Macgregor Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Macgregor 26M by mike

Year built	2004
Location of boat	marina del rey calif.
The boat is sailed on	Open ocean
How the boat is used	Day sailing
Normal wind strength	10-15 knots
Average size of crew	2-4
Liveaboard?	No
Owner bought the boat in	2004
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Yes I would buy again. As long as you are sure how you will use the boat, like blue water or day sailing, The 26m is good day sailer with enough room for weekend trips for 2. and you have to learn to sail a center board as it is differant from a full keel boat. shes fun and practical. wouldnt say she was inexpensive at 30,000 but has a lot of fun factor.
Gear that's been added	Sail slugs, main halyard aft a must. trying to raise a main sail in 10 to 15 knot winds is scary as your on a rolling deck with rope feed sail jamming all the way up. sail slugs work great and the sail can be raised from the cockpit now. this costs about 30 dollars.easy to add yourself. same goes for the head sail a must is roller up front. A 13 gallon flexable water tank was added to the port side across from the galley for extra water and balance. She is real tender un balanced. stainless propane stove, depth finder, vhf, hand held gps,stereo, 12 volt plugs, jam cleat for the center board,a must was a rope topping lift adjustable with jam cleat.If you dont do this the boom is in your lap when you lower the main.
Structural or complex improvements	no
The boat's best features	she doesnt pound in 3 foot rollers at speed 14- 16 mphs she will sail well with just the main. lot of room in the cabin. easy to sail and adjust for heavy air. will make the 35 miles to catalina in 2 and a half hours under power. She feels safe and comfortable when sailing. Looking at the boat you would guess that the freeboard would be concern as to boarding a dingy.but if you go off the stern and use the engine as a seat to swing into the dingy this works perfect.right height and very stable.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	The steering wheel is to small, but changing this would give up move around ability in the cockpit. all else seems fine for now.
Sailing characterisitcs	very tender unbalanced, but responds fast to letting the main out when heeling over to much. seems fast with sails balanced correctly and stable. dry cockpit when sailing points very well into the wind, wing on is a little hard to do with 135 percent head sail.
Motoring characterisitcs	very good, would rather have a 60hp mercury big foot instead of the 50 suzuki I have now. only for the extra cruising speed not top end. the suz. works to hard at full speed.
Liveability	4 or 5 days for two would be great, either add a coleman hot shower system or shore showers would be a must for this. lots of storage in cockpit.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	have not, great info on the websites though.
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	Mike in marina del rey at Imon yaughts is very helpfull, and he loves and uses the 26m all the time. I believe he races every wed. He is very into the macgregor and will not sell you something you dont need, unless your like me and want all the bells and toys to go along with your boat.
Other comments	fun fun fun thats what she was made for plain and simple. Not a world cruiser a day sailer a very good day sailer. The macgergor seems to upset the snob sailer a bit there is very little respect from the true sailer out there, but the boat is a hybred and does its job well. There is something to be said about going to catalina and ariving 2 or 3 hours ahead of the fastest sail boats out there. And enjoying the 7 hour sail back as a good sailer. I like mine, dont care what others think and will be out there as much as possible please say hi when the "A GUST A" sails near you.

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