Macgregor Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Macgregor 19 by Terry Parrott

Year built	1995
Location of boat	Lake St. Louis, MO
The boat is sailed on	Lakes
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	2006
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Probably not. It was a learning experience, and it's been written before, but the boat is a total compromise in every way. It's just "Okay" at everything...not great at anything.
Gear that's been added	Depth Finder, GPS, VHF
Structural or complex improvements	Nope
The boat's best features	It gets you to and from the dock really fast, the living compartment is huge.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	The engine is HEAVY and is a pain to take in and out of the water. The main sail uses guide barrels and they stick...probably just need lubricated. Starter motor doesn't work so I have to pull start it. Slide mechanism to hold the lift top to the salon up is difficult and potentially dangerous.
Sailing characterisitcs	It sails okay...but I can't point to the wind for anything. It also stalls easily and you can't turn when you're not moving. I have a terrible time racing because I can't make the adjustments necessary to get around the marks. If I don't get setup just right and I have to tack to get on the correct side...I'm done. I can't speed up fast enough to make quick tacks and get around it. It's fine for pleasure sailing with no particular direction in mind...but you can't race this thing. Also, the 140% genoa is a pain in the butt to tack. It has clips on it that catch on the rigging and 9 times outof ten I end up going backwards...literally
Motoring characterisitcs	It's fast...no dobt about it. Never pulled a skiier but I've pulled a kneeboarder with no problems. Major issue is the steerability. It's a heave engine to turn and the rudders aren't gong to cut it at speed. Also, with throttle/guide pole attached to one side...it's turn sharply one direction....and hardly at all in the other. It's also loud...being an outboard...so you can't motor around and talk to someone else at the same time.
Liveability	It's huge down below...it's also very loud at night. Water sloshing against the side of the boat is applified 100x and it sounds like someone smacking the side of the hull with a bumper. Other than that...it's pretty spacious and comfortable.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	No experience
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	none
Other comments	It looks really cool, and it's fun to tool around the lake on. It would probably be even better with more space to sail and no trees causing havoc with the wind direction. It's not a bad choice if you're not going to race around with your sailing buddies. If you are...it's not the right choice. If you want the motor for powersports...it's not the right choice. You're better off buying an old power runabout and an old Hunter than going with this.This is the perfect choice for someone who like to sail in no particular direction at any old speed that suits the boat....but hates how long it takes to get to/from the dock at the begining/end of the day or the wind has died.

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