Which do I buy, MacGregor or Catalina??

[Rick Evans]

Easy decision

Go with the Catalina. I could spend the next two days giving you 1,000 reasons. Short answer is the Catalina. It should be a no brainer. I don't mean to sound so flippant but I really believe it.

 

[Kevin]

Eacy Choice

Look at the resale adds in the paper...there is a reason why the Cats hold their value far better than the Macs. Cat is the way to go between the two...no question!

 

[Stu Jackson]

Just another "What's Best" Question

Good luck on your choices.Sure seems like there are lots of opinions.The QE2 is next, I guess.Try the link.Stu

 

[73mensailed]

One last comment

If you take the kids and grandkids out for a drive or out to dinner or something where travel is concerned, do you all get into the big car or van or the smaller car if you all need to ride together? It's in kids nature to bounce around their enviroment. You don't want to be climbing over, around and below people all the time. And on an overnighter or more, boats get smaller. Here's a fair idea. Take the grandkids and you and the wife go look at both boats. Sit there a while. Have a soda. Let the kids be kids and investigate things. This could help you see the point I'm trying to make about size. Dan, no matter what boat you buy, it's used. There will be projects that need to be done. Some fun and easy, others difficult and expensive. You can fix any problem on a boat except one thing. Making it bigger. Also try www.macgregor-boats.com and see different modifications and creature comforts that other owners have done. Some of them are pretty cool.

 

[dan]

my last coment

I sail the ICW and Gulf of Mexico. If I have a choice (and I do) I will take quality over quanity everytime. sailing has often been referred to as 90% boredom and 10% terror. It is that 10% when that unexpected storm blows in off the Gulf @ 45-50 kts that the little extra quality reins over the quanity.

 

[MArk of OSMS]

Heavy <> Quality

Just because a thing is heavier doesn't necessarily mean it's better quality. In fact, it usually takes extra care and effort to create a thing that is lighter than the compitition and still just as strong if not stronger.MacGregor never uses chopper guns in their construction they only hand-lay. Chopper guns are faster but it's impossible to get all the air out of the resin (even hand rolling) and the final product is heavier but not stronger.Remember, a heavier boat requires a stronger hull and rigging to support it. Even with more sail area it still won't be as fast as a lighter boat.Just a thought *_/),MArk

 

[tom]

hey Dan any good anchorages???

Dan I sailed through your area a couple of weeks ago. We tried to anchor a mile or two before the Pensacola bridge in Santa Rosa sound but couldn't get close to shore. We finally gave up an anchored a hundred feet out of the channel and rocked and rolled all night. But we were tired and decided not to continue in darkness. Big Lagoon looked great the next morning but we sailed on to Mobile and spent the night at our new marina.  Any favorite anchorages??? We sailed Sunday in Mobile Bay and it was great a lot of water. But the closest decent anchorage seems to be Ingram's Bayou and you have to motor the ditch to get there.

 

[dan]

tom

lots of great places Tom, one of our favorites is at Fort Mccree, there is a little cove right next to the Pensacola Pass that is sheltered on all sides and at least 8ft deep almost up to the shore. of course Little Sabine in P'cola Beach is another. there are several deep holes close to the beach between P'cola Beach and Navarre Beach. one of those is right off the public park in the National Seashore. if you plan to come back this way my email addy is ssjellyfish@aol.com drop me a line

 

[tom]

thanks Dan

We have a couple of weeks of vacation planned for October and if weather permits we'll sail!!! Maybe all of the way to Port St Joe and back. We may move the boat to Panama City next spring for the summer. Everything depends on everything.Tom

 

[dan]

us too

we also have a vacation planned for the first week in Oct and are going to Apalachiacola and St Joe. let us know we might catch up with you somewhere along the way. we probally will make Destin the 1st night, PC the 2nd, and St Joe the 3rd, and Ap the 4th. Oct ought to be prime time sailing!

 

[Dan]

WOW !!! I'm impressed!

Thanks a LOT to all of you who have responded to my query!! I'm sooo impressed!! I just found out about this site the day I posted my question, and had no idea how many responses I would get. It was great to get all of your opinions!! Not having any experience, all your comments gave me a lot to think about, and more intelligent questions to ask. So what am I going to do?? I think the bottom line is that I have to learn much more before I can make an informed decision between the Mac and Cat. As for your comments about space, I don't envision ever taking more than 4 persons, 2 of whom would often be little kids. And I know more space would be better, however... I'll post my decision as soon as I purchase a boat. Thanks again, everyone!

 

[MArk of OSMS]

Someone in your area?

Dan,Interesting MacGregor 26X (and more) website has a lot of information (click the tabs) drawn from experience.http://www.eskimo.com/~mighetto/murrelet.htmListed above because links with tildes still don't work below.Happy sails *_/),MArk