Macgregor Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Macgregor 25 by Richard Songer

Year built	1983
Location of boat	New Hampshire
The boat is sailed on	Open ocean
How the boat is used	Weekends and longer
Normal wind strength	10-15 knots
Average size of crew	2-4
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	2002
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	As a beginner to the sport, I'd absolutely buy this boat again. While I've learned major points about sailing with this boat, I'm not sure I'm not going to continue with her, even when I reach the level of an experienced sailor. Stable, safe, easy to sail, and comfortable in choppy water, I can't think of a better first boat and maybe my last.
Gear that's been added
Structural or complex improvements
The boat's best features	I designed a new rudder to give me more control. I found the rudder that came with the boat to be less than responsive, especially when backing the boat from dock. I, also, had to change the wiring to ensure all circuits were fused and I went to a single ground plate to make sure all circuits were adequately ground. Instead of the mast raising system offered by MacGregor, I went with a home designed system that mounted on the trailer. The next modification will be expanding the head to include a shower and a hanging locker.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	Rudder and the furler were my only disappointments. I'm in the process of changing both of these systems.
Sailing characterisitcs	Nothing but safe, normal, and average sailing.
Motoring characterisitcs	Poor control in reverse and slow response in forward. The change of the rudder, addition of the power thruster, and a new motor should help this problem.
Liveability	Excellent weekender with the described modification, however the things I'm doing could have already been included.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	Nothing short of excellent.
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	Didn't.
Other comments	People can say what they will about owning this boat, but I notice they always seem envious when I trailer to a launch or can put a novice behind the tiller and have them control the boat without danger or hassle. I wasn't looking for prestige, but I think I have it with this boat.

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