Macgregor Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Macgregor 25 by Rick Donaldson

Year built	1979
Location of boat	Colorado Springs / Pueblo, CO
The boat is sailed on	Lakes
How the boat is used	Weekends and longer
Normal wind strength	16-22 knots
Average size of crew	2-4
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	2008
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	I would for the purposes we originally bought here. We set up a 5 year retirement/cruising plan and the Macgregor Venture 25 was our "training boat". We decided to take sailing classes in San Diego and spent a week aboard a 30' Catalina, learning all we could then came back to Colorado and have spent several hundred hours on lakes here. We have also sailed a 40' Jeanneau in the Caribbean.
Gear that's been added	IdaSailor kickup rudder. Added a new porta-potty, built a ginpole and rigging to raise the mast alone if necessary. Added a topping lift, new anchors, replaced all the running rigging. Solar panel.
Structural or complex improvements	Rebuilt the inside removing all the old overhead completely, as well as the original wood (which was coming apart) and replaced and remounted it all. Next I will replace some of the standing rigging (would like a slightly heavier fore and back stay set up), new and better battery and do some rewiring. Would like to add a Bimini or some other sun protection above the cockpit that I can move or take down, and a poptop cover.
The boat's best features	Relatively easy to launch (compared to some of the fixed keel trailerable boats I've watched and helped with). It did precisely what we needed, gave us a large enough boat we weren't going to be in the water half the time learning and not too big we couldn't handle the vessel.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	It's a bit cramped for more than 3 days or so for sailing/camping. Couldn't and probably wouldn't live aboard in its current condition.
Sailing characterisitcs	Many days on lakes in Colorado with fickle winds (read everything from 0 knots to 40 knots when you don't expect it). Sailing in Colorado is something to be experienced, if you're an experienced sailor. If you're not, beware! Once you get used to the constantly changing wind directions, speeds, and the venturi effects of some of the closely spaced hills and valleys around the lakes, then you can easily sail here. In fact, having spent a couple of hundred hours sailing on the lakes before a bareboat cruise in the Caribbean, I was surprised at how EASY it was to sail in the trade winds in comparison to Colorado's Lake Winds. Over all, the Mac Venture 25 handles all the conditions here, and if the skipper is careful, no problems!
Motoring characterisitcs	We use a small 10 hp Evnrude outboard which tends to work most of the time, but usually not when we need it most! Twice coming into the dock to bring the boat out of the water, we had to quickly raise sails to regain control and land safely. Where we sail there are a lot - LOT of power boats, and fewer sailboats, and the motorboaters tend to dislike sailors so they are generally rude to us, cut you off at the docks and do other things to put one in danger. So an engine that shuts off at the wrong time is a problem in controlling the boat. However, both times we had to do this, everyone seemed to understand we had much less control than an inboard-outboard system. They moved. :)
Liveability	For short jaunts on the lake, anchoring out for a couple of nights and sailing during the summer the boat is fine, relatively comfortable. Though my wife and I tend to sleep in separate berths on this boat. We find it fine for a couple of night.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	Only made one call to them, but they weren't helpful about my older boat. Wanted to know if I was interested in a "trade in"... haha Other than that, no other experience with them.
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	I purchased from another private owner.
Other comments	I love this boat. She is small, sails very well to windward, but I don't have a spinnaker so I can't really say if the boat would sail much better downwind, though with a working jib and a main we do well. We have added a much better anchor than the one that was given to me with the boat. Don't drag any more even in 40 knot winds (which we have experienced several times at night when the winds come up suddenly). A Danforth type. We have a second anchor which is a "Naval Anchor" and I use it only as a secondary anchor because it doesn't work well. Not sure where it came from, don't know if it came with the boat originally, but in any case, I no longer use it except for a "second anchor required" situation.

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