Macgregor Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997

Review of the Macgregor 26S by Mark A. Truscott

Year built	1993
Location of boat	Albany, NY
The boat is sailed on	Lakes
How the boat is used	Weekends and longer
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! The trailorability was what brought us to the Mac, but the near knockdown-proof factor has been the greatest blessing.
Gear that's been added	I added a propane stove, gimbaled kerosene lamps, a homemade solar powered anchor light, seacok for the galley sink, mahogony washboards, screen washbord for hot nights, forward hatch screen, cutting board that covers the sink when not in use, and self stick hooks to hold towels and my binoculars,and I replaced the weatherstripping around all the hatches and the pop-up.
Structural or complex improvements	I have enlarged the hatches under the settee berths to make access to the holds easier, and ran a water line from the sink to the port side settee bergh hold to hold a rigid 7 gal water tank. Because the centerboard was broken when the Mac was purchased, I have dropped the centerboard and repaired her as well as modifying the trailer to alow that to be done(not easily though). I also replaced the centerboard and main ballast valve gaskets.
The boat's best features	East to sail, safe for the family (Myself, my wife and two boys 12&15), roomy for it's class, water ballast is wonderful, and the boat is forgiving to a novice.
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc.	Nothing so far, except the hatch openings to the hold could be bigger.
Sailing characterisitcs	She sails great even in light airs, and handles well in every blow we've been in. I still am a cautious captian, so I stay at anchor at over 25 kts. She heels a little as she gets going, and is scary till someone with more Mac time shows you how seaworthy they are.
Motoring characterisitcs	If your motor works, she'll move right along. Unfortunately, motor problems were one of our first year experiences.
Liveability	Our second outing was 9 days sailing Lake Champlain. With 4 aboard, we found it no worse than living in a one room cabin in the woods, or probably in a Pick Up truck camper. One day to get used to it and figure out the berthing and we were happy as clams. My wife and I are planning a nine day cruise on the Chesapeke and looking forward to the luxery of only two aboard.
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)	I called them repeatedly in the beginning when having to remove and repair the centerboard. Bill was extremely helpfull, including suggesting I relpace all the gaskets, centerboard and main ballast valve. As it turned out He was really right about that. The gaskets were gotten to me as fast as snail-mail would go, I could only wish they took Visa since it would have speeded up delivery by about 4 days.
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any	The only bad thing was buying from a broker. We found the boat on-line in Ithaca and when we went and looked at her everything seemed rosy, but after getting her home, we found the centerboard broken along the leading edge (It loked as if she had been trailered over rough roads with the cb not tied up and the axle had broken through to the water filling cavity, the boat hadn't been put away with any care, the bilges were full of water, and the porta-potty hadn't been emptied (too gross to describe). Anyone who buys from a broker should get some kind of a guarentee of sondness or hire a surveyor.
Other comments	Well, like any sailer the first thing you do is think what to modify. Thankfully the boat is made to do that. She has been a great first boat, and when we step up our only problem is which boy gets her. For hassle free ( as close as it gets with boats) sailing the Mac26s is the boat in our book. Fair winds.

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