Macgregor Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Macgregor 19 by Ron Buckles

Year built	1996
Location of boat	Dana Point, CA (Fullerton)
The boat is sailed on	Open ocean
How the boat is used	Day sailing
Normal wind strength	less than 10 knots
Average size of crew	2-4
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	2001
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Sure. I feel in love with the 26x, but the cost and size made it unacceptable. I got and excellent price on the 19 and it fits my RV pad perfectly. (I never had a RV.)
Gear that's been added	Electrical panel. Genoa and hardware. Compass. Heel indicator. Lifesling. Jacklines. Snap shackles on halyards, boom vang, main sheet, etc. Added blocks/cleats for halyards, esp. for genoa. Boat came with bimini and depth finder.
Structural or complex improvements	No.
The boat's best features	Light and easy to tow. Easy to understand and rig. Balance helm with standard jib. Big inside; small boat with a big boat feel. Enclosed head impresses the ladies.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	Original electrical, with cheap fuse holders, really bad. (I had one of the fuse holders fall apart in my hand.) Steering under power is limited. Rudders are not the best design.
Sailing characterisitcs	It is slow compared to the standard sailboat. A bit of weather help with the genoa. (But with light winds, who cares.) Reefing of the mainsail not graceful. Really likes 15-20kt winds. Leans over 15 to 20 degs and takes off!
Motoring characterisitcs	A bit problematic at slow speed, due to the limited movement of the motor. Have to lower centerboard a bit to make turns. At higher speed the 40HP Tohatsu takes me anywhere and quick. Two stoke a bit smelly, esp. on starting.
Liveability	Nice "bedroom" under the cockpit. Not a huge amount of other room, but better than most sailboats of this size. Enclosed head is great to have, but need to fold up a bit to get in.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	Not really.
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	N/A
Other comments	I love it. What other boat can you NOT care which direction you sail. At the end of the day you power up and are back in port in 30 minutes. Wonderful!

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