MelF said..
I think Barry Craft did the trip in a North Wind 23 TS called Epsilon and wrote a book about it, 'My Sweet little Epsilon'?http://www.chartandmapshop.com.au/16725/My-Sweet-Little-Epsilon/9781920884918

MorningBird said..
My neighbor MacGregor 26 was alongside the jetty when I got up to MB this morning. I had a close look at her and noted the shrouds appear to be held in by self tappers.

MorningBird said..
My neighbor MacGregor 26 was alongside the jetty when I got up to MB this morning. I had a close look at her and noted the shrouds appear to be held in by self tappers.

Jolene said..




They may appear to be but are probably not. Are the screws just locating backing plates,?? Possibly a better set up than an old ss34

Jolene said..




They may appear to be but are probably not. Are the screws just locating backing plates,?? Possibly a better set up than an old ss34

RiffRaff said..
Hands up everyone who has commented here that has actualy sailed the whole length of the WA coast at least once.
Navy doesnt count

Shaggybaxter said..


Christ Joelene,
An S&S 34 is an icon for safe passage making and all round bulldog toughness. Any sailor would trust his life with an S&S 34 mate....they've been barrel rolled in the Southern Ocean and haven't even lost the rig. Respect.

Jolene said..




Sadly,, I wasn't actually referring to chainplates as they weren't mentioned. I was commenting about what I mistakenly figured Morning Bird was talking about, that is ,T- terminal fittings that retain shrouds into the mast. Backing plates and retainer straps that are held in place with pop rivets or screws that appear to be holding in shrouds.
And just to go one step further, in regards to ss34 comments , Pink lady had these shroud T- terminals and yet Seaflight had the old original retaining 3/4" bolt set up to fasten the hounds.Which boat had a failure.???
Now, if and only if, a Big Mac has T-terminals, would that in fact be a better set up than an externally bolted on hound like an old ss34, which was my original thoughts.
And yes, I do feel for People who have their boat constantly attacked, belittled and spoke of like a piece of ****.

Jolene said..




Sadly,, I wasn't actually referring to chainplates as they weren't mentioned. I was commenting about what I mistakenly figured Morning Bird was talking about, that is ,T- terminal fittings that retain shrouds into the mast. Backing plates and retainer straps that are held in place with pop rivets or screws that appear to be holding in shrouds.
And just to go one step further, in regards to ss34 comments , Pink lady had these shroud T- terminals and yet Seaflight had the old original retaining 3/4" bolt set up to fasten the hounds.Which boat had a failure.???
Now, if and only if, a Big Mac has T-terminals, would that in fact be a better set up than an externally bolted on hound like an old ss34, which was my original thoughts.
And yes, I do feel for People who have their boat constantly attacked, belittled and spoke of like a piece of ****.

FreeRadical said..


That thing would be perfect in shark bay, lots of shallow areas to explore and relatively flat. Also lots of little breaks in Ningaloo that you could duck into for protection. Beach it in Broome, no worries. Up past Zuytdorp cliffs could be interesting though.


heading south to exit South Passage Shark Bay.


Exit from South Passage and the start of the Zuytdorp Cliffs






Somewhere in Shark Bay


Maud's Landing (Coral Bay), inside Ningaloo Reef.

Yara said..
The McGregor 26 is an extremely successful solution to the need for a spacious trailer-sailer for sheltered waters. They fetch high prices, far higher than your typical 26ft keelboat.

So my solution would be to sell the McGregor 26, and with that money you could buy a 30+ foot solid keelboat, suitable for offshore work , and off you go!!

Yara said..
It is one thing having an adventure, but another choosing the right tool for the job. Clearly the M26 is not the best boat for this adventure. The problem comes if you get out there with an unsuitable craft, and it causes you to get into trouble, and then expect the taxpayer to pay for your rescue.

Many of the examples listed above of adventurous people, were careful to select a suitable vessel. Size is not the issue, seaworthyness is.

byf said..
Sounds like the trip of a lifetime. Go for it Steve.

byf said..
Sounds like the trip of a lifetime. Go for it Steve.

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.

Charriot said..
This is a sailing forum, and that's the way we look at Mc26, but there is more..
I am very impressed, the boat can manage 22 knots, how b strong must be.

this is from the boat review
The point of the plus-motor reservation is that the power range of this boat is from 5 to 60hp, or nothing at all of course. Five will give the sort of performance usually acceptable in an auxiliary, and 60 is good for 22 knots.

trailable sailing boat whose most distinctive attraction is not its ability to sail. Instead it is its great ability as a fast power cruiser. That it sails well too and has a mass of clever features seems almost like a bonus.

26Mac said..
I love this **** . You can sail around the world in a 19ft plywood boat, with a daggerboard, if you have the balls and the time, so anything is possible .

"They are a crap boat that can't sail!" Or "I have never been on one but you can see them motor past my birth at the marina."
Inexperienced owners think the boat's going over because the water ballast only really works from 15deg of heel to a solid 35deg (they sail with a rail in the water at 45deg) and because of that they think that they have experience they can hand on. They had no idea when they picked a Mac and they have no idea
My firsthand personal knowledge is that a 26M is a bay/coastal light cruiser and is unconfutable in blue water. They sail quit well at speeds up to 7knts (at best) and will motor at over 17knts (18+ONLY IF you have a larger motor than the max recommended size of 60HP). You can get some excellent mileage from the 60-ETEC motor but only at about 5knts. You can go 200NM on 90lt or motor sail a hell of a lot further. Pack everything low in the under seat storage down below and you'll be fine in everything but a roll (these boats don't capsize, they just roll). As for not being strong that crap too everything in it has been designed to strengthen the hull including the ballast tank chamber. There are tricks you'll need to know to get the best out of them and there are a few good facebook pages that have knowledgeable skippers (not armchair experts, lol!) who have taken them on trips over thousands of miles. I want to get up to the King George River and the twin falls. We'll do the up trip on a falling tide over two days and two days to return to Wyndham. The one key item that I can see will be getting a water maker. Not having to carry the weight of anything but emergency water will really help.

Trek said..










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!!