Jim Cate wrote:
I suppose that you are right in one respect. - The MacGregor boats have
incorporated a long list of advantageous features not available in most
displacement boats, and the new Mac 26M carries that tradition forward
as did the earlier models.

You really are addicted to Macgregor advertising, aren't you?


... The Macs were one of the first cruising
sailboats to popularize the use of water ballast, the advantages of
which are so obvious that their competitors (e.g., Hunter, Catalina) are
now offering it also.

Except that the Mac 26X was so poorly designed that it needed to have
lead ballast added. My wife & I owned a water ballasted Hunter 19 for 10
years and it sailed fine... in fact we outsailed Mac 26Xs many times in
it, and a Mac 26M a couple of times.


... Further advantages include positive flotation (the
boats actually float, even if the hull is compromised.

Imagine that... I've been sailing boats with positive flotation since
about 1968.



... Further advantages that are unique with
respect to most of their competition is the ability to "fly away" from
the "displacement-speed-barrier" that keeps most sailboats locked in
their place (unless they are surfing down a wave during a storm).

If that's true, then why is the Mac 26X and Mac 26M so slow under sail,
compared to other boats of similar size? You don't have to look ver far
at all to find 26' boats that will sail rings around it.


... Still
further advantages include the ability to float in waters as shallow as
one foot, and to be beached for picnics, camping, etc.

Comes in very handy, but it's hardly unique to MacGregors. There are
quite a few centerboarders that can be beached, including some 40+ footers.


... A still further
advantage is that they are trailerable, permitting them to be
conveniently relocated to a desired sailing area hundreds of miles from
their usual port.

Comes in handy as long as you have a behemoth SUV to tow it. We used a
minivan with a V-6 for our trailerable... got about 25 MPG with it. It
is nice to be able to cruise far waters on a short vacation.

But again, this is hardly unique to the Mac 26X or Mac 26M. If you knew
more than what Macgregor told you, you'd find that out.


All in all, Jeff, you are quite correct in suggesting that the Mac 26M
incorporates many of the same features and characeristics developed over
the years in earlier models. It merely carries the tradition forward to
a higher level. - Very perceptive comment on your part.

And when are you going to actually look at a Mac 26X and compare hull
shapes, and realize it's the exact same as your boat? Not very
perceptive on your part.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King