Macgregor 26'

[jez1954]

Can't remember which thread it was I was looking at earlier today but there was mention of a macgregor 26' powered sailer. Several complimetary comments so I followed the link.........to buy new on their US site is USD 21,500. Wow, what a price I thought...wonder if they have a UK agent. Yes they do - macgregoruk. However, the cost of shipping the boat across the pond seems expensive as UK price is £23K+!!

Is someone taking the piss or what?

 

Jez

[bastonjock]

Jez

 

I think im the only guy on here with a macgregor 26x,the Uk dealer is based in Cornwall,the manager is a guy called richard,i can PM the number if you want,also worth a look is if you contact the UK macgregor owners assosiation,ther is also a web site at www. macgregorsailors.com,this is the best site on the net for info on a mac.

 

as for importing to the Uk,add VAT,import tax,freight,dock charges, EC certification (4-5K) and the cost of a new trailer as the USA one is illegal over here

Edited June 11, 2009 by bastonjock

[Naughty Cal]

Same with any yank boat that Jez. The Bayliners, Maxums, Sea Rays etc are all the same. Cheap in america, expensive over here and if you want a diesel engine add another 12-15k on top.

[carlt]

Same with any yank boat that Jez. The Bayliners, Maxums, Sea Rays etc are all the same. Cheap in america, expensive over here and if you want a diesel engine add another 12-15k on top.

I think it would cost significantly more than £15k, to adapt a Mac to accommodate a diesel engine

[Naughty Cal]

I think it would cost significantly more than £15k, to adapt a Mac to accommodate a diesel engine

 

Theres always one

[Teadaemon]

I think it would cost significantly more than £15k, to adapt a Mac to accommodate a diesel engine

 

Depends if you could find a diesel outboard or not (Yanmar used to make the D series in 27 and 36 HP versions, though they're no longer available new).

[carlt]

Depends if you could find a diesel outboard or not (Yanmar used to make the D series in 27 and 36 HP versions, though they're no longer available new).

A Mac wouldn't cope with a diesel outboard.

 

The Yanmar 36 weighed as much as a 200hp petrol engine and the Mac just isn't strong enough.

[bastonjock]

Some of the yanks stick 90hp outboards on their macs,the Odin which is a Polish built take off of the macgregor has a diesel inboard option,i think it costs 45-50K

 

The whole point of a mac is that its a cheap boat that does not cost the earth to run,its the world best selling boat,some 7000 macs have been built and sold,i can get a complete suite of sails for mine for less than a jib for an average sail boat.

 

Unlike a lot of boats,the second hand value of a mac is going up.The cheapest that i can keep my boat is on its trailer,at PYC it would cost me 15 quid a year to park it,then the river licence at a tenner a day or 360 for the year what ever is cheapest.I can store my mac at a marina on its trailer for 300 and have unlimited usage of the slipway,an equivalent 26ft keel boat costs 3 grand for the year in the water.

 

The mac is a jack of all trades,its master of none except perhaps for the cost of running a boat.

[Teadaemon]

Some of the yanks stick 90hp outboards on their macs,the Odin which is a Polish built take off of the macgregor has a diesel inboard option,i think it costs 45-50K

 

The whole point of a mac is that its a cheap boat that does not cost the earth to run,its the world best selling boat,some 7000 macs have been built and sold,i can get a complete suite of sails for mine for less than a jib for an average sail boat.

 

Unlike a lot of boats,the second hand value of a mac is going up.The cheapest that i can keep my boat is on its trailer,at PYC it would cost me 15 quid a year to park it,then the river licence at a tenner a day or 360 for the year what ever is cheapest.I can store my mac at a marina on its trailer for 300 and have unlimited usage of the slipway,an equivalent 26ft keel boat costs 3 grand for the year in the water.

 

The mac is a jack of all trades,its master of none except perhaps for the cost of running a boat.

 

I wouldn't call a Mac a cheap boat - the regular supply of second hand ones seem to go for £13-15,000, which is easily enough to buy a similarly-sized proper yacht and run it for several years.

 

Incidentally, I am aware of a similar boat (not a Mac, but same sort of size and design concept) where somebody had attempted to put in an inboard diesel engine and ended up sinking the boat by breaching the watertight integrity of the ballast tank.

[Aunty_Rinum]

...................and what ugly boats they are

Edited June 13, 2009 by Aunty_Rinum

[alan_fincher]

...................and what ugly boats they are

Is that why this lot appear to be trying to hide as much as possible ?

 

[Teadaemon]

...................and what ugly boats they are

 

I couldn't disagree with you on that point.

 

Were I to have the price of a second hand Mac 26, I think I'd be looking at boats like this one if I fancied lumpy water sailing, or this one if I decided to stick to the Broads.

[carlt]

I couldn't disagree with you on that point.

 

Were I to have the price of a second hand Mac 26, I think I'd be looking at boats like this one if I fancied lumpy water sailing, or this one if I decided to stick to the Broads.

Me too (and thanks for linking to yet another boat porn site, I hadn't discovered) but, to be fair, if you're looking for a dual purpose, trailable boat that can beat Phylis, in a race but you can still cruise under rag power, there aren't many options and the mac is only styled like all the other modern plastics, which many seem to like.

[Teadaemon]

Me too (and thanks for linking to yet another boat porn site, I hadn't discovered) but, to be fair, if you're looking for a dual purpose, trailable boat that can beat Phylis, in a race but you can still cruise under rag power, there aren't many options and the mac is only styled like all the other modern plastics, which many seem to like.

 

I know of a few options, but can't quite remember the names. If either of them come to mind I'll try to find pictures, as both the ones I'm thinking of look a fair bit less like a running shoe than the Mac 26.

 

Personally though, I'm not keen on the whole concept of the Mac 26 or similar dual purpose designs - I think they make too many compromises to be really good at being either a sailing yacht or a planing powerboat. I'd much prefer to have a boat that did one or the other very well (in fact, for the price of a Mac 26 I'm sure you could get a decent yacht and a decent speedboat, and just hitch up whichever one you preferred that day).

[carlt]

(in fact, for the price of a Mac 26 I'm sure you could get a decent yacht and a decent speedboat, and just hitch up whichever one you preferred that day).

Too right!

 

Clicky

[Madmark62]

Too right!

 

Clicky

 

I could fall in love with that boat

[carlt]

I could fall in love with that boat

With a big block chevy, it would be a tempestuous, but very exciting affair.

[Aunty_Rinum]

... I think I'd be looking at boats like this one if I fancied lumpy water sailing,...

Not dissimilar to my Hillyard 12 Tonner which is 50 years old this year. 38 feet of solid mahogany and oak, and very high maintenance. Like the Forth Bridge.

[Teadaemon]

Not dissimilar to my Hillyard 12 Tonner which is 50 years old this year. 38 feet of solid mahogany and oak, and very high maintenance. Like the Forth Bridge.

 

Hillyards are very nice (and pretty) boats, have you got any pictures?

 

I appreciate wooden boats are relatively high maintenance, which is why the two I linked to are a fair bit smaller than yours, and why I left plenty in the budget for repairs and upkeep. Realistically, if I got the chance I'd go for the Broads River Cruiser, which also helps keep the maintenance down (since they nearly all live under full length awnings when not in use, which keeps the weather off all that brightwork).

 

Mind you, my current long-term boating goal is to design and build myself a River Cruiser yacht, but I'm planning one with a strip planked/cold moulded composite hull (Western Red Cedar or Alaskan Yellow Cedar strip planking with one or two layers of Mahogany veneer on the outside, covered with glass cloth/epoxy and finished bright). That way I get something that looks and feels like a wooden yacht, but has maintenance requirements similar to a GRP hull. It's not a particularly cheap way to build a boat, but the end result could be quite nice.

[Aunty_Rinum]

Hillyards are very nice (and pretty) boats, have you got any pictures?....

I've got some pics somewhere but at the moment I'm away from home using a Vodafone stick which won't let me access Photobucket.

[Bricksh]

Jez

 

I think im the only guy on here with a macgregor 26x,the Uk dealer is based in Cornwall,the manager is a guy called richard,i can PM the number if you want,also worth a look is if you contact the UK macgregor owners assosiation,ther is also a web site at www. macgregorsailors.com,this is the best site on the net for info on a mac.

 

as for importing to the Uk,add VAT,import tax,freight,dock charges, EC certification (4-5K) and the cost of a new trailer as the USA one is illegal over here

 

I had a 26 M bought in the UK. Used on lough Derg in Ireland for 2 years. It is a fantastic lake boat, sails not too bad a little tender until well healed but then bites. Rounds up if very windy.

 

Bought mine new from Falmouth, sold 2 years later for around about what I paid. Considered US import but I think I made the right choice.

 

Bricksh

[bastonjock]

Why do people feel the need to knock a macgregor? there are more mac,s afloat than any other boat and as far as the pricing goes the second hand value is increasing.