Macgregor Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Macgregor 19 by Randy Zerbe

Year built	1994
Location of boat	Burton MI
The boat is sailed on	Lakes
How the boat is used	Day sailing
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 didn't know the 19 existed until I saw one in Oct. 93 (stop the car!)I bought mine new Feb. 94 and would have sooner had I know about them.
Gear that's been added	Dealer Options: cabin top rails, boom vang, genoa and spinnaker sailsOther: Mercury Seapro 40 long shaft manual start motor, 1-3 six gal. tanks, 10" pitch prop, hydrofoilsDepthfinder, GPS, VHF, Autopilot,#10 and #13 anchors, 320' rode, topping lift, reefing gear, swim platform, Spinnaker sock, flag and pole, bilge pump, tool box, PFDs, flares, spot light
Structural or complex improvements	Drilled out rudder pin holes to 7/16" dia., Made about 30 four inch X 3/8" hardwood dowels, sharp at one end with elastic loop taped to other end and dipped in epoxy to use for shear pins.Drilled 1/4" holes in upper trailing edges of rudders, run 1/8" line from holes to turning blocks on transom above rudders then to clam cleats just aft of fuel tanks with bitter ends tied to tee handles. Pull and cleat lines to retract rudders. Made hatch to replace table. Table is stowed at top of mast support tube. vents in aft bilge hatches. Added alot to electrical system.
The boat's best features	Sharp looking pocket cruiser that can do powerboat things (22 mph to windward). Beachable, self-righting, huge cabin for a 19' boat. Her cockpit sits high and inboard giving her a "safe" feel. Rigs and launches easily.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	The engine well is not quite big enough for this outboard to turn right or left very far.This can make docking in strong wind tricky.The main hatch is strong (good) and heavy (bad).I worry about it breaking some fingers.When closehauled in windy conditions,if you are carrying too much sail, the boat develops strong weather helm, goes into "irons" and sails backwards out of control. Crew is forced to change sails, reef or use power to get the boat going again. Once I learned when to reduce sail, to sheet out the main in gusts and to tack quickly this problem went away.
Sailing characterisitcs	Macgregor 19 does go to windward and will claw her way off a lee shore but close hauled is not her strong suit. If you give her some wind and let her find her groove she'll go 6 mph., Last year she nearly beat an O'Day 22 on a reach if that tells you anything. One time we got caught in a fresh breeze with the main and spinnaker set and the ballast tank empty. She exceeded 10 mph in the wrong direction! If you had a crew of bucko mates that aren't afraid to swim and enough wind you could (maybe) hit 18 mph. Watch it, the boat is not self-righting with the tank empty.
Motoring characterisitcs	Little or no wind? Depart at 22 mph with two aboard and sails furled. Two 6 gallon tanks give at least 60 mile range at this speed. "Steaming" at 7 mph is very nice or try ballast tank full, reefed mainsail only in 30 mph wind with engine at dead slow speed to help her punch through 4' waves to windward,(cool spray effect).
Liveability	On one 5 day trip, with 4 guys, we slept every night with the boat in a river. Most of our gear was stowed in containers in the cockpit so we could lay down in the cabin at night. It was sort of like backpacking with a boat. When sleeping aboard, try to find calm water as even small waves slapping under the boat's compound chines make alot of noise inside. Don't even try to fry Hamburger or bacon on the boat.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	No contact with Macgregor.
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	The dealer did a fine job but has since gone out of business. I spoke with the dealer from Michigan City, Indiana at Strictly Sail Chicago in 1998. He seemed able to help me get parts should I need any.
Other comments	The happiest boat owners are the ones that can say they love their boats. I'm one of them. I get alot of compliments on the looks of the boat. More important to me is what I can do with the boat...weekend cruising, exploring, sailing, tubing, snorkeling, or just kick back on the beach and watch her ride anchor.

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