Macgregor Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Macgregor 26S by Ray Dobmeier

Year built	1994
Location of boat	Eastern Lake Ontario
The boat is sailed on	The Great Lakes
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	2003
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again?	Yes, I would buy this boat again. It has been a joy to own so far.
Gear that's been added	dual battery charger, 105 amp hour battery, shore power with 30 amp main and 3 15 amp breakers, 2 DC fuse panels, 3 cabin fans, 4 cabin lights, 3 DC appliance plugs, electric start outboard with alternator, main sail cover, 4 teak shelfs in the cabin, curtains for head privacy.
Structural or complex improvements	The wiring is quite complex now.
The boat's best features	Easy to sail and comfortable to sail. It fits perfectly on our boat lift. It handles 2-3 foot chop of Lake Ontario with no trouble at all. I can launch it and pull it out with a minivan.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	I replaced the centerboard cable routing with different pulleys which made it much easier to raise and lower the centerboard.The trailer is made for easy launching, but once you add the outboard, gas tank and other stuff to the boat, the trailer becomes stern heavy and tips back. This is something you have to remember when unhooking from the tow vehicle.
Sailing characterisitcs	Reef early and reef often is a true statement for comfortable sailing.Its a blast to sail as long as you reduce the sail area in higher winds. If you don't reef, you will get tired holding on to the tiller.
Motoring characterisitcs	If you leave 6-8 inches of centerboard down, the boat motors where you steer it. Our 9.9 Honda is plenty of motor for it.
Liveability	Stand up head room with the pop-top up. Room enough for 2 adults with 2 kids for a long weekend.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	Never dealt with them directly.
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any
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