Macgregor Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Macgregor 25 by Steve Vollers

Year built	1983
Location of boat	New Jersey
The boat is sailed on	Bays, sounds, or protected salt water
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	1983
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Absolutely! There was no other boat on the market that compared for the portability, safety, and price.
Gear that's been added	Since we have had the boat for 24 years, there have been quite a few changes. Here are only a few that I can think of: cut out port cockpit seat as a 2nd lazeret, 9.9 Evinrude outboard with 40 amp delco alternator mounted on top, Traveler across stern pulpit, outboard motor hoist, sailing bimini over cockpit, refridgeration, 15 gallon water tank w/pump, galvanized factory trailer, twin 6 gal fuel tanks w/ selector valves, 7' inflatable dinghy/power inflator, laptop, gps, dvd, stereo system, led lighting, twin "optima" deep cycle batteries, stainless steel propane stove, bilge blower, Magma grill, cabin screens, 3" closed-cell foam cushions, auto-pilot, ida-sailer stainless steel performance tiller/stock/rudder system, twin bilge pumps, life-sling, full-roach mainsail w/ 2 sets of reef points, 150 genoa, 16' whisker pole with deck mounts, anchor mounted to bow pulpit, howse hose for 250' of rode, 2nd anchor in cockpit w/ 100' of rode, 2 large fire ext., 1 million CP search light with cockpit socket, Depth sounder, mounted vhs and hand-held, book shelves, hinged below seat lockers (painted gloss white),
Structural or complex improvements	Transom reinfocement of stern rail to hold traveler.No major repairs have ever been needed.
The boat's best features	Best gunk-holer with 22" draft and secure mast lowering rig with adjustable crutch. We can zip under 9' bridges without trought. The "Little Rascal" is fast and we have hit 11 knots more than once! Trailer and boat are designed together so you can launch anywhere.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	Problems we have corrected:Weather helm in higher winds: Replace rudder and castle with Ida sailer unit. faster boat, solid steering, no more rudder stalling = safer boat Poor close-hauled performance: new mainsail, and traveller has made the boat very competitive into the wind. "A" mainsheet configuration is eliminated which opens up the cockpit for crew.Flat bottom means poor directional stability meaning it is very hard to hold a steady effecient course. Auto-Pilot on tiller made a HUGE difference.
Sailing characterisitcs	After the above modifications I feel we are now sailing a state-of-the-art boat. She handles with a light touch on the tiller and is easy to manage sails. Down-wind we use our 150 genoa with a whisker pole. Eliminating the roller reefing system makes heavy wind sailing much more efficient. She is a light boat however and the hull can be blown around. Having a storm jib up and reefed main gives much more control.
Motoring characterisitcs	In steep seas (over 6 - 7') the outboard will pop out of the water unless you are careful. Normally however our 9.9 Evinrude which actually puts out somewhat more than 15 HP, pushs the boat along at an easy 6 knots. In very shallow water you need to steer the boat with the engine which can be a bit tricky. In high cross-winds it can be a chore to control the light bow but it can be done. We get about 35 miles of motoring from each of our 2 6 gal fuel tanks.
Liveability	We have lived aboard for up to 2 weeks, many of them in very secluded areas on the hook. Every couple of days we stop at a marina for showers, empty the head, etc. Normal days of sail travel are about 30 miles depending on conditions. We have doubled that distance on days when we "had to get going"... The best description on living on a mac 25 is like living in a tent camper on land... You need to keep organized and make sure the crew doesn't bring too much uneeded stuff!
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	Helpful in every instance!
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	Good experience but it was 24 years ago!
Other comments	We love our boat and have big dreams of making her even better. Wish we had more time to sail her.

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