Macgregor Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Macgregor 24 by Mitchel Robinson

Year built	1969
Location of boat	Lake Coeur d' Alene, (Carlin Bay ) Idaho
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	1995
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Yes, I wish it was a poptop model so I could make a pilothouse version out of it like my friend Jerry Seals did with his Clipper Marine 26 that was in the Small Craft Advisor,(Jan-Feb).
Gear that's been added	Moved the mainsail traveler forward to the keel wench location. Installed a solar panel to the forward hatch lid. Added two more reef points to the mainsail and had a storm jib made for those days when things get ugly,(voice of experience). Also added disc surge brakes to the trailer,(how sweet it is).
Structural or complex improvements	I am in the process of redesigning the interior floor plan.
The boat's best features	The swing-keel allows for easy launching and retrieving,(and beaching)and still gives much better sailing performance than water-ballasted boats. When the keel is down the weight is where it should be for the best windward performance. I also like the light tiller responce to windward,(thumb and for-finger),very well balanced.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	I wish that there was more bouyancy in the rear so there would be less transom drag. I've moved my battery as far forward as I can and plan to do what ever else I can to get the waterline tangent with the bottom corner of the transom. With two people on board, if one goes forward to the bow it really makes a difference in boat speed.
Sailing characterisitcs	Very stable, moves very well in light air,(for a keelboat) points well. It likes 15-20 degree of heel to windward.
Motoring characterisitcs	Top speed with 8hp nissan two stroke is about 6 knots, back off to about 4 1/2- 5 knots I'm about half throttle,(good fuel mileage about half a gallon an hour at half-throttle).
Liveability	I have only spent a weekend at a time on it so far but, plan to spend more time if I can in the future.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	Good
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any
Other comments

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