New Mac 25 owner

[Jim Hawkins]

Hello,

First post, I hope I'm not a "one post wonder" but that will depend on the boat.

I've had a Macgregor 26C or 26S (?) 1990's given to me and from the looks of it, it's worth what I paid. I'm no novice to sailboats but no expert either. I don't know if this boat is worth my time or if I will just pass it on. I'm sure you can picture what it must look like inside although topsides not too bad.

What I would like to do is clean it up, empty the inside of trash and do the minimum to rigging, keel and tiller so I can get a feel for how she sails. The crank to lower the swing keel seems to be rusted fast, the bottom probably covered in growth and the tiller handle missing.

I never have much luck searching forums for help and would be thankful if you folks can steer me to the most likely, probably well referenced threads for a plan to help me get the swing keel working.

[Jim Hawkins]

Dern, I was hoping this was a more active forum. Anyone out there?

[NiceAft]

Give it some time Jim.

The majority of owners have either an or an . It may take a bit for someone who is familiar with that model to respond. If you can, post a photo of the boat. It may be helpful to say where you are located. There just might be a Mac owner nearby who can be of assistance.

You also might consider posting in a different Mac forum on this site. What I had in mind is the MacGregor/Venture Discussion forum. It is for older Mac's.

Ray

[yukonbob]

Give it time. You'll get some answers from S owners. I sailed an S down in Mexico a few years back, stiffer than the newer M's I'm used to with less cabin room but a solid boat (trailerable) and handled very well for having a blown out main and a headsail to big for the rig. If I could find one cheap I'd buy it for mucking around at the lake in the summer.

[bobflshmn]

Hello,

First post, I hope I'm not a "one post wonder" but that will depend on the boat.

I've had a Macgregor 26C or 26S (?) 1990's given to me and from the looks of it, it's worth what I paid. I'm no novice to sailboats but no expert either. I don't know if this boat is worth my time or if I will just pass it on. I'm sure you can picture what it must look like inside although topsides not too bad.

Jim if your boat has a heavy weighted keel than you have a boat that is slightly older than you expect. The weighted keel is often considered the classic, the next model is considered a D, dagger board; the model I have, and then was the S with a swing down unweighted keel which uses rope to raise and lower. Although I have not personally sailed the weighted keel model I understand they sail quite nicely. I looked at one a year ago which was sail-able, but needed some work. It was offered at $2500.

If you search under the Venture/... form you will find many answers to almost any question you may have. If it came with a trailer you may have a fun winter project. Hope this helps

[Sumner]

....Jim if your boat has a heavy weighted keel than you have a boat that is slightly older than you expect. The weighted keel is often considered the classic, the next model is considered a D, dagger board; the model I have, and then was the S with a swing down unweighted keel which uses rope to raise and lower. ...

If it is a '90 then it should be a S but as was stated above there is no crank to get the keel up or down on an S unless someone did something out of the ordinary but it shouldn't be needed as it is very light.

To clear up some nomenclature the term classic or (C) refers to either the D (dagger board) or the later S (swing keel). The one before the D was the Mac or Venture 25. They have a crank (winch) to raise and lower the keel which is 600+ lbs.. The D and S were the first water ballast boats.



If you have a compartment under the companion (under that dark cover under the step and just ahead of the box I made in the picture above)...........



..... with a vent and a handle to turn to fill the ballast tank then you do have a S. No ballast tank and you have a Mac 25 or one of the models before the 25.

Another helpful site to identify which boat you have is Sailing Texas (look under the Macgregor boats)...

http://www.sailingtexas.com/cboats99macgregors.html

Also you could check the Ventures out also. Good luck,

Sumner

============================
1300 miles to the Bahamas and back -- 2015

The MacGregor 26-S

The Endeavour 37

Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links

[bobflshmn]

[

To clear up some nomenclature the term classic or (C) refers to either the D (dagger board) or the later S (swing keel). The one before the D was the Mac or Venture 25. They have a crank (winch) to raise and lower the keel which is 600+ lbs.. The D and S were the first water ballast boats.


..... with a vent and a handle to turn to fill the ballast tank then you do have a S. No ballast tank and you have a Mac 25 or one of the models before the 25.

Another helpful site to identify which boat you have is Sailing Texas (look under the Macgregor boats)...

http://www.sailingtexas.com/cboats99macgregors.html

Also you could check the Ventures out also. Good luck,

Sumner

============================
1300 miles to the Bahamas and back -- 2015

The MacGregor 26-S

The Endeavour 37

Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links

Thanks Summer for helping. I learned something new today myself

[yukonbob]

Thanks Summer for helping. I learned something new today myself

Same here. Sailed a 25 down in Mexico then. no water ballast. Thought it was an S for the swing keel.

[Sumner]

I believe the D and S are jointly referred to as classic's due to the fact they have displacement hulls (more classic hull design??) vs. the X and M's planing hulls yet all four are water ballast and 26 feet long. Maybe someone else knows another reason??

Sumner

============================
1300 miles to the Bahamas and back -- 2015

The MacGregor 26-S

The Endeavour 37

Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links

[Jim Hawkins]

Wow, thanks for all the activity.

OK, I think it is an older Mac. Being new it is easier for me to post a photo on my own website than figure out of to post here.
You can see a photo here.

http://www.thecasualtraveler.com/mac26.htm

I can not find any pictures online that show a Mac 26 with the handle to raise the swing keel at the companionway which is where this one is.
Also, my location is Cudjoe Key, FL

[Sumner]

Looks like a Mac 25 to me...



Sumner

============================
1300 miles to the Bahamas and back -- 2015

The MacGregor 26-S

The Endeavour 37

Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida

Mac-Venture Links

[Jim Hawkins]

Your probably right, I was going by what the owners daughter told me.

[Curwen]

Other than it needs a good cleaning, it doesn't look like my 26D.

[Jim Hawkins]

OK, so I'm now sure it's a 25 not 26. Thanks for helping me with that.

That appears to mean the the swing keel is weighted and not meant to fill with water. At least I hope so as I won't be trailering it and prefer the solid keel.

That leaves only one question, can anybody point me to a thread with a step by step procedure for refurbishing the swing keel and associated system hardware and where to get those parts. I can handle everything else.

[Jim Hawkins]

Well, I guess I have this pretty much figured out having found the parts online, cable, bolts etc. as well as diagrams. It seems to be pretty straightforward, clean everything up, replace hardware and the cable tube while trying not to loose the keel to Davy Jones. Thanks for the input.