COMPARISON BETWEEN THE MACGREGOR 26 AND THE HUNTER EDGE November 20, 2008 PRICE: (Retail) MACGREGOR 26M HUNTER EDGE Base price, standard boat $21,500 $32,990 Surge Brakes Option $584 Std This is an option because many owners have no need for the surge brakes. We try to make the standard boat include only the equipment that most owners want Working jib Option $260 Std We offer both a genoa a working jib. It is an option so that the owner can select the sail that he wants for his local wind conditions. Portable marine head Option $98 Std Retail price, comparably equipped boat $22,432 $32,990 The price on line 1 has been adjusted for the items that Hunter has standard and that the MacGregor has as options Trailer included Yes Yes Mainsail Std Std Wheel steering Yes Yes Engine (Evinrude MSRP price, does not include installation) $ 7660 (60 hp Evinrude) $8960 (75 hp Evinrude)
Roller furling Option Option Most owners equip their boats with roller furling. Hunter s is far more expensive. Both work well. WEIGHT Boat weight, without engine 2625 lbs 4070 lbs We restrict the MacGregor to 60 horsepower because heavy engines on the transom hurt sailing performance and make trailering more difficult. The lighter the better. Engine weight 240 lbs 320 lbs Boat weight with engine 2880 lbs 4390 lbs Trailer weight 575 lbs? Total trailering weight with engine 3440 lbs 4920 LBS Hunter requires a much more robust tow vehicle. More difficult to tow and launch. Harder to brake. Requires a heavy tandem axle trailer. Even with the tandem axle, the Hunter requires a lot more tongue weight on car's hitch. 5000 lbs is a magic number for towing boats. A very large percentage of tow vehicles are not rated for more than this. In addition to the boat, motor and trailer, there will be more. A lot more. Fuel, water, anchors, safety equipment, camping gear, food, tools, and clothing. There can be many hundreds of pounds more. With the Hunter Edge, there is no significant
margin for carrying all this and remaining under 5000 lbs. With the MacGregor, there is a lot of margin between its weight and either the 5000 lb limit or its trailer capacity. Water ballast, removable 1200 lbs 1600 lbs Permanent ballast 300 lbs 170 (In centerboard) Permanent ballast gives better overall stability when the water tank is empty. Weight in centerboard gives a bit more stability, but makes it harder to raise and lower Total ballast 1500 lbs 1770 lbs Total Weight: Boat, engine and ballast Ballast/displacement ratio 4380 lbs 6160 lbs 35% 29%% This is the percentage of total boat weight that is ballast. It is widely used as a measure of stability. A higher number tends to indicate greater stability. The formula is as follows: Total ballast weight divided by total boat weight (including the boat, the engine and ballast) SIZE Length 25 10 26 4" Homeowner s liability insurance will often cover boats under 26 without a separate policy.
Beam 7 10 8 4" In many areas, 8 is the max towing limit without a permit. The Hunter Edge won t fit in container. (Two MacGregors will fit in a 46 container, reducing shipping costs by half. It is also possible to ship a MacGregor, by container, to a favorite vacation spot.) Container shipping can save you thousands of dollars in delivery and transportation costs, especially if you are a long way from the factory. Draft, board and rudders up 10" 18" SPEED UNDER POWER Max speed under power 21 mph (60 hp) 19.9 mph (75 hp) With a 70 hp engine, the MacGregor goes 24 mph. Factory recommends a 60 hp engine. FUEL USE Fuel flow at low speed:.5 gallons at 6 mph.77 gallons at 6.7 mph Gallons per hour Fuel flow at cruise: Gallons per hour Fuel flow at high speed: Gallons per hour 3.2 gallons at 16 mph 6.0 gallons at 21 mph 5.4 gallons at 15.9 mph 7.4 gallons at 19.9 mph
MACGREGOR 26 HUNTER EDGE MILES PER GALLON Miles per gallon at low speed Miles per gallon at cruise Miles per gallon at full speed 11.8 mpg at 6 mph 8.7 mpg at 6.7 mph 4.8 mpg at 16 mph 2.9 mpg at 15.9 mph 3.5 mpg at 21 mph 2.7 mpg at 19.9 mph FUEL CAPACITY Fuel tank capacity 24 gallons 24 gallons RANGE UNDER POWER Max range, low speed 283 miles at 6 mph 208 miles at 6.7 mph Max range, cruise 115 miles at 16 mph 70 miles at 15.9 mph Max range, full speed 84 miles at 21 mph 65 miles at 19.9 mph TRAILERING, LAUNCHING AND RIGGING Sits low on its trailer for easy ramp launching and trailering Very low Higher M26 is easier to launch. Ease of launching depends on how high the boat waterline is above the ground when the boat is on its trailer. Every extra inch
of height above the ground means that the car and trailer has to be backed one foot more down the ramp and into the water (on a typical launch ramp.) Mast raising system with brake winch System for bolting the mast in placed while trailering Yes No Hunter edge has more complex block and tackle system, with more effort required. The effort required to pull on the Hunter s rope is far more than needed to turn the MacGregor winch handle. If you let go of Hunter's rope, the mast comes crashing down. With the brake winch to do the work, you can let go of the winch handle at any point and the mast will stay where it is. This is big safety feature. Yes No The MacGregor has an aft mast carrier and fittings on the pulpit that allows the mast to be securely bolted, not tied, to the boat for trailering. We think that it is risky to rely on hand tied rope to secure the mast to the boat when trailering. This is where you need somethink absolutely fool proof SAILING Sailing speed See note at right We have not raced the two boats under sail. With the lighter weight, taller rig, better sail adjustment hardware, easily driven hull, and rotating mast, the Macgregor 26 should be
significantly faster. The fact that the boat goes so much faster with a smaller outboard proves that the Macgregor hull offers far less drag and will be faster when driven by sail. Hunter s hull ridges and a large open centerboard cavity create extra drag. Main and jib sail area Main and genoa sail area Steering system can easily be disconnected from the engine when sailing Fully retracting and kick up rudders 300 sq ft 330 sq ft 506 sq ft No genoa available Larger sail area is essential for good light air performance. Yes No When sailing, you don t want to have to turn both the rudder and the engine. It makes steering a lot harder. When connected to the steering system while under sail, with the engine up, the engine tries to flop from side to side as the boat heels, putting serious pressure on the steering wheel. Yes No Hunter rudders retract vertically, but not completely. When fully up, a significant area of the rudder remains exposed and subject to damage on impact. Up or down, the Hunter rudder will not kick up.. Twin rudders Yes No Hunter has only one rudder. If it is damaged, the boat cannot be sailed. The Macgregor 26 has 2 rudders. If one is damaged,
the boat can still be sailed. On wide, relatively flat bottom boats such as the Hunter and the MacGregor, a single, centerline rudders can come out of the water if the boat heels over to an extreme angle, resulting in loss of control. With the twin rudders on the MacGregor 26, one rudder will always be fully buried in the water, and effective, even at extreme angles of heel. Centerboard or daggerboard retract fully into the hull for high speed powering or beaching Yes No The Hunter Edge centerboard does not fully retract into the hull. It is true that the Hunter Edge centerboard will kick up if it hits something, however, the rudder, which will not kick up, will still be exposed, and subject to damage after the centerboard kicks up and out of the way. It seems to us odd to have the most sturdy fin (the centerboard) kick up, but not the most vulnerable fin (the rudder). A sailboat cannot be sailed without its rudder. The MacGregor daggerboard and trunk are sufficiently sturdy to resist damage in impact at normal sailing speeds. For safety, at higher powering speeds, on either the Hunter Edge or the MacGregor 26, nothing but the engine propeller should be below bottom of the boat. Small, low drag Yes No Hunter Edge s centerboard
opening for the centerboard in hull cavity is very large, creating significantly more drag. MACGREGOR 26 HUNTER EDGE Mainsheet traveler Yes No Absolutely necessary for better control of the mainsail. Nearly all racing and cruising sailboats have mainsheet travelers, with good reason. For perfect sail shape in light airs, it is often necessary to have the traveler positioned to windward for optimum sail shape. The traveler, when positioned to leeward, serves as a vang to take the twist out of the mainsail. Mainsheet positioned so it won t interfere with the crew. Yes No On the Hunter, the mainsheet is mounted on the pedestal near the center of the cockpit. When the mainsail is in tight for sailing into the wind, the system is ok. But when the boom is let out for reaching or running, the mainsheet drapes over the leeward cockpit seat and whoever sits there. When the boat is jibed or tacked, the mainsheet drags across the primary seat area, scooping of hats, sunglasses, or worse. The MacGregor 26 mainsheet is positioned fully forward of the crew area and will not interfere with or grab the crew. For entering and exiting the cabin, the mainsheet can be positioned off center and out of the way. When
sailing, the traveler is rarely positioned on the centerline. It is easily reached by the helmsman. Jib fairlead tracks for better control of the jib shape Yes No Nearly all racing and cruising sailboats have adjustable jib fairleads and travellers. (Check this out at the local marina). For optimum performance, the leads tend to be moved forward for reaching and running. No one position provides optimum sail shape in all conditions. The need to move the fairlead varies with wind speed, halyard tension, wind direction, and rigging tension. Sails change shape with age and use, and what might work well when they were new will not work well as they age. Virtually all sailboats with good performance have adjustable fairleads. Spinnaker Yes (option) Unknown Rotating mast Yes (std) No Essential for smooth flow of air across the mainsail. The rotating mast provides a lot more power from the mainsail. The difference in performance is striking, particularly when sailing with the mainsail alone. It can add a knot or more to the boat speed. The MacGregor mast rotation system is very simple and has been totally reliable and trouble free.
SAFETY Full solid foam flotation Yes? Hunter s literature says the boat has full foam flotation. Upon inspection, we were not able to find where the foam is located. Check with Hunter. Foam should be placed high up in the boat to improve stability if the boat is full of water. The MacGregor 26 has 29 cubic feet of solid foam flotation to support the boat, crew, engine, ballast and sailing and cruising gear when the boat is flooded. Being a heavier boat, the Hunter Edge should require more. Fully beachable Yes No When the Hunter is beached, it will sit on its exposed centerboard and rudder, which will be subject to damage. The MacGregor will sit squarely on it hull Rudder and centerboard fully retract for high speed powering or beaching Thoroughly proven design Yes No Hunter Edge s rudder and centerboard are subject to damage when powering at high speed or beaching. Hunter Edge s centerboard and rudder do not fully retract. Yes No There are 2400 26M s out there sailing. Only a few of the Hunter Edge s have been built. MacGregor 26 s have been proven through hundreds of thousands of hours sailing, powering and trailering.
Engine can be hand started Yes Very difficult Big problem if the battery goes dead INTERIOR Berths All berths (6) parallel to the boat s centerline Rear berth side to side Bunks arranged at right angles to the centerline are very uncomfortable when even moderately rolling at anchor, or when sailing. Rear berth Easily accessible More difficult to access. Galley Movable Fixed The MacGregor 26 galley slides to the rear on rails (in 2 seconds) to allow more room for party time in the main cabin. The sink and storage are still reachable when stowed. The attractive galley and molded in sink are made of fiberglass, the same as the hull, The Hunter Edge galley has a very small countertop, with limited working area and no room for a serious stove. Interior volume Similar Similar Hunter Edge is slightly wider, with slightly less headroom. M26 interior goes clear to the transom. The rear end of the Hunter Edge s interior is taken up by the very large rudder system, leaving less room for a fore and aft rear berth. The Hunter s hull to deck joint trim rail is wider than the rail on the MacGregor 26, accounting for a significant amount of the difference in the boat s width. But this adds nothing to the interior volume and
comfort. Centerboard trunk Cabin seat back cushions MACGREGOR 26 Trunk is incorporated into the head bulkhead and front dinette seat and is less obtrusive Yes HUNTER EDGE The Hunter Edge s big centerboard trunk and table dominate the interior, making it hard to move around in the boat. No Carpeted floor Yes No Cabin headroom 6 5 10" Front window Yes No Its nice to see where you are going from inside. Cabin access Large opening with conventional sliding hatch Relatively small opening with folding hatch The MacGregor has a large, sturdy sliding hatch. The Hunter Edge's hatch is smaller and folds up, blocking forward view. It also depends on a small rubber gasket to resist leaks. The Hunter Edge s hatch, when half open, is a head knocker. Again, check the marinas. Almost all sailboats have sliding cabin access hatches. COCKPIT Steering pedestal Relatively small steering pedestal Very large and tall pedestal, occupying a significantly large area of the cockpit
Skipper s position Seated Very high, semi standing Both systems offer an excellent view in all directions. Protected rear end of cockpit Seats on lifeline posts APPEARANCE Yes No Items placed on the Hunters cockpit seats (cameras, binoculars, dogs, or worse), can easily slide off the seats and out of the boat. No Yes These seats offer a good place to sit, but two crew members (along with the helmsman, who is also up pretty high,) create a big problem for stability. We consider it to be a significant problem. We prefer to have the crew seated as low as possible in the cockpit. Looks are in the eye of the beholder. Compare the photos on the Hunter and MacGregor web sites. We are obviously biased, but we think that the MacGregor is a far better looking boat.