Macgregor Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Macgregor 25 by Malcolm Turley

Year built	1986
Location of boat	Houston
The boat is sailed on	Bays, sounds, or protected salt water
How the boat is used	Day sailing
Normal wind strength	10-15 knots
Average size of crew	2-4
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	2003
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Definitely, I have had so much fun with this boat. We have plans to sail the Keys next year and as many any inland lakes we can get to. The Bahama's and some little offshore runs are also in the planning stages.
Gear that's been added	I have added extra wheels to the trailer to make it a tandem. I also added an extension to the towbar so I don't have to back my truck into the water to get the boat off the trailer. Plan to add a mast raising hoist so I can do that job solo if need be.
Structural or complex improvements	Nothing major is planned, I hardly get enough time to sail as it is.
The boat's best features	The best feature has to be the trailerability. It's fun to drive to new places and try it out. If things don't work out hey, just move on. Having the boat out of water at home is a breeze, no mooring fees and minimal maintenance.The next best thing is ease of sailing, we have used a 150% Genoa which made things interesting, but generally the First Mate prefers the small jib, no down hauls travellers or anything complicated. Main and Jib halyards are still stock i.e. mounted to the mast not led back or anything like that.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	The bed in the main cabin it's hard and not big enough for two.I wish I could find an easy way to deal with the outboard. A Honda 4 stroke 8HP it's light enough runs quiet and smooth, its just stuck out so far on the transom the leverage is all wrong for raising and lowering, the gas tank gets in the way as well. So a few mods planned around this, any ideas?
Sailing characterisitcs	Rounding up is a thrill, my daughter likes to pull against the weather helm and tilt the boat as far as it can go. Winds gusting 10 to 15 knots with the 150% genoa and I've had to pucker up a few times and even ease the jib in a couple of stronger gusts....
Motoring characterisitcs	Motoring is a breeze the little Honda putters along at 4 to 6 knots. I can lock the motor and throttle, and control nicely on the tiller. I still have problems raising and lowering that big transom thats stuck out so far. The leverage is wrong and the thing seems to weigh three times what it actually does.
Liveability	Oooohhh thats a tough one, its a small boat, if you are used to tent camping, with only two people or a small young family it's great for weekends. You need to be able to get off and stretch your legs, if you get much rain then cabin fever is going to be a real threat.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	Not applicable
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	Bought mine privately.
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