Macgregor Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Macgregor 25 by The Kirkster

Year built	1981
Location of boat	Lake Huron
The boat is sailed on	The Great Lakes
How the boat is used	Day sailing
Normal wind strength	less than 10 knots
Average size of crew	2-4
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	2004
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	yesboat is excellent for getting into marina with lake level lowgot it at fair priceready to sail and owner gave tutorialeasy to sail-even 1st timers can do it
Gear that's been added	yesletteringinvertersolar cellbinocularsgood cleaningwiring sucked-in process of redoingreplaced all interior and exterior lighting
Structural or complex improvements	no-was pretty well stock except for all lines had been run aft for single handed sailing
The boat's best features	easy to sailworks great in light windlarge cockpitswing keel-have hit rocks etc. several times-inspection revealed no damage. (sounded bad-keel swings up and then slams down once past obstruction)easy to launch and rig (don't listen to the owners manual that says"can be launched and rigged in 15 minutes"-takes longer than that!)floatation built in
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	swing keel bangs around in trunk in high seas & prone to rustelectrical system poorcompared to 25 foot boats 3 or 4 times the price, materials used in construction a bit light.
Sailing characterisitcs	In light winds, boat will still move alongIn heavy winds you must reduce sail or you cannot control boat (excessive heel and severe weather helm). Even then, boat still feels safe.Looks very nice from a distance under sail.Basic rigging makes it easy to sail and understand even for those with no sail experience.Nothing beats 4-5 knots with 20 degree heel on a nice summer day!As a power boater as well-slow, but then all sailboats are that way.
Motoring characterisitcs	Came with 9.9 merc outboard with stock prop. 5.5 knts best speed in calm water. Long shaft would help in high seas or when motor-sailing as prop will come out of water under these conditions-but long shaft would defeat shallow draft of boat.If you need to turn fast-use motor and tiller-will turn on a dime.
Liveability	About half the people that go below complain of sea sickness and claustraphobia. I have slept in it in the marina-no problems. Says it sleeps 5, but 2 adults and maybe 2 small kids would be about it. Could probably sleep in cockpit with boom cover as benches are quite long. Have never been on it more than 1 night.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	have not tried to deal with MacGregor or a dealer yet
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	n/a
Other comments	Wife was a little unsure at first, but likes it well. Says she likes it as it is something we can do together and she likes being on the water.A great boat to learn on-big enough that you will keep it for a while rather that getting a small boat and trading it in a year. Excellent for getting in and out of shallow river where our marina is. Very forgiving.

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