Living Aboard a MacGregor 26

[hogHunter]

We have been thinking of buying a MacGregor for years, mostly because we live right on the Intracoastal at a place that the bridge over the inlet does not raise (a MacGregor would let us lower the mast so we could get out to the ocean without having to sail 3 hours to the next inlet that has an opening bridge).
This past week we sailed a few day sails on a friend's MacGregor (see photos and map of sailing location below) but it was on very flat water (river in Quebec).
Has anyone sailed this boat in larger seas? Has anyone lived aboard for more than a few days? We would use it for 1-2 week trips to the Bahamas.

Thanks!!