Macgregor Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Macgregor 26S by Mike

Year built	1992
Location of boat	Hammond Indiana
The boat is sailed on	The Great 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	1994
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Yes, I would definitely buy this boat again. I had very little experience sailing and found this boat to be a great learning boat. It is easy to sail, easy to trailer, easy to clean and maintain. Much thought went into making this boat. There is tons of storage and plenty of room to store your gear. The cockpit locker in unbelieveably big.
Gear that's been added	I have added a turnblock to lead lines aft to the cockpit for easy solo sailing. I have added a Suunto compass and also a tiller extender. The tiller extender was so the I could sit anywhere in the cockpit and steer. I added flat steps to the swim ladder because the round stainless ladder stairs were hard on my feet. The flat steps are much nicer.
Structural or complex improvements	No, I haven't needed to.
The boat's best features	It is very easy to sail. Handles very well, responds very well. I have had this boat sailing 7.3 knots. It flys through the water. It is very low profile on the trailer and tows very easily. I have a Ford Ranger and it tows it quite easily. The aft berth is very roomy and comfortable for my wife and I during weekend and week stays. The v berth is also comfortable.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	Nothing I can think of.
Sailing characterisitcs	The boat is tender until it starts to heel then it stiffens up and flys. We got caught off guard one time by a bad wind gust when we were first learning to sail and thought we were going to tip it over, it went far enough to make us nervous, but then on its own it rounded up into the wind just as it is designed to do and we were fine. I have totally enjoyed my years with this boat.
Motoring characterisitcs	It motors very easily with our Nissan 8 hp outboard motor. Steers very easily and is very responsive. Docking the boat is not difficult at all. In 6 years, I never hit the dock with the boat. I would just pullup to the dock and my wife would step off. Even in the beginning the people around us did not know we were novice sailors, thanks to Harbinger. The boat is very user friendly so to speak. A great boat to learn on.
Liveability	Weekends have been pretty comfortable for my wife and I. We have gone as long as 2 weeks when we took it on vacation to Missouri with us. It seemed crowded after a while, but not too bad. I would have liked more head room. When sitting, this boat is very comfortable. But it is impossible to stand stright up unless you are in the companionway or unless the poptop is up. I do like that poptop cover. It gives us privacy and also blocks out the weather. The head (porta potty)and room seem a little small, but compared to other boats I have seen, I do enjoy the privacy of the door. Other smaller sailboats have the porta potty right in the room where you sit and sleep, I don't like that. This is a much more comfortable head.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	I sent for the video about the boatbefore we bought it and they were very nice. I have never had to deal with them again.
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	We bought the boat in Holland Michigan at Pollard's landing. Don is a very courteous man and also very helpful. I highly recommend him as a dealer.
Other comments	Our Mac has been so much fun. It got us back through a storm I thought we were goners, but the boat weathered the storm with ease. I like the fact that it has positive flotation and knowing tha the boat will still float even if it filled with water was a real selling point with me. I am glad that I bought this boat and have enjoyed sailing it very much.

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