# Seeking help to outfit a Mac 26S for gulf crossing.



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Has anyone crossed on a Macgregor 26 S/C? How did you outfit your boat for crossing? Suggestions appreciated.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

The Mac as I understand is a very unseaworthy boat. I was discouraged to even look at one when I was on the hunt for my boat. I would recommend not crossing in that boat.


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## bill_of_q3 (Sep 24, 2000)

Buy lots of life insurance!


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

As a Mac 26x owner in the Puget Sound area I can vouch for the Mac, it is not a bluewater offshore sailboat, but rather a very versatile hybrid motorsailer, it is great for its design and what it is design for... to get people into sailing. 

It is perfect for SF BAY, Puget Sound, Great Lakes, any lake, the Cheasepeake Bay, and I even imagine daysails on either coastline in good weather conditions. Its 50Hp engine and ability to sprint 100 miles in 5-6 hours is key, hopefully you will decide not to get 100 out, but if you are 15 miles out you can reach protected waters in an hour or less, hence this is it saving grave in my eyes.

I am not as cynical about the Mac as other purists as they are usually either jealous or envious in a sort. If you are island hoping in good weather you should not have much problem, I have been through 6-8 foot swells in a light gale, while rough, it was very seaworthy as a power boat, not a sailboat under those conditions.
Good luck with yours plans, and plan appropriately.


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## Stefan (Jul 5, 2001)

If you really want to go to the Bahamas in a Mac 26 go to the following link and read about Capt''n Jim

http://www.a1sailboats.com/adventur.htm


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## Irwin32 (Jul 1, 2001)

Even a raft can make it across an ocean if the weather cooperates. Offshore sailing is a crapshoot - so the question is: How lucky do you feel? When you compare the McGregor to other boats in her size you see her standing rigging is smaller. Her mast and boom are smaller. Push on her hull sections just before the bow. Does she flex? How heavy are those windows? Good luck.


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## svdragonseeker (May 7, 2001)

The Gulf can be a very dangerous place! I have been out in my Hans Christian 33 and gotten the xxxxx beaten out of me. If it was not for the boat I don''t know if I would be here now.
The boat that you are talking about should not venture outside the breakwater. If you must go, go inside. The ICW will take you to Appalachacola where you would have to go uotside for only app 36-40 hrs. Better yet follow the coast around as that boat probably doesn''t draw much water.
If you plan to do much crusing get another boat.
SV


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## Denr (Feb 7, 2001)

Lets be honest and to the point....this boat is a piece of crap that is not suitable to safley cross the Mississippi river not to mention the Gulf. Put this piece of tupperware on a container ship if you want to live to be another year old.


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## Guest (Jul 10, 2001)

Gee Whiz, Denr, Why sugar coat your opinion? You can tell us what you really think of the Mac 26S. You don''t need to hold back on your opinions. (and I thought I was the voice of doom and gloom around here) 8^)
Jeff


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## Denr (Feb 7, 2001)

Jeff
It would be a disservice to those who read these pearls of wisdom to portrait the Mac26S as something other than the piece of sh_t it is! The MacGregor''s may have been responsible for introducing many new sailors to the sport of sailing but this toy is no more than a beginners boat for sheltered small inland lakes. Are there any engineering characteristics of this boat that you would incorporate into one of your designs and put your name on? I rest my case!


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Living here on the Gulf and a Full time Sailor, I would not advise a Gulf crossing in a Mac26 at all. The boats are totally unstable in heavy seas of which the Gulf Crossing is bad for. Water Ballast is not what one needs. A deep Keel is what is needed.
Mac 26 for the most part are considered a coastal boat.
NOT a Bluewater.
We have made several Belieze trips and the Seas can get bad .
Although a Mac26 would cross in calm weather, as well as any other smaller boat.
I would highly advise against it.
IronWind


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## buckeyesailor (Mar 9, 2008)

just so some of us lesser knowledgeable persons might want to know to narrow down our search.........are there any brands in general that would fall into this same category?...I'm sure there are plenty......but just the obvious ones to kick to the curb......most appreciated.


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## Sapperwhite (Oct 21, 2006)

You guys would be better off starting a new thread. Trebek has unwittingly revived a seven year dead thread. We haven't heard from the OP yet in all these years, maybe he did try to take that Mac out of sight of land ad was never heard from again , who knows? Check the thread and post dates, you'll get better responses that way.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Outfitting for the Gulf in a Mac, I suggest a Last Will & Testament.


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## artbyjody (Jan 4, 2008)

Are we talking about crossing the gulf after a Big Mac... yummm - will last you the crossing...Best wishes on the crossage...just don't order the extra special sauce... Neptune doesn't appreciate that...


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## CBinRI (May 17, 2004)

jesico said:


> Has anyone crossed on a Macgregor 26 S/C? How did you outfit your boat for crossing? Suggestions appreciated.


If you do a search you will find many threads (some of them heated) regarding the suitability of this boat for various uses. Personally, I would not go far from shore in one of them, but some feel differently.


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## CBinRI (May 17, 2004)

buckeyesailor said:


> just so some of us lesser knowledgeable persons might want to know to narrow down our search.........are there any brands in general that would fall into this same category?...I'm sure there are plenty......but just the obvious ones to kick to the curb......most appreciated.


I cannot claim to be an expert, but the MacGregor tends to get strong reactions from sailors, not necessarily because of its comparative build quality (although I understand that it is not so good) but because of its design. Many feel that by trying to be both a power boat and a sailboat, it is satisfactory as neither.

You may be aware that most sailboats do not plane under power and thus their maximum speed is limited to their hull speed, which is limited by their water line. A MagGregor 26 is designed so it can plane like a powerboat and therefore far exceed its hull speed under power. The compromise is that by making the hull suitable for planing, it becomes far less suitable for sailing. It will not point high. It will be more inclined to slide sideways on a reach. And I do not not know much about water ballast, but I have often heard that it is less stable and safe.

All boats represent compromises that accommodate verious design objectives, but I am not aware of any others that fall into this hybrid category, which seems to uniquley offend a lot of dedicated sailors. Of course, they have their staunch defenders as well.


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

The boat in question was not the 26X which is the powerboat/sailboat hybred, but the 26S which was designed solely as a trailerable auxillary sailboat. Unlike the 26x powersailor which has a lot of freeboard, large portlights and tremendous form stability and so would be expected to have a very quick motion, the 26S would be expected to be closer in hull form and motion to a normal 26 foot water-ballasted centerboarder.

There is a tendancy to slam MacGregor's build quality and it is not without some reason. Panel weights are light, there is almost no internal framing, and hardware and rigging sizes are small even by trailerable satndards. By the same token, MacGregor claims to not use chopped glass, they claim to limit coring to deck structure, they use simplified but sturdy enough rigging components like pin type shroud adjusters rather than turnbuckles.

On the other hand their advertising says scary things like, _"Our bolted hull to deck joining system is strong, but compact, and __adds little to the width of the boat. Many of our competitors use __wide joining flanges, which contribute a lot to their beam, but add __very little to strength or usable inside space."_ If you didn't know better you would think, Gee isn't that nice that MacGregors' hull to deck joint adds very little width to the boat, while ignoring that outward flange connections are weaker than inward flanged joints at the deck line and also the bigger problem with that statement is that the faying surface (the amount of flange area available for adhesive or sealant) is critical to the long term strength and durability of the joint. The Macgegors small faying surfaces would come into play in the high impacts of beating to the square chop as might be expected in a Gulf crossing. 

Jeff


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## CBinRI (May 17, 2004)

Thanks for the clarification, Jeff. Big difference, I guess, between the S and the X. In the words of Emily Litella, "never mind."


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## timebandit (Sep 18, 2002)

CBinRI said:


> I cannot claim to be an expert, but the MacGregor tends to get strong reactions from sailors, not necessarily because of its comparative build quality (although I understand that it is not so good) but because of its design. Many feel that by trying to be both a power boat and a sailboat, it is satisfactory as neither.
> 
> You may be aware that most sailboats do not plane under power and thus their maximum speed is limited to their hull speed, which is limited by their water line. A MagGregor 26 is designed so it can plane like a powerboat and therefore far exceed its hull speed under power. The compromise is that by making the hull suitable for planing, it becomes far less suitable for sailing. It will not point high. It will be more inclined to slide sideways on a reach. And I do not not know much about water ballast, but I have often heard that it is less stable and safe.
> 
> All boats represent compromises that accommodate verious design objectives, but I am not aware of any others that fall into this hybrid category, which seems to uniquley offend a lot of dedicated sailors. Of course, they have their staunch defenders as well.


I guess you do not know your X and M's from your S and C's.  

"Has anyone crossed on a Macgregor 26 S/C? How did you outfit your boat for crossing? Suggestions appreciated."


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## CharlieCobra (May 23, 2006)

I can't tell ya about the 26 S/C but I've had my V-21 out in 25-30 knots and 6' seas without issue. It was a thrilling ride. I would not recommend taking it out in the Gulf though. You aren't gonna outrun weather in the classic 26's like ya might in the 26X/M.


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## speciald (Mar 27, 2007)

I don't think anybody has survived the crossing in that "boat".


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## TimberCruiser (Aug 13, 2009)

I find it interesting that when I am sailing in sh_tty weather, I never see any of those "beautiful boats" that are built to handle that weather out there. They are back at the marina having cocktails and talking about those inferior little MacGregors. I have had snobs from the Royal Vancouver Yaught Club, row over to my boat and tell me I was crazy to bring my boat to the mid-coast of BC. If it wasn't for his hot wife I would have told him where to go.

I bought it 16yrs ago for $17000 brand new and have gone all over the BC coast. Sail your boat, learn what it can do and take it from there.


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## souljour2000 (Jul 8, 2008)

I think Timber cruiser said it better than anyone else... "Sail your boat...know what it can do..." and I'll add...don't forget to " Know yourself and know what YOU can do...." What do you call a gulf crossing though"?.. There are "gulf crossings"..and then there are GULF CROSSINGS...curious what the original poster has in mind.


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## flatracker (Aug 16, 2009)

*Be Careful*

First off, you didn't give many particulars about distance, direction and time you plan on going, and how much time you have available. But don't listen to the nay sayers, and those whose primary interest seems to be to bash the boat. It is what it is. In most instances, it will be you who can't deal, not the boat. Just make sure you have everything as prepared as you can possibly make it. Watch the weather closely. Most predictions are reliable for 24 hours out, and after that, it's a crap shoot. When I was much younger, and a whole lot dumber, I single handed a Chrysler 22, from Corpus to Isla Mujeras and back. I had no auto pilot, no loran, no GPS. My entire assortment of nav instruments was a compass, and a single large scale chart. I had been sailing for a total of one year at that time, and had never been on salt water in a sailboat before. Made it fine, and while I would certainly not even consider such a venture at this age, I am very glad I did it. So, prepare as best you can, pick a decent looking weather window and go for it. And enjoy.


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