Yup... I've got the bug to go bigger... again... * balboa 20?*

[Fly_H23]

I've owned a Hunter 20 (swing c/b), a Mac 22 (swing keel) and a Hunter 23 (Wing keel). For two people, the Hunter 20 was too small in both the cockpit and cabin but was easy to tow and launch. The Mac 22 was roomy and easy to launch, rig and tow as it sat low on its trailer. It was a cheaper boat to buy but the heavy keel caused me headaches occasionally due to cable and winch problems.

 

[Ken Cross]

As one who too started out with small day sailboats, we ended up getting a MacGregor 26D. Either the C or D models are excellent to sail and will meet all of your requirements. We towed ours to several nearby lakes and even put it into Puget Sound regularly. With the pop-top open, it's very roomy for two people to spend the night.

I agree with the Mac. They are often ignored, but the water ballast makes them like towing a much smaller boat. They sail really well and fast. They are cheap. The main reason we sold our "D" model was because we wanted to stand up inside (not just under the pop top) and because the trailer was rusting out.

Ken

 

[Daveinet]

mac 26 is a bit sluggish. I sailed on a 26 swing keel. We had enough wind to occasionally blow the rudder out of the water, yet it seemed like we were barely moving compared to the wind. The boat was well maintained and sailed by a very meticulous skipper.

 

[Meriachee]

mac 26 is a bit sluggish

Really? We used to blow the doors off anything with a keel when we had ours. The best part was inciting any kind of tacking duel, the Mac just gets up and goes, excepting of course the rail in the water when a bird flys by.

 

[Daveinet]

Maybe the one I sailed on had a dirty bottom, but I would call anything that rates over 200 slow. At best, it is very similar to other boats in its size, which would make is real average. Water ballast is inefficient, in that you are limited to how low you can put the weight. This limits your initial stability. I found when it gets hit with a gust it heels rather quickly.

 

[Meriachee]

That is both the advantage and disadvantage of water ballast. It can be considered neutrally buoyant when the boat is sitting still, and doesn't become weight until it's raised out of the water. That's why the boat will heel, 10 degrees, "right now" and then start to dig in. From an acceleration perspective, you can use that time to your advantage, while you are accelerating a relatively fixed mass, you're not accelerating the added forces on the hull when the buoyancy is neutral, and it will pick up speed faster when upright. It's got less to do with a dirty hull than figuring out what the boat does, under what conditions, and using that knowledge to make it go.
None of that changes the fact that doing everything on your knees is annoying as all get out in a 26.

 

[JohnVTX]

1984 Sirius 21 completely restored for sale

 

[RussC]

Thanks John, but we bought a Mac 25 about 6 weeks ago.