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Check out this boat. Has to be around 60 feet long and I don't think the beam could be much over 10 feet. Somebody must have had a plan (must have had something to do with speed!), but I don't see any boats like this, so I'm guessing it wasn't a good one! Probably a bit tender, don't ya think?
That's a MacGregor 60. We called them K-Mart 60's.
Very fast off the wind and very tender upwind. The used to race one in Seattle. It was kind of sad to see it try to go to weather. They built quite a few of them.
Kmart 60's, I love it! Though...I would have thought it's performance (or lack thereof!) would be just the opposite. Don't Beamy boat's (i.e.,the Volvo boats) run (and surf) like scared rabbits, while narrow boats point well?
Its my understanding that these started out as a one-off Transpac sled similar in concept to a Santa Cruz 60. But what to you do with a 65 foot mold once you built the race boat version....I know! Build a really cheap, strangely laid out competitor to the Hunter 54. (I actually sort of like the Hunter 54, which reportedly started out as a left over mold to one of Warren Luhrs' Ostar boats.) To me these are the kind of one trick ponies that drive me nuts. But then again, I know this one is just one of my prejudices.
I boarded one in my Marina a few years back. The owner was having a considerable amount of work done, and was planning on taking it across the Atlantic. Interesting layout below. I felt like I was on a futuristic rocket..pretty tight down below.
There's at least a couple in BC.. one of which (Mc Fasttrack) has had a transom extension from original 65 to 70 feet. That boat has done at least one Vic Maui race, IIRC.
Probably the least expensive production "Maxi" every produced.
Incidentally, MacGregor also produced a 36 foot catamaran for a while...
I am actually wanting to buy a MacGregor 65, I would like to know as much is I can about them. It may be an illusion but I'm definitely interested in speed, anything anyone can tell me about this boat would be well appreciated because I am of the impression that a narrow boat is very fast, but performance is the most important thing. I understand the beam is 12 foot on the M. 65 Captg
Beam or ballast, If you can't hold up to the wind you're not going to make to windward. Personally ,I go for the beam.but any extreme has its pros and cons.Most boats around here are all ready motoring as I go to yankee and staysail and drive her.The spray and leeway is just part of the ambiance. ..15 ft on 40 ft deck. but self steering and not trying to race.
A Hobie 33 would seem adequately skinny for most thrill seekers...
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