Ive had one (M26X series), great little boat with lots of volume inside...lived on it for 3 months and sailed inshore..ventured past the heads a few times she was rather rolly in the swell due to flat bottom so like a motorboat without engine if you catch my drift...as to strength I think she could survive hopping but it really would not be a comfy ride...if you intend to motor, then you would really need a lot of fuel...the 50 will burn fuel in strong currents/wind as she has a fair amount of windage...

Re rigging etc, its all fairly light touch but the beauty is that if weather turns, you drop everything and use her as a cruiser, the 50hp will punch well...another note, it will be hard to keep her balanced with what you will need given the very long top end stops between potential resupply places...

safety well, she would need life lines and good harness mounts as a bare minimum...if you note, most of the sail/rigging is screwed in not bolted so really not great for offshore wind..So really would not recommend it...its not its size at all...contessa or folkboat 26 would be just fine there (bar maybe stores)...its the fact that she is reliant on equivalent weight distribution to sail or cruise....

There would be other things I would be concerned but as I said it aint the size but its intended design...

I am thinking if one owned one of these hybrid vessels (not really a yacht and not really a motor boat), he would feel compelled to justify the purchase and may become overly excited and defensive of the design.

The one then might be tempted into undertaking a highly risky voyage to prove the nay sayers wrong and justify the purchase.

That is a motivartion driven by ego, not adventurism and likely to lead to failure.

I suspect the many thousands of Macgregor 26s sold world wide spend 90% of the time sitting in a trailer in their owners back yard and 10% of the time on inland waterways or in caravan parks being used as caravans.

For the price being asked for them, even second hand, one can buy a yacht capable of sailing the world.

The manufacturer of the Macgregor 26 should be publishing a clear statement of what the thing is designed to do, what it's limitations are and what liability they will honour re use of the vessel.

Select to expand quote

LMY said..

Trek said..


What a good challenge. If you did it I bet Mac Gregor yachts would like you in their ads.

There is great wisdom from the sailors on this forum about such a trip so far. For my 2c I reckon if you did it carefully you could do it. Im a bad one for adventures, I always take them on.

As mentioned be really careful with the stores and water. Watch out for the weather big time. I guess being a trailer yacht you could pull in at any old beach if you saw weather coming. You don't have to do huge ocean passages. Just a bit at a time. Run and hide if weather appears!

And as Toph said adventurers have made this World. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for James Cook being willing to find out what was down south. And James Cooks boat couldn't point at all though he would have done better if it could! I read an article where the odds of Neil Armstrong and Co. landing on the moon and coming back were calculated as 50:50 by statisticians at the time based on knowledge and equipment reliability.

I reckon plan it well taking the advice of the wise sailors and go for it if you really want to.

yes, we can quote Cook's spirit of adventure, but don't forget that the Endeavour was purchased specifically for the voyage, and given an extensive refit to give the enterprise the best chance of success. Cook was one of the best navigators of his time, and on the trip to Australia he had available the latest technologies, in particular the time keeping equipment available to Cook was leading edge technology for the time. The technology used may not be at today's standards, but it was as good as was available.

There is no comparison between what Cook achieved and setting out to sea in a boat that is unsuitable while arguing that this is OK because it would be an "adventure".

I may be incorrect about the Magregor 26, and would love to hear some detailed feedack that answers the concerns about supplies, fuel, water, sailing to windward etc.

If the voyage on each leg chosen is calm the boat is not unsuitable is it?

A while ago I met some sailors from Tasmania who had just motored a 60ft trawler they bought in Auckland all the way across the Tasman to Broken Bay near Sydney and they said the seas were calm the entire way.

I think a motorised vessel with GPS, marine rescue available in many ports, proper charts and chart plotters, satellite weather reports an EPIRB, SatPhone comms, VHF and HF radio makes taking a MacGregor 26 out to sea on calm days a much better bet for staying alive and making it to the destination than the Endeavour was.

They didn't even have a depth sounder on the Endeavour and nearly crashed on the Great Barrier reef. Cook had to throw everything heavy off the boat to get it through!!

A personal friend of mine "drove" a 36ft power boat ALL the while way around Australia. Broken Bay to Broken Bay. It was top heavy and a fuel guzzler. He said they loved the trip and his only complaint was the cost of fuel!!

Select to expand quote

Trek said...

LMY said..

Trek said..


What a good challenge. If you did it I bet Mac Gregor yachts would like you in their ads.

There is great wisdom from the sailors on this forum about such a trip so far. For my 2c I reckon if you did it carefully you could do it. Im a bad one for adventures, I always take them on.

As mentioned be really careful with the stores and water. Watch out for the weather big time. I guess being a trailer yacht you could pull in at any old beach if you saw weather coming. You don't have to do huge ocean passages. Just a bit at a time. Run and hide if weather appears!

And as Toph said adventurers have made this World. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for James Cook being willing to find out what was down south. And James Cooks boat couldn't point at all though he would have done better if it could! I read an article where the odds of Neil Armstrong and Co. landing on the moon and coming back were calculated as 50:50 by statisticians at the time based on knowledge and equipment reliability.

I reckon plan it well taking the advice of the wise sailors and go for it if you really want to.

yes, we can quote Cook's spirit of adventure, but don't forget that the Endeavour was purchased specifically for the voyage, and given an extensive refit to give the enterprise the best chance of success. Cook was one of the best navigators of his time, and on the trip to Australia he had available the latest technologies, in particular the time keeping equipment available to Cook was leading edge technology for the time. The technology used may not be at today's standards, but it was as good as was available.

There is no comparison between what Cook achieved and setting out to sea in a boat that is unsuitable while arguing that this is OK because it would be an "adventure".

I may be incorrect about the Magregor 26, and would love to hear some detailed feedack that answers the concerns about supplies, fuel, water, sailing to windward etc.

If the voyage on each leg chosen is calm the boat is not unsuitable is it?

A while ago I met some sailors from Tasmania who had just motored a 60ft trawler they bought in Auckland all the way across the Tasman to Broken Bay near Sydney and they said the seas were calm the entire way.

I think a motorised vessel with GPS, marine rescue available in many ports, proper charts and chart plotters, satellite weather reports an EPIRB, SatPhone comms, VHF and HF radio makes taking a MacGregor 26 out to sea on calm days a much better bet for staying alive and making it to the destination than the Endeavour was.

They didn't even have a depth sounder on the Endeavour and nearly crashed on the Great Barrier reef. Cook had to throw everything heavy off the boat to get it through!!

A personal friend of mine "drove" a 36ft power boat ALL the while way around Australia. Broken Bay to Broken Bay. It was top heavy and a fuel guzzler. He said they loved the trip and his only complaint was the cost of fuel!!

You gave yourself away with the "marine rescue in every port". If your voyage planning is based on there being a rescue service in every port, take up gardening.

"I am thinking if one owned one of these hybrid vessels"
I'd rather be defensive about something I know than offensive in your ignorance :). I p-ss myself laughing with the famous quote "one can buy a yacht capable of sailing the world". lmfao! Your not going anywhere champ, best you'll do is stradbroke island, lol!
"The manufacturer of the Macgregor 26 should be publishing a clear statement of what the thing is designed to do, what it's limitations are and what liability they will honour re use of the vessel."
I'm not saying you are stupid and I'm not saying you are moron but you are a f-cken ignorant man who doesn't know a thing about this and appears to spout sh-t he's seen written from others. You're a classic mate . The boat is rated C and D.............. INSIDE COASTAL and BAY use. where did you see GacGregore claiming the vessels were blue water? You didn't lmao! You probable have a boat you paid a lot for but is worth stuff all now leaving you very bitter .
That's as far as I go with this, I wouldn't do this trip with this boat for all the sensible reasons stated at the start. Mr "7918 Posts" is a troll or forum spider looking for bites so I'd discount any thing he says as useless.

Select to expand quote

26Mac said..
"I am thinking if one owned one of these hybrid vessels"
I'd rather be defensive about something I know than offensive in your ignorance :). I p-ss myself laughing with the famous quote "one can buy a yacht capable of sailing the world". lmfao! Your not going anywhere champ, best you'll do is stradbroke island, lol!
"The manufacturer of the Macgregor 26 should be publishing a clear statement of what the thing is designed to do, what it's limitations are and what liability they will honour re use of the vessel."
I'm not saying you are stupid and I'm not saying you are moron but you are a f-cken ignorant man who doesn't know a thing about this and appears to spout sh-t he's seen written from others. You're a classic mate . The boat is rated C and D.............. INSIDE COASTAL and BAY use. where did you see GacGregore claiming the vessels were blue water? You didn't lmao! You probable have a boat you paid a lot for but is worth stuff all now leaving you very bitter .
That's as far as I go with this, I wouldn't do this trip with this boat for all the sensible reasons stated at the start. Mr "7918 Posts" is a troll or forum spider looking for bites so I'd discount any thing he says as useless.

I'd be happy if you pulled your head in a bit mate. This forum is open to all topics AND opinions. You can either accept or
reject them BUT we do NOT rubbish anybody's opinion. The person you are referring to is a respected member of our
forum and you will treat him as such. Thank you.

Careful Sam, everyone is entitled to an opinion also. Yes Cisco is a respected member for sure but maybe he doesn't know EVERYTHING.
for others suggesting it's not a good idea, Steve in the Mac might have the most awesome trip with careful planning for sure. Who says he won't have water and fuel heli dropped to him every week? I'm not saying I'd do the trip but for a senior member who knows nothing about the boat he's going in or the planning he will do to make it happen is a bit premature To ****can it.
And yes MB , Mark Richards in flash WO XI will still be relying on local rescue if it all turns to **** and his boat breaks along the new join...I've just read that the Syd-hba race is expecting a crap forecast but these fools with too much money and ego are going to go ahead as scheduled. go figure.,

Well said samsturdy, stay positive and keep up the good work.

Thanks samsturdy.

I never get hot under the collar about anything said on the forum. It is just a waste of energy.

Sorry 26Mac if I hit a sore point for you but I guess you will just have to live with it.

I reiterate:-

"The manufacturer of the Macgregor 26 should be publishing a clear statement of what the thing is designed to do, what it's limitations are and what liability they will honour re use of the vessel."

If they have published such a statement with usage guidelines as I believe all manufacturers are legally required to do, no matter what the product is, owners of the product are legally bound to use the product within the guidelines. If they don't and come to grief, they have no comeback.

Have a Merry Christmas everybody.

Cisco, your 90/10 land water ratio,is actually pretty good! That's nearly 1 day a week! Or a month a year... :) now that'd be nice!

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Offthegrid said...
Careful Sam, everyone is entitled to an opinion also. Yes Cisco is a respected member for sure but maybe he doesn't know EVERYTHING. Now Steve in the Mac might have the most awesome trip with careful planning for sure. Who says he won't have water and fuel heli dropped to him every week? I'm not saying I'd do the trip but for a senior member who knows nothing about the boat he's going in or the planning he will do to make it happen, to shut him down on here is not right.
And yes MB , Mark Richards in flash WO XI will still be relying on local rescue if it all turns to **** and his boat breaks along the new join...I've just read that the Syd-hba race is expecting a crap forecast but these fools with too much money and ego are going to go ahead as scheduled. go figure.,

It won't be a factor in his voyage planning. Or maybe it will. As you note, a great number of racing sailors do let their ego get in the way of good seamanship. That doesn't make it the right thing to do.

Select to expand quote

Offthegrid said..
Cisco, your 90/10 land water ratio,is actually pretty good! That's nearly 1 day a week! Or a month a year... :) now that'd be nice!

I am working my way up to that ratio. Currently I am about 99/1.

I don't know what I don't know which is almost everything.

I do know what I do know which are a few things which I am happy to share with others.

Then of course there are opinions and we have all got those.

The listener or reader's job is to respect opinions and recognise facts.

The OP asked for our opinion, and that is what he is getting. No point in holding back or getting personal.

The Mac 26 has been a contraversial boat on many a boating forum. Yes, the manual does have lots of warnings. If you read it you will realise the limitations of the design. Note that despite the boat being an excellent seller in the US market, Macgregor closed down. I believe that even the successor company is also no longer producing.

To those who think it is a good idea -
* Take a good look at the particular design of the boat, and the operation manual.
* Also look at the coast of Western Australia- It is a bloody long way, with low population and not much in-between ports. Does not at all resemble the East Coast of Australia with regards to available services.

+1 Yara

It does not matter what the facts/rules are. What matters is that you KNOW what they are.

sounds like ferro len gas reappeared as wacka macca
hat coat i'm off sailing
merry xmas everyone

5 blokes go out on their weekly diving trip, usually about 8am back around 5 to share the spoils and a few beers. Head off in a new Haines hunter 21 footer with a new 175 motor on the back. leaving from a very busy boating location, cracker of a day for it sea rescue on the radio, All the dive gear, epirb radio etc as you would expect. Out across the bar, no worries , could waterski to South Africa It's so flat. Out going tide about 6 m of water , bit a of wave pops up in front. Throttle through it. Some water hits the donk. Stops. Dead. Nothing.... Next little swell and they're now side on, whoops over she goes. The whole bloody lot. All gone to the bottom. Boat 3/4 sinks and they think better let someone know, one takes off life jacket, swims under, epirb gone, radio u/s. After 45 minutes they managed to find 1 flare. 830'am, let it off and luckily a jet skier sees it. All rescued. Plane flight an hr later, can't find boat at all. Gone. had someone not seen the flare, no one was looking for about 10 hrs. In 45 mins they drifted a mile...
so even though there might be a rescue mob just round the corner aka east coast, it ain't any good if you can't get hold of them...

Select to expand quote

MorningBird said..

Trek said...

LMY said..

Trek said..


What a good challenge. If you did it I bet Mac Gregor yachts would like you in their ads.

There is great wisdom from the sailors on this forum about such a trip so far. For my 2c I reckon if you did it carefully you could do it. Im a bad one for adventures, I always take them on.

As mentioned be really careful with the stores and water. Watch out for the weather big time. I guess being a trailer yacht you could pull in at any old beach if you saw weather coming. You don't have to do huge ocean passages. Just a bit at a time. Run and hide if weather appears!

And as Toph said adventurers have made this World. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for James Cook being willing to find out what was down south. And James Cooks boat couldn't point at all though he would have done better if it could! I read an article where the odds of Neil Armstrong and Co. landing on the moon and coming back were calculated as 50:50 by statisticians at the time based on knowledge and equipment reliability.

I reckon plan it well taking the advice of the wise sailors and go for it if you really want to.

yes, we can quote Cook's spirit of adventure, but don't forget that the Endeavour was purchased specifically for the voyage, and given an extensive refit to give the enterprise the best chance of success. Cook was one of the best navigators of his time, and on the trip to Australia he had available the latest technologies, in particular the time keeping equipment available to Cook was leading edge technology for the time. The technology used may not be at today's standards, but it was as good as was available.

There is no comparison between what Cook achieved and setting out to sea in a boat that is unsuitable while arguing that this is OK because it would be an "adventure".

I may be incorrect about the Magregor 26, and would love to hear some detailed feedack that answers the concerns about supplies, fuel, water, sailing to windward etc.

If the voyage on each leg chosen is calm the boat is not unsuitable is it?

A while ago I met some sailors from Tasmania who had just motored a 60ft trawler they bought in Auckland all the way across the Tasman to Broken Bay near Sydney and they said the seas were calm the entire way.

I think a motorised vessel with GPS, marine rescue available in many ports, proper charts and chart plotters, satellite weather reports an EPIRB, SatPhone comms, VHF and HF radio makes taking a MacGregor 26 out to sea on calm days a much better bet for staying alive and making it to the destination than the Endeavour was.

They didn't even have a depth sounder on the Endeavour and nearly crashed on the Great Barrier reef. Cook had to throw everything heavy off the boat to get it through!!

A personal friend of mine "drove" a 36ft power boat ALL the while way around Australia. Broken Bay to Broken Bay. It was top heavy and a fuel guzzler. He said they loved the trip and his only complaint was the cost of fuel!!

You gave yourself away with the "marine rescue in every port". If your voyage planning is based on there being a rescue service in every port, take up gardening.

Yes I went a bit far with that! After sailing around NZ 2002 2003 I know what its like to have none. And just rock cliffs for land fall. We are soooo lucky having so many beaches on the shoreline, hardly any rocks and reefs to run into offshore and lots of civilization though.

Offthegrids comment rings true, sometimes a combination of events can spell a disaster whereas any one of those events alone wouldnt. They repeat that all the time on Air Crash Investigations. I guess having a fragile boat doesnt garantee a disaster but it might be one of the steps towards one.

sounds like ferro len has reappeared as wacka macca


We are not knocking the Mac 26 as such. It is an excellent design concept for what it was intended for. What we are saying is that it is not a suitable boat for an ocean trip around Western Australia.

Sounds like a Big Mac Attack to me ...

Select to expand quote

MorningBird said..

Trek said...

LMY said..

Trek said.. What a good challenge. If you did it I bet Mac Gregor yachts would like you in their ads. There is great wisdom from the sailors on this forum about such a trip so far. For my 2c I reckon if you did it carefully you could do it. Im a bad one for adventures, I always take them on. As mentioned be really careful with the stores and water. Watch out for the weather big time. I guess being a trailer yacht you could pull in at any old beach if you saw weather coming. You don't have to do huge ocean passages. Just a bit at a time. Run and hide if weather appears! And as Toph said adventurers have made this World. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for James Cook being willing to find out what was down south. And James Cooks boat couldn't point at all though he would have done better if it could! I read an article where the odds of Neil Armstrong and Co. landing on the moon and coming back were calculated as 50:50 by statisticians at the time based on knowledge and equipment reliability. I reckon plan it well taking the advice of the wise sailors and go for it if you really want to.

yes, we can quote Cook's spirit of adventure, but don't forget that the Endeavour was purchased specifically for the voyage, and given an extensive refit to give the enterprise the best chance of success. Cook was one of the best navigators of his time, and on the trip to Australia he had available the latest technologies, in particular the time keeping equipment available to Cook was leading edge technology for the time. The technology used may not be at today's standards, but it was as good as was available. There is no comparison between what Cook achieved and setting out to sea in a boat that is unsuitable while arguing that this is OK because it would be an "adventure". I may be incorrect about the Magregor 26, and would love to hear some detailed feedack that answers the concerns about supplies, fuel, water, sailing to windward etc.

If the voyage on each leg chosen is calm the boat is not unsuitable is it? A while ago I met some sailors from Tasmania who had just motored a 60ft trawler they bought in Auckland all the way across the Tasman to Broken Bay near Sydney and they said the seas were calm the entire way. I think a motorised vessel with GPS, marine rescue available in many ports, proper charts and chart plotters, satellite weather reports an EPIRB, SatPhone comms, VHF and HF radio makes taking a MacGregor 26 out to sea on calm days a much better bet for staying alive and making it to the destination than the Endeavour was. They didn't even have a depth sounder on the Endeavour and nearly crashed on the Great Barrier reef. Cook had to throw everything heavy off the boat to get it through!! A personal friend of mine "drove" a 36ft power boat ALL the while way around Australia. Broken Bay to Broken Bay. It was top heavy and a fuel guzzler. He said they loved the trip and his only complaint was the cost of fuel!!

You gave yourself away with the "marine rescue in every port". If your voyage planning is based on there being a rescue service in every port, take up gardening.

If the weather stays calm! Big If........................

ok now i will start assuming stuff !! So assuming you are going to have some one drive over to Sydney with the trailer and then drive back to Perth towing the boat .....

why not drive that little bit further and tow the boat all the way around Aus . Then you can use the vessel as it was intended when designed . Drop her in tour around bay or waterway .... slip her back on and go to the next spot .

almost the same road miles but see the whole country .


as an innocent bystander , i think the no,s have it in the, can it be done stakes !!

Select to expand quote

holdfastom said..
Ive had one (M26X series), great little boat with lots of volume inside...lived on it for 3 months and sailed inshore..ventured past the heads a few times she was rather rolly in the swell due to flat bottom so like a motorboat without engine if you catch my drift...as to strength I think she could survive hopping but it really would not be a comfy ride...if you intend to motor, then you would really need a lot of fuel...the 50 will burn fuel in strong currents/wind as she has a fair amount of windage...

Re rigging etc, its all fairly light touch but the beauty is that if weather turns, you drop everything and use her as a cruiser, the 50hp will punch well...another note, it will be hard to keep her balanced with what you will need given the very long top end stops between potential resupply places...

safety well, she would need life lines and good harness mounts as a bare minimum...if you note, most of the sail/rigging is screwed in not bolted so really not great for offshore wind..So really would not recommend it...its not its size at all...contessa or folkboat 26 would be just fine there (bar maybe stores)...its the fact that she is reliant on equivalent weight distribution to sail or cruise....

There would be other things I would be concerned but as I said it aint the size but its intended design...

From the horses mouth.
QED

26X is not a 26M, they have different designs....................... but you know that don't you mate? (your right about the horse but you've got the wrong hole )
26S, 26X and 26Ms regularly make the trip across to the Bahamas. I guess they aren't members of this forum . They are quite capable of make sea passages in those most unpredictable waters, just plan carefully like they do and learn your capabilities before sh-t hits the fan.

Well I have done the trip down the WA coast, It was in May and the only part of the trip I did not like was from Exmouth down.
Cray pots, big swell , cold, in general **.
North of Exmouth it is in general calm and warm , cyclones excepted of course.
You can day hop but the issue is provisioning, I am no fan of the McGregor bit I think it can be done. Beyond Broome to Darwin you have one fuel stop at Dampier Broome Bay but make sure you book ahead.
It is a magnificent place to sail and I understand why you would want to do it.
Be careful across the gulf this is your furtherest point from land and it can get choppy and uncomfortable.
The average distance between townships is 80 to 100 miles between Perth and Broome so be prepared. Beyond that it is 800 miles of nothing all the way to Darwin.
Then it is another 300 miles plus to Gove into headwind and another 350 miles plus from Gove to Thursday Island. Just when you thought is was over it is 400 mile from TI to Cook town (Beautiful Place by the way)
I enjoyed every minute of it but I was in a Cat A 40 ft boat
Funny how the same people commend a guy who wants to do Sydney to Whitsundays in a 14ft Hobbie cat but cannot understand someone wanting to do the same in a McGregor.
Enjoy it, just make sure you plan.
By the way there is no sea rescue beyond Exmouth so do not include it in the equation

Gday Krusty i plan on sailing it back to ,at least ill have all the currents going my way cheers

VERY WELL SAID MAC26
i think a few people on this forum under estimate what these types of boats r capable of ,there r also a few very good points that i am seriously considering cheers/

Ok good plan, It will save alot of fuel. Do they have long term parking at the boat ramp where you intend launching from? As you may be gone for some time.

Select to expand quote

stevetheadven said..
Gday Krusty i plan on sailing it back to ,at least ill have all the currents going my way cheers

We're planning on a trip to Darwin at around the same time if all goes to plan. Maybe we could keep an ear and eye out for each other along the way. ?

Select to expand quote

26Mac said..
26X is not a 26M, they have different designs....................... but you know that don't you mate? (your right about the horse but you've got the wrong hole )
26S, 26X and 26Ms regularly make the trip across to the Bahamas. I guess they aren't members of this forum . They are quite capable of make sea passages in those most unpredictable waters, just plan carefully like they do and learn your capabilities before sh-t hits the fan.

Wow , A bit defensive and angry there . I did not know the difference between X and M but considered what I inserted constructive comments from an ex owner of a Mac. I stand corrected . After reading posts on other forums about the 26M and island hopping in the Bahamas I would not attempt such an adventure up the west coast but maate you know best just do it.

Jolene, when are you planning a trip to Darwin. I am heading back that way myself after cyclone season.