Macgregor Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Macgregor 26S by Jim

Year built	1993
Location of boat	Houston
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	solo
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	2011
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Absolutely. I would buy it again. I shopped for about 6 months before making my decision. I looked at a lot of boats. The Mac's are not a popular boat in the Houston/Galveston area, and I listened to all the horror stories. It almost swayed me away from it. The heavier stronger, more stable boats were either too heavy or too small. The 26S with the water ballast looked trailerable with my 6 cylinder Explorer, and has enough room inside for 2 people to camp out semi comfortably. With the swing keel, it will go in shallow water and i can use any public boat ramp I choose. It sails just fine for me. I feel like I can go anywhere I want to go. I have not been offshore yet but on a decent day i would not hesitate.
Gear that's been added	I have added: 50 watts of solar power. GPS/depth finder. Stereo. Volt meter. Amp meter. Tiller Tamer. Auto pilot. 2 batteries. LED anchor light Stick on cabin LED lights. Solar powered vent fan. Better foam in the aft berth.
Structural or complex improvements	Not complex, but I cut a big access panel in the V berth for storage. After cutting the hole, I installed a 2x4 framework underneath that spans the entire width of the hull at the front edge of the hole, and also borders it. The V berth deck now feels more solid than it did before the mod.
The boat's best features	1. Flotation. 2. Water ballast. That's 1200 lbs. that I don't have to trailer home. 3. Pop top. I can stand up in the cabin when it's up. 4. Very spacious lazerette. You could hide your mother in law in there!
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	nothing yet, although there is not enough headroom in the head. In a boat this size, it's to be expected though.
Sailing characterisitcs	It it a little tender at first. It won't point up wind as well as a keel boat, but the the advantages of a swing keel and water ballast out weigh the performance loss to me. I don't race formally, but I do like to try so keep up with other boats on the water. I usually do a decent job of it.
Motoring characterisitcs	It maneuvers good with the keel and rudder down. It gets squirrelly with them up. Getting into a slip or on the trailer in a cross wind can be a challenge. I have an 8hp Honda. It will push the boat at hull speed at about half throttle. I can get 7 and sometimes 8 mph at full throttle, but I don't do it much. I would not want a smaller motor.
Liveability	Well it's definitely not a live-aboard. It's big enough for 2 for camping trips. I just spent 5 days on it and did just fine. It will sleep more than that but the cockpit would be too crowded for my taste on anything more than a day sail.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	I bought it used from an individual. HE was a nice guy. I feel sorry for him, getting to old to sail and forced to give it up.
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any
Other comments	The cabin liner is kinda flimsy. They could of done a better job of attaching it. The original wiring was a joke, but then there wasn't much there. Just the navigation and cabin lights. I love the huge aft berth. I think for someone who wants a trailer boat, and needs a lot of room, on a budget, this one gets you the most bang for the buck. It sails pretty well too!

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