Macgregor Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Macgregor 24 by Jim

Year built	1973
Location of boat	Rome NY
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	1999
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	YES YES YESI just reread my posting of 1999.I have owned and sailed my Macgregor Venture 2-24 sailboat for 8 years. I decided to give a 8 yr up date, since most other postings are with in 1-2 years of purchase. I believe I have sailed it 250-300 days, slept on it about 25 nites.
Gear that's been added	I added a new mast raising system like the mac 26 has. But my mast weights about 175 pounds( not origional). The spreaders and stays are even with the mast and do not require adjustment when I drop the mast. Previous owner added see thru bow hatch cover with solar powered fan. I added 100watt solar power for keeping my battery charged, my son added an inverter for his computer and other 110 electronics.Added small bimini.All these improvments came from ideas on the web pages of other mac owners.
Structural or complex improvements	The 175 lb mast now has a back stay so i could use a full jenny or full spinniker.I ran aground with the swing keel and broke the support(rib) under the mast, so that was professionally replaced.I raise and lower the mast several times each season, so I created a heavy hinge and recieving plate for the base of the mast.
The boat's best features	The best feature is ease of sailing solo in heavy weather 15-25 and chop 2-4 ft. Headsail roller reefing is nessicity.Trailering is most flexable part of ownership. Some winters (3ft snow)it stays in the back yard, other winters it stays in the marina. It is wonderful to know my travel distance can be anywhere the road or erie canal leads me.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	When I raise or lower the mast in the water at a marina, everything works well with my modificatations except the lines and stays look like pasta. Thank God for bungecords.
Sailing characterisitcs	I sail alone 1 or 2 days every week, all season for past 8 years on this boat.(250-300 days) Fall weather requires heavy coats and gloves. Docking solo is easy with a macgregor because it is not a heavy boat.
Motoring characterisitcs	This past sumer I motored alone 175 miles on the erie canal (10 days) Raising and lowering the mast 4 times. (also passed thru 6locks) I should have used a 9.9 instead of a 4hp, adverage speed was only 5mph.
Liveability	I sleep alone, or with one other person onboard. Any more and it would be cramped with gear. I use 3 coolers and do no cooking. It is very comfortable.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	I think have read everything the MacGregor people published about the 24,25,26 series. They are great with sharing detailed information. This is a 35 yr old boat, never bought big parts, but looked them up on web pages then made them myself.
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	bought from private owner.
Other comments	I have the strickly sail-sailboat model (1973), not a motor-sailer, not water balast. But the folks I know with the motor-sailers love them.I believe the macgregor mast raising system is the best on the planet.

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