How can you tell if its a 26, 26C, 26D, or 26S?

[Mike Russell]

Is there a positive way to ID a 26, 26C, 26D, and 26S? Does the specific model show up in the HIN? Or, does the difference show up in the actual serial number ie., 26 from sn 3345 to 3480 etc.? Does anyone have a handle on the years each model was produced? Maybe thats the answer??

 

[MArk]

Is this a dagger I see before me?

Sorry Mike,According to the best information I have, the HIN number designation is "W" for the 26D, 26S and 26C. (see related link)It's easy to tell the 26D. It has a dagger board. They were made from 1987 to 1989.The 26S and 26C were made from 1990 to 1995, which is the year the 26X (with "X" in HIN) debuted. I’m really not sure what the difference is between the 26S and the 26C. Supposedly, "S" stands for Swing keel and "C" stands for Classic. From what I’ve read, the dagger board model didn’t sell as well as hoped so like Coke, the went back to the "Classic" M25 centerboard design. Strange that they would venture into the dagger board design again with the 26M.Hopefully someone who has lived with both an "S" and a "C" will be able to clarify this difference without a distinction.Happy sails _/),MArk

 

[Bob Cassel]

There are only S and D, C refers to both

The C designation was orinially created by the owners of the "Classic" designed Macs to differentiate them from the X which MacGregor started calling the 26 somewhere along the line. So, if you have a 26 of the classic design, it is a C.The D and S designations just referred to Daggar Board or Swing Center Board. The 26 was never built with a weighted swing keel like the 25.All of the C, S and D designations were unofficially created by the owners/users of the Mac.