I know you will think I am crazy
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Welcome aboard, young man. I am 73 and still around. A small boat is less easy to handle than a bigger one. All you need is a 5-winch cockpit arrangement, furling headsail and electric power anchor. No outboard motor! Inboard diesel 15-20 hp will do the job. If your 26 ft MacGregor is with a retractable board will add hassles. 32-footer would be ideal. It also depend where you are, winter storage, docking/mooring expenses, etc. There is a quiet few inexpensive sailboats on sale that were built in 1980-ies and you always could find a good deal. Good luck!
Re; water ballast
Before you buy, perhaps you can find one to rent for a weekend and try it out. Regarding water ballast boats, they are designed to be operated with a FULL ballast tank. Never, ever leave the dock with an empty or partially filled tank. In those conditions they are inherently unstable, especially partially filled. The water can move around too easily.
There are 2 at our marina and I saw one used all summer without the mast - they had a new baby and didn't want to hassle with sails or heeling.
Before you buy, perhaps you can find one to rent for a weekend and try it out. Regarding water ballast boats, they are designed to be operated with a FULL ballast tank. Never, ever leave the dock with an empty or partially filled tank. In those conditions they are inherently unstable, especially partially filled. The water can move around too easily.
There are 2 at our marina and I saw one used all summer without the mast - they had a new baby and didn't want to hassle with sails or heeling.
I love mac bashers even though two sail boats were lost off the California coast in the last two months but no one mentions them by name.
The x and m will make great cabin cruisers.
Narrow yes so you can tow them without need of a permit.
Light weight so you do not need a semi to tow them.
Easy to launch and retrieve.
If you can fine one with a bent mast and no motor, good find.
25 hp with a high torque prop should work great.
Maybe a short center board (1 foot).
Do not think you will need the rudders.
The x has 300 pounds of lead ballast so you should not need to add water unless the sail rig is up.
Without rigging and with the life lines on you should be able to move around the deck, wear deck shoes.
Fishing from the cockpit should be fun.
Just swinging on the hook under the shade while sipping a cold one is great.
And IF you should want to try sailing it would take about 15 min. to put the sailling gear back on the boat. The mast and attach 5 shrouds, that is, not raising the mast and bending on the sails.
The x and m will make great cabin cruisers.
Narrow yes so you can tow them without need of a permit.
Light weight so you do not need a semi to tow them.
Easy to launch and retrieve.
If you can fine one with a bent mast and no motor, good find.
25 hp with a high torque prop should work great.
Maybe a short center board (1 foot).
Do not think you will need the rudders.
The x has 300 pounds of lead ballast so you should not need to add water unless the sail rig is up.
Without rigging and with the life lines on you should be able to move around the deck, wear deck shoes.
Fishing from the cockpit should be fun.
Just swinging on the hook under the shade while sipping a cold one is great.
And IF you should want to try sailing it would take about 15 min. to put the sailling gear back on the boat. The mast and attach 5 shrouds, that is, not raising the mast and bending on the sails.
A long shaft 10 to 15 hp will be the most economical choice to get you to max sailing speed, i.e. 6 or 7 mph. A 25 hp will be too little to plane a late model Mac and potentially dangerous on the older non-planning design Macs.
Be sure you get a long shaft outboard. In rough weather the boat can pitch like a kid's hobby horse. This motion can pull the propeller partially out of the water if you don't have a long shaft motor. That can eliminate your ability to make headway into a wind even without sails. I've been in that situation in the Charleston, SC harbor. The proper size motor is important to resale value.
Hell Doc
Your in your prime. Lots of us on here older than you, sailing bigger boats. I will be 74 in June, have a gimpy left knee from racing motorcycles in younger days, and fell from a mast five years ago and crushed three vertabrae, and ruptured a couple of discs. I still single hand a 37. GO FOR IT
Your in your prime. Lots of us on here older than you, sailing bigger boats. I will be 74 in June, have a gimpy left knee from racing motorcycles in younger days, and fell from a mast five years ago and crushed three vertabrae, and ruptured a couple of discs. I still single hand a 37. GO FOR IT
There is nothing wrong with your theory. You only live once so enjoy what you do, if turning a Mac into a powerboat only for the below deck space then go for it. You don't need the sailing gear as it will be in the way and unnecessary to rig up when going from lake to lake. Have fun and buy the one you like for the price you want to pay. Lots of Macs out there for sale, many say they make a better motor boat than a sailboat anyway.
It seems your weight is affecting your health and quality of life. Have you checked if you could be a candidate for a bariatric procedure? They either staple or rubber band your stomach to make it smaller. You will loose weight. There is no actual need for the centerboard but some Mac owners on this forum indicate the boat will steer better with it partially lowered so why not leave it on. I'm not so much concerned about the CB which can be lowered or raised but about the rudder. Usually sailboats carry long rudders so that they be effective when the boat heels. Since the boat will not be sailing you may not need all that rudder. If you could find a boat with a kick-up rudder or fabricate a shorter replacement you could get into shallower water. You need to heed warnings about keeping the water ballast tank full as otherwise with no ballast or shifting ballast the boat is likely to capsize. It is a very good idea to cruise in style for a fraction of the cost of a power boat.
Even as we speak, there is a MacGregor 26X, with a 50 HP motor for sail on this site. A few years ago when MacG first came out with the "big engine capable" sail;boat, it was my understanding that it was water ballasted when under sail, and not when under full power (50 HP Engine), which was a big selling point for those ex-PWR who didn't want to waste time getting out to the "sailing grounds", like down riverways or long channels.
Problems seemed to arise when folks decided to overload their boats, ignore the water ballast, and hoist the sails on a windy day, which brought a round of adverse publicity. And headline news court cases.
Bob
Here's the ad on SailboatOwners website:
2001 Macgregor 26X
Boulder City, NV
:snip
$16,500 US
Listed: 04-30-2012
General condition and any additional information
This is being sold because we purchased a big boat in the BVIs. It is clean and in great condition. The motor runs flawlessly. It is in a slip so a sea trial is available.
It has most of what is looked for in a 26X and in good condition.
:snip
Mercury 50 HP 2004 with less than 50 hours
4 stroke, 2 5gallon tanks, serviced last May with few hours since.
:snip
Problems seemed to arise when folks decided to overload their boats, ignore the water ballast, and hoist the sails on a windy day, which brought a round of adverse publicity. And headline news court cases.
Bob
Here's the ad on SailboatOwners website:
2001 Macgregor 26X
Boulder City, NV
:snip
$16,500 US
Listed: 04-30-2012
General condition and any additional information
This is being sold because we purchased a big boat in the BVIs. It is clean and in great condition. The motor runs flawlessly. It is in a slip so a sea trial is available.
It has most of what is looked for in a 26X and in good condition.
:snip
Mercury 50 HP 2004 with less than 50 hours
4 stroke, 2 5gallon tanks, serviced last May with few hours since.
:snip
That just makes too much sense. Plenty of room, comfortable under way and very fuel effecient...
A Mac X probably has the greatest cabin and performance under power to weight ratio of any boat out there. Since the X is the older version of the Mac motor-sailer, you're likely to find one for less money than the M.
I sold my big boat and got an X specifically to trailer (8 ft overall width on the trailer - legal in all states) to the Erie Canal*, the Finger Lakes**, and the Thousand Islands***, plus I plan on moving south of the Mason-Dixon Line in a couple of years and didn't want to pass on an opportunity to sell the big boat (buyer offered more than I paid for it :dance
.
Take the spars off, leave the swing keel in (it retracts all the way, so no harm leaving it, and it improves steering and docking at low speeds, even just down a little), and buy or make shoal draft rudders if you like, though the rudders you could probably live without. Leave it full of ballast water if you're going hull speed or less, but it'll go faster without ballast if you want to go fast (mind the limits of where and how many souls you carry, though). I pull my 18 YO son on a wakeboard with a 50 hp Honda - it'll move for a sailboat, and that's with the mast up - should do better with no spars and rigging.
The X has an enclosed head (with a real door), and a big cabin for a little sailboat. Loads of sleeping space. For an inexpensive toy, it's got a lot to offer.
Oh, and it's unsinkable, meaning there is enough foam floatation that it won't go to the bottom if capsized.
Keep the spars and other sailing gear, and you most likely can sell it for what you paid for it.
I don't want to sound like a MacGregor cheerleader, but for what it's designed to do, and the price point it's designed to hit, it's about as good as it gets. It's nothing like the keelboats I've had, or the big trawler I had an interest in, but for a few years around here, it's just right.
Oh, and it tows just fine with the Admiral's Honda Odyssey, even on the highway. Seems OK with my new Highlander, but I haven't had it on the highway yet. Going to put disc brakes on the second axle once it's in its slip, as the more braking the better when the tow vehicle is marginal. Or any time, for that matter.
*Long trip east, unstep the mast with a derrick or crane, and store on the hard, then long trip back through the canal
**Only accessible from the Canal, and then only a couple of them. Deep keel makes small lake sailing a bit limited.
***Long trip out there, downwind usually, much longer back, leaving no time to explore. A few hours by trailer with the Mac, and shoal draft (9" with boards up and no ballast, reportedly) can go almost anywhere.
I sold my big boat and got an X specifically to trailer (8 ft overall width on the trailer - legal in all states) to the Erie Canal*, the Finger Lakes**, and the Thousand Islands***, plus I plan on moving south of the Mason-Dixon Line in a couple of years and didn't want to pass on an opportunity to sell the big boat (buyer offered more than I paid for it :dance
.Take the spars off, leave the swing keel in (it retracts all the way, so no harm leaving it, and it improves steering and docking at low speeds, even just down a little), and buy or make shoal draft rudders if you like, though the rudders you could probably live without. Leave it full of ballast water if you're going hull speed or less, but it'll go faster without ballast if you want to go fast (mind the limits of where and how many souls you carry, though). I pull my 18 YO son on a wakeboard with a 50 hp Honda - it'll move for a sailboat, and that's with the mast up - should do better with no spars and rigging.
The X has an enclosed head (with a real door), and a big cabin for a little sailboat. Loads of sleeping space. For an inexpensive toy, it's got a lot to offer.
Oh, and it's unsinkable, meaning there is enough foam floatation that it won't go to the bottom if capsized.
Keep the spars and other sailing gear, and you most likely can sell it for what you paid for it.
I don't want to sound like a MacGregor cheerleader, but for what it's designed to do, and the price point it's designed to hit, it's about as good as it gets. It's nothing like the keelboats I've had, or the big trawler I had an interest in, but for a few years around here, it's just right.
Oh, and it tows just fine with the Admiral's Honda Odyssey, even on the highway. Seems OK with my new Highlander, but I haven't had it on the highway yet. Going to put disc brakes on the second axle once it's in its slip, as the more braking the better when the tow vehicle is marginal. Or any time, for that matter.
*Long trip east, unstep the mast with a derrick or crane, and store on the hard, then long trip back through the canal
**Only accessible from the Canal, and then only a couple of them. Deep keel makes small lake sailing a bit limited.
***Long trip out there, downwind usually, much longer back, leaving no time to explore. A few hours by trailer with the Mac, and shoal draft (9" with boards up and no ballast, reportedly) can go almost anywhere.
First of all, I don't see a thing wrong with what you propose with the Mac 26. The change that I would do is not take down the rig and sailing gear.....use the engine or give sailing a try.....you might actually like it better than using the motor.
Someone else said handling a larger boat is easier than a smaller one. I tend to agree and single hand a 32 ft. sailboat (soon 73).
Some have suggested that a trawler might be better for your plan. A lot of the older sailors around here have gone to one of these two boats: C-dory...lots of room inside, generally don't put an extremely large engine (with bad knees, you don't want the pounding of a high speed motorboat anyway..that's what you have now). The C-Dory comes in a range of sizes, but most go for the 22-26 ft. range. Those going to larger boats (trawler) have a preference for Comano 31.....it's an expensive boat however, and may or may not fit. (Google their webpages to see what they look like).
But again, the Mac 26 or Hunter 27 would seem to fit what you are looking for.
Someone else said handling a larger boat is easier than a smaller one. I tend to agree and single hand a 32 ft. sailboat (soon 73).
Some have suggested that a trawler might be better for your plan. A lot of the older sailors around here have gone to one of these two boats: C-dory...lots of room inside, generally don't put an extremely large engine (with bad knees, you don't want the pounding of a high speed motorboat anyway..that's what you have now). The C-Dory comes in a range of sizes, but most go for the 22-26 ft. range. Those going to larger boats (trawler) have a preference for Comano 31.....it's an expensive boat however, and may or may not fit. (Google their webpages to see what they look like).
But again, the Mac 26 or Hunter 27 would seem to fit what you are looking for.
Hello,
My name is Sid Rampy. My son who is now in college was my sailing buddy and so I am thinking about selling my MacGregor 26x. It is in great shape and just had the engine and lower assembly tuned up two seasons ago.
My email is sid.rampy8@verizon
I leave in Los Gatos, CA
My name is Sid Rampy. My son who is now in college was my sailing buddy and so I am thinking about selling my MacGregor 26x. It is in great shape and just had the engine and lower assembly tuned up two seasons ago.
My email is sid.rampy8@verizon
I leave in Los Gatos, CA
the M makes a great cabin cruiser,you can go a week on 6 gallons of gas.the M is defineatley not a niche boat as stated by the previous non M boater. How can the boat with the highest sales numbers for ten years running be considered a niche boat.and yes people who own one love them, and the people who hate them have never owned or crewed on one but luv to trash on them in order to justify all the money they wasted on their slip locked marina queens,so store your mast an boom away out of the sunlight and in a decade or two the exsecuter of your will, will be able to sell it for as much as you paid for it.
Buy a 25x50 houseboat on a central valley lake and a ski boat. Between the gas and mooring fees you will think sailing is cheap and easy on the knees!
Not new
the mid 30k's. The 26X is a better sailer and sells 18 to 23k. The 26M is more comfortable.
The last 26X was built in 2002 or 2003; the newer version called the 26M is selling in
the mid 30k's. The 26X is a better sailer and sells 18 to 23k. The 26M is more comfortable.
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