Macgregor Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Macgregor 21 by Erik Doll

Year built	1968
Location of boat	Eagle Creek, Indianapolis
The boat is sailed on	Lakes
How the boat is used	Day sailing
Normal wind strength	10-15 knots
Average size of crew	solo
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	2002
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	I think so. I was looking for a inexpensive ride for my first boat, and it fit the bill. It's a fun boat to sail, and it's an easy boat to single-hand. I have noted that it gets pretty cramped with more than two people on board... For a 21 foot, it's a SMALL boat. That said, for a boat that's older than I am, it has held up well (the last owner basically rescued it).
Gear that's been added	None yet, I was planning on adding cabin lights, but I think it's too small to spend much more than a night on, so a battery operated lantern will do. The sails need to be either reconditioned or replaced, and if I keep the boat more than another year, I will do that. I don't see it happening though... I'm already looking for something more "liveable".
Structural or complex improvements	Nope
The boat's best features	Fun to sail!
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	It all works pretty well, although, I'm not too crazy about keel winch. I'm probably being paranoid, but I'm just waiting for either the winch or the cable to bust on me. Next boat I buy is going to have a fixed wing keel... I'll trade the draft for peace of mind.
Sailing characterisitcs	It may be inexperience on my part, or perhaps I'm just getting used to the boat, but it seems a bit shy on ballast to me. I've had it out a few times in "gusty" conditions, and the boat seems to roll pretty quickly. More than likely it's just that I'm on the bottom of the learning curve. When the wind is nice and steady, and I get everyting trimmed properly, it sails great!
Motoring characterisitcs	I have a 4hp... it WON'T go anywhere in reverse, period. Other than that, it motors fine.
Liveability	It's not. It's also not a comfortable boat to sit around on when the wind dies. It's just too small. I am also still trying to figure out why the boat was built WITH a sink and WITHOUT a port-a-potti!!! I am going to have to change that.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	Have not.
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	Strictly Sail, Inc. in Cincinatti. They were very helpfull... I will go back!
Other comments	I'm glad I took the plunge and bought it... Life is better with a sailboat!

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