offer any sort of advantage.

BobCardz wrote: If your a family person I think the X might be your boat.

This one never made sense to me, but you'll hear almost every X'er claim that configuration is somehow better for a family with young kids.

Hey I know all the X owners love their boats as much as I love mine. If we'd bought our boat only a few months earlier I'd be one of the biggest toads in the puddle defending that configuration against the M.
In our case the two main factors were these;
The M is supposed to sail (only very slightly) better. That sold me.
The interior sacrifices the nice side table for a real main berth and lots more room below. That sold my wife.
The difference in the head wasn't a factor at all except for the room the M has. We mostly do other stuff and occasionally use the porta potty. Now if you plan on using the bathroom a heck of a lot, certainly advantage X. If your kids use the bathroom a heck of a lot, advantage M.
Good luck with your choice Tavanw.

Things we love about our X:

1. The dinnette table is always accessible, and we can put stuff on it and use the head;

2. We can stand and cook at the same time;

3. Ease of entry/exit through the spacious transom

4. Head privacy

5. Spacious cockpit, we've sailed with 5.

6. Centerboard swings in the event of an impact strike.

7. Easy to enter cabin

8. Cooler storage under seat


Things we love about the M:
1. The sleek exterior lines. It really looks great.

2. More accessible rear berth


I would buy an M if I could not own an X, or if I were single or a couple.

Rick

the galley may not be a big consideration as we ,unless the weather is bad,,set the portable propane stove just outside the cabin on the cockpit deck,,and just use the galley as a prep area.good luck in your research

I would think the X galley is better for a number of reasons not the least of which is safety. Sounds like to use th M galley you have to sit next to it due to a lack of room to stand there, making yourself vulnerable to being scalded if the boat lurches and spills hot stuff on you.

Plus the ventilation is a lot better above the X galley which is very close to the hatch.

If you are going to do serious cruising and have a wife that is a good cook I would get a propane stove/oven combo and just bite the bullet and get the safety paraphenilia. Alcohol works but I think would be aggrevating as heck to a good chef.

But for me the deal breaker with the M is the daggerboard. This is just a bad idea in a boat that will see shallow water. If you touch ground with an X it is barely noticable. If the M daggerboard hits, you just spent $200-$300 and are out of the sailing business until you get a new board.

And I really like the Vee berth area of the X. I extended the port side back and it is a great area, especially with the front hatch open. The M seems to have the undersized head jammed up in that space.

Plus the easy stern boarding of the X is a very nice feature that the M doesn't have.

But the M does seem to make better use of the aft berth area, but to me this doesn't mean much. I have to store my gear somewhere and that's where is goes. Can't imagine that being a nice place to sleep even on the M. No windows or ventilation and you still have a low ceiling 6 inches above your nose.
Not my idea of fun.

I guess its a matter of what you like. But at least the daggerboard is probably quiet at anchor, and you might get a little better sailing performance with the daggerboard.

Two rows of windows? What were they thinking?

But I've never been on an M so I am probably wrong or exaggerating somewhat.

Regarding the Wallas, again I don't have one, but from what I can see they are expensive, complex, require 12V power, require pristine fuel of a certain type, and are supported up in the Northwest and in Florida both of which are a long drive from New Jersey. Don't recall if they are just one burner or not. You have to drill a through hull out the side (I put that under water on occasion). I made my own vented heater and prefer to cook with fire under the frying pan. You can tell how hot the fire is with gas by simple observation and you don't have to wait 5 minutes for it to get hot or cooler.
Propane you can get anywhere, and the burners are dead simple. ANd you can buy one with an oven that works almost like a home gas range.
Bottom line is whatever makes the chef happy.

For Grilling I am absolutely sold on the coleman propane grill/stove that's available at Walmart and Target for around $60-70 bucks. I bought the rubber extension hose for it. If I were going on a long cruise, I would also get a 10 lb squatty tank with valve and the adaptor to go to the hose. (may do that anyway). The tank would live in a fuel locker and the stove used temporarily on the floor of the cockpit by the cmpanionway, while standing inside the cabin. If you are going to do the great loop I assume you will get a screened cockpit enclosure so this would still be under cover.
Man invented fire a log time ago and thats the way for me. Fire = good, Fire + Meat = very good.

I guess like any other problem or consideration you have to break things down to there component parts;
1. Cooking large or main meals while at dock or anchored.
1a. Where do you fry the bacon, the sirloin steaks and kabasa? Like many other boaters we do all the messy cooking, in the cockpit under some sort of bimini or tent top. We use a Coleman stove primarily, and we've used a portable propane BBQ a few times. We never did get one of those rail mounted charcoal &/or propane grills but that's something we'll probably add one of these days.
1b. Would we ever consider a built in stove in the M galley? No. We use the galley table surface for all kinds of things and having a clear counter next to the sink makes it far more useful than it would be with a burner permanently installed there. If we did have a stove somewhere down below, I'd imagine the X boat galley position is better because its closer to the open hatch for ventilation and it's bound to be better for pictures.

1c. Pictures? So far none of the 'ers have shared them with me and I assume that's because we're 'ers. You know, the mind's eye impression of their little sweetheart wearing her lace apron with only her bikini underneith. Cooking muffins, baking bread, & canning some tuna while she sings joyful songs and sweetly requests if you forgot to bring the vanilla for the ice cream shes making.
1d. Another important consideration is where you keep flammables on board. I believe it was one of those wise X'ers (Duane) who suggested he keeps it all in the cockpit. I'm inclined to agree.
2. Cooking or prepairing meals while actually sailing.
First off, we plan every meal and do all the prep work possible before even boarding the boat. We've had sandwiches, veggie trays, and some awsome chef salads prepped and eaten while underway, sometimes this has even been while sailing at night. But no matter who says what, a 26 foot boat is never going to be a safe place to cook while under sail. We've sailed on much larger boats that have cooktops and microwave ovens and refridgerators where cooking while underway is never even considered.
2a. So where do you suppose the 'ers go to chop up the hard boiled eggs and stuff while prepping food while underway? My bet is they sit down at the table for this chore, just like we do in our boat.

3. Conclusion? For a number of years before we bought one, we thought our boat was going to be an X. We thought we were going to get one with an alcohol stove, and we thought that was going to be really cool and important. We're glad we got the M. So glad, we've actually got two M's (but that's another story).
We've been on about 4 boats. Every single time we see what its like we're happy we made the our choice.

Not much to say. I saw both. Got a used X with everything. Used boats come with more stuff.
MMMike