Macgregor Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Macgregor 26S by Rick Tenan

Year built	1995
Location of boat	Tallmadge, Ohio
The boat is sailed on	Lakes
How the boat is used	Weekends and longer
Normal wind strength	less than 10 knots
Average size of crew	2-4
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	1998
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Most Certainly. Although lacking in many areas, the Mac-26 is still the best value on the market.I have refered to the Mac-26 many times as a kit boat that is delivered 95% finished. The details are left to the individual owners. This allows the Mac-26 to be outfitted to the owner's liking, even though it may be sailed right away.As a light-weight, trailerable boat, it is still the most successful sailboat line in history. Its success lies in its simplicity and flexibility.
Gear that's been added	My Mac-26, DevOcean, is a two-owner boat. The previous owner passed away as a result of a coronary. Fortunately, Jim had ordered the Mac well equipped from the factory. Cockpit cushions, stern rail, roller-furler, stove and many other smaller items had been dealt with.The first mod that I added was a shore line hookup and a three-stage charger. The charger is mounted in the head, on the forward wall. It is located low and outboard, without causing loss of sitting room. I then moved the house battery to a location under the v-berth, and added a second battery in parallel. These batteries are located to port, to help offset some of the weight from the lazarette, and all of the other equipment mounted to starboard. I had noticed a slight list to starboard, while docked. The batteries offset the list nicely. To monitor the battery condition, an analog 12-volt meter was added near the ship's switch panel, above the galley.The galley light didn't provide much interior light for the boat. So I added flat, 5" square, 12-volt RV lights in the v-berth, head, aft-berth and lazarette. We can light 'er up inside now!Next, I placed plywood flooring in the lazarette. I fastened wood-runners to this floor, to keep certain storage items in place, even when heeled. The floor is in two pieces, port and starboard, and is removable. The flooring sits on wooden stringers that are glued to the hull. When I did the lazarette floor, I also added a small lawn-tractor battery for the Honda outboard. It is a stand alone battery for engine use, only. A cigar-lighter DC outlet was also added in the engine well, for hand-held spotlights or the like.We decided that AC power should be available on the water, since we had ample battery storage. A Statpower 1000 Watt inverter was added. This was added in the head also, on the aft wall. It is also low and outboard- no problem. We use the inverter to power small appliances, including a mini microwave of .3 cubic foot capacity. Very handy!My next project is to build a galley cabinet above the sink and stove. This will provide the best-mate with more much-needed storage. She loves the changes that we've made, but she still deserves more.One of the last things I will do is to experiment with an alternate rudder design. I think that I can design one with better balance than the one provided.
Structural or complex improvements	Other than the lazarette floor, no. The Mac-26 is fairly well designed, structurally.
The boat's best features	Ease of handling, ease of rigging, ease of launching, and overall flexibility.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	The damn kick-up cable on the rudder is always breaking. There has to be a better way!
Sailing characterisitcs	She sails wonderfully. She's fairly stable for a lightly ballasted boat. She points well, a little better than 45 degrees off the wind. Not bad for a swing keel!
Motoring characterisitcs	She's great under power. No problems.
Liveability	As a weekender, or a litte longer, she's great. The boat is cramped for longer stays aboard. We are both over 50, and not so limber anymore.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	The factory has been good to deal with. I have ordered a block for the centerboard and some gelcoat. Quick, friendly service.
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	N/A
Other comments	Yes. This is a great boat to learn to sail on. I was new to the hobby when I bought her, now we are thinking about retiring to a larger boat when that time comes.

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