Nemo, the 2005 MacGregor 26M
The decision to get a Mac stemmed from its great versatility for the price. We like that it is trailerable, water-ballasted (to keep it light for towing), and motorable. We only have so many vacation days and if it's not windy we can still get out for some fun with the motor. I'm finding our kids rather motor about and go fishing, rather than sail, so this works for them and me. Some "purist" sailers don't like the Mac, but having a heavy-keeled boat moored up at one spot doesn't appeal to us. I'm sure I'd get bored too quickly always sailing the same location as we just don't have the time (at this point in our life) to venture out for days/weeks at a time. We think the "form factor" of the Mac will suit us well.
Purchased from Blue Water Yachts in Seattle in February '05. We highly recommend this dealer. We bought it with the "Supercruiser Package", Quick Rig kit, Mooring kit and Safety package. These included such things as a 70HP Suzuki 4-stroke OB, mast-raising system, CDI roller furling, halyards led to cockpit, single-line reefing, stern rail seats, custom covers for jib, mainsail and dodger, Bimini, Dual battery w/charger and battery combiner, alcohol stove, porta-potti, swim ladder, cockpit cushions, 60-qt cooler, two 12-gal gas tanks, Marine CD/stereo, compass, anchor, chain, rode, boat hook, PFDs, flares, fire extinguisher, air horn, etc..
As if that it's enough, we immediately went to work to install a few extra goodies: Garmin 76CS GPS/mini-chartplotter, Raymarine DS400x Fishfinder with depth/speed/temp transducer, and handheld VHF radio. Routing the wires (power and transducer) for the Fishfinder up through the steering column was an absolutely miserable task. The connector on the transducer wire was particularly troublesome as the column was already crowded with wiring harnesses supporting the OB motor controls. Power comes from the 4th Aux switch on the Panel - it was previously unused. Well worth it though - worked like a charm on it's maiden voyage. Having a depth finder gave us much more confidence that we weren't going to stick the dagger board into the mud, or something else.
Well, so much for protecting the dagger board.. Right in the middle of a gybe on the Columbia river a sand snuck up on us and depth went from 20+ feet to 3 feet deep in a hurry. We ground to a halt with the crushing sound of broken fiberglass. Bum deal. A new dagger board was about $220, and fortunately there was no other damage. I picked up a new board and repaired the broken one as a spare..
I
installed a voltage meter that uses a single-pole-double-throw switch to select
between Engine or Auxiliary battery or neither. Notice the mounting
location near the ladder into the cabin. This is close to the batteries to
make routing the wires easy, and the switch is conveniently guarded by the
ladder so no one breaks it. I'm an electrical engineer so always need to
know about the battery charge status and such things.
The Mac definitely comes in spartan fashion to keep costs down. Frankly that appealed to us (the cost part, not the spartan part) and gives opportunity for the projects of the manual labor variety. The first project was cleaning up the storage areas. These are raw fiberglass, quite rough and pokey, downright dangerous in some spots with sharp edges. I couldn't even consider putting a PFD in one of the storage locations as it would have been impregnated with fiberglass needles - just what you want to wear on a hot day without a shirt on..
So I got this idea off a Mac Forum on-line to paint the insides of the storage areas. I choose a product called Poxy Coat II. It is for industrial use as paint for garage floors. It's claimed to be water-proof and should repel gas/oil too. It's not that I hunted all around and choose this for its merits.. the truth is my folks used to be in the biz of selling the product and had a few gallons around in their garage. As Tom Peterson says, "Free is a very good price". I put on 2 coats, 1 gallon total, after sanding the really rough spots and really like how it's turned out, although only time will tell if this was a good move. I hope I didn't mess up - I'm NOT ENCOURAGING ANYONE TO DO THIS, at least until I give this some time. However, the web site for the product gives me some confidence it should be okay.. http://www.poxycoat.com/
This
shows how rough the storage areas were stock, and the results after 1 and 2
coats of paint..
And, here is how the other storage areas turned out..
Location of marine radio/cd player and speakers, mounting by BWY..
Here's a checklist to prepare for launch, etc.. Feel free to email me with suggestions for improvement..