Macgregor Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Macgregor 25 by Bob

Year built	1984
Location of boat	Nevada City, CA
The boat is sailed on	Lakes
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	2003
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Doing it all again, I mightLCY9 not buy this hull, but I would certainly buy a Mac 25. I'm much more interested in sailing than working on the boat and the one I bought had been neglected for many years. Better (financially as well as your time and effort) to pay more up front for a vessel in good condition than to save a couple grand on a fixer upper unless you really enjoy the work. I was not prepared for the expense of parts and accessories since this is my first boat. The money I saved was gone in a hurry.
Gear that's been added	Replaced rotted wood backing plates on the main sheet rigging and the stern cleats with solid aluminum plates. Replaced the Enke #6 winches with Barient #18 two speeds from Minney's (the chrome doesn't get too hot to touch like the dark aluminum and they are soooo smooth in use). Garhauer LLC fairleads. Masthead platform, light, wiring and deck fitting. Cabin lights. Interior upholstery, vee berth foam. Mercury 8HP outboard. Handheld VHF. Cabin radio/CD and speakers. Mast crutch. Anchors & rode. Porta-Potty.
Structural or complex improvements	Not yet, but I intend to install a traveler eventually
The boat's best features	Ease of trailering and set-up. My mooring is in my driveway and we spend at about 7 days a month on the water during the warm weather. I love the 625# swing keel for stability and when I run aground it's an easy fix. Easy to single hand even without lines led aft
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	I wish there were seat lids on both sides of the cockpit and better access to the underside of the cockpit (removing the foam and skinnying in there is no fun). The sliding sink is a POS and the mainsheet set-up is pretty cheesy. The trailer is the absolute minimum for this boat and the bunks are about 3' short IMHO. I've seen earlier model Venture 25s with much better trailers. Like all Macs (except the 65) the boat is cheaply and lightly built, but very affordable. As always, you get what you pay for.
Sailing characterisitcs	Fairly stable and fast. Tacks across about 110 degrees (no traveler). Hard to control in winds above 15, raking mast forward helps rounding up, but the rudder feels undersized in big air or swells over a 3'.
Motoring characterisitcs	The 8HP Merc moves it along well, I just wish there was room to lower the throttle arm to steer the motor in thight places. I have loosened the motor lock, bungeed it to move away from the rudder and then tied it to the rudder which works well at low speed but looks totaly ghetto.
Liveability	Thight for two adults in the vee umless you're both cuddlers. Setee not wide enough to spend the night and the table side is fine for a single or a couple of kids. Perfect size for 2-3 day trips for a couple, storage could get tight if you add a kid or two.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	No contact
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	Bought off a consignment lot
Other comments	This is a niche that is underserved IMHO. Large enough to spend a week on, small enough to bring home afters. Unless you want water ballast, you need to upgrade your tow vehicle and spend $40k+ for a Hake or Pacific Seacraft to get a better boat than the Mac 25.

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