casey koogler wrote: > I am guessing I don't really know what it takes to qualify as a motorsailer > compared to a sailboat with a motor. > > I picture a "real" motorsailer to be the MacGovors who brag about being able > to get up on step and tow waterskiers. They don't look like they would be > any good as a ski tug nor a good sailboat. > > One old broker told me a motorsailer is a sailboat with a motor. . . > > My interest is in sailing and comfort. Not skiing. > > Casey REPLY The McGregors are in fact good sailboats despite the fact they can be over powered whne motoring. You can trust marketing to go to extremes in an effort to cater to every possible taste and market niche.
The reason McGregors can plane is the flat bottom and fin keel. Those design details are essential for a trailerable boat. In addition the McGregor uses internal water ballast tanks. When full and sealed, these tanks act to stabilize the hull and when the centerboard is dropped, it too acts to counterbalance the force on thesails and mast. I had a Sirius which was a precursor to the McGrewgor design. A friend had one and we did on occasion sail in company. So close in fact we could pass appetizers back and forth from cockpit to cockpit as we had a cockpit cocktail party under way at six knots. <VBG> Don't try this stunt until you are well experienced and know exactly how to handle your boat. Its a bit like formation flying in an air show. Looks so easy but damn you can sure screw up in a hurry if you don't pay attenion. < grin > Since you do not like ladders and some steep staircases, look for a galley up sedan style. "Trawler" has become a marketing term. People have lived aboard just about every possible type and style of boat. Keeping your living accomodation smostly on one level is characteristic of sedans ( an old bsolete term as far as marketing goes but reflects a style first used among some of the big names like Cris-Craft, Burger and Hacker to name some of the great old brand names. Then the marketing guys got involved and screwed up all the terminology. <grin> Its almost axiomatic that the first boat you buy will not be the right choice or the final one. . Ther is only one way to get living experience. DO IT! so get some kind of boat that looks like it comes close. Buy something you know you can resell and move aboard. Then you can spend a year or two or . . . learning exactly what it is you want. Yes i remember you saying you had a limited budget. But as rick th emouse herder once wrote in hi stag line a smal boat and suitcase ful of money beats a big boat tied to the dock. In other words get th esmallest boat you can live with and save your moeny. Buying to obig is going to be an albatross round your neck. Good luck Arild _______________________________________________ Liveaboard mailing list [email protected] To adjust your membership settings over the web http://www.liveaboardnow.org/mailman/listinfo/liveaboard To subscribe send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] The archives are at http://www.liveaboardnow.org/pipermail/liveaboard/ To search the archives http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] The Mailman Users Guide can be found here http://www.gnu.org/software/mailman/mailman-member/index.html
