How many MacGregor/Venture owners out there?

[SPC Paul]

Just curious as to how many active users on the board own any of the older model MacGregor/Ventures.

I bought my 26S 2 years ago now and I think it's the best decision I ever made. And thanks to the generous folks on this board, I've been able to equip it with a new VHF radio, GPS, shore power, and new safety gear. The two years of fun times I've had sailing on the "Bandit" have more than made up for the 15 month tour of the desert I had to go through to buy it.

Whenever I hear the folks in the powersailor discussion debating whether the X or M is the faster sailor (or the whole white vs. blue thing) I just have to sit back and smile. I know my 26S will leave y'all in the dust. Now if I can just get Mark to help me figure out how to hang a 115 on the back of it I'll have the fastest Mac ever.

So sound off, MacGregor/Venture owners, and tell us about YOUR boat and why you love it.

Jared

[Len Spindel]

We are newbies. Our '94 26S is our first boat and this is our first season. It has been a challenge learning to sail in the Mississippi River with it's varible depth, variable current, endless odstacles and air currents that swirl and die. But if we make it here we can make it anywhere. This website has been a tremendous help and provided a wealth of knowledge.
We have become really hooked on sailing and are enjoying it more each time we go out.
Now if I could just learn how the handle this thing in the marina!!! Our marina was made for power boats not sailboats. There seems to be no way to back a 26S. Any suggestions would be appreciated by myself and the other marina tenents.

[Bawgy]

My Venture 24 is a 72 model and has served me well over the past two years . I live on Lake Gaston and have about a ten m ile stretch of water to sail in . The boat is light enough to sail in light winds and is suppose to be capable of 40 knot winds . I on the other hand do not want to be out in 40 kt winds if I can help it. My wife and I are planning our first trip out to Cape Lookout this fall . I decided to wait a couple of years to get more helm time before I went out to the coast . I love my old boat for the lake and will probably buy a bigger boat down the road ,but for right now I am very happy

[joe_mcginty]

She's a '79. Her name is Indigo. She's a V222 and the smartest money I ever spent. I just can't imagine owning anything else. We sail her on Otsego Lake in Upstate NY. (If the water won't hold her up, the taxes will....) While I have your attention, does anyone know of a www site that details a really well-made DIY galley that would work on her? I'd like to know how to make one and where in the cabin to put it. Thx and fair winds.

[SPC Paul]

I don't have much advice regarding backing a 26S. I've had no problems getting mine to go where I want it to. I just take it really, really slow while manuvering in a marina or any confined space. Some folks say that having the centerboard or rudder down improves low speed control, but I have never found this necessary. Just make sure that if you're not using the rudder for steering that it is lifted entirely out of the water. The previous owner of my boat had installed a swim platform on the center of the transom that prevented the rudder from fully retracting. Instead, it stayed in the water, sticking straight out behind the boat. Being new to sailing when I first got the boat, I didn't recognize this as a problem until the first time I tried to back the boat. The rudder went hard over to one side, and Bandit crashed into the seawall stern first, cracking the housing on my outboard and severely damaging my pride.


Joe McGinty:
Over at http://www.macgregor-boats.com they have a decent number of older Macgregor/Venture boats including pictures of modifications and such. For great step-by-step pics of how another V2-22 owner constructed his galley, click here.

Fair winds,

Jared

[Len Spindel]

Thanks for the comments Paul. I'm kind of disappointed that there is not more response to this poll.
I have wheel steering and have been trying to back with the rudder down. Because of the motor well you can't hand steer the motor. All of the other sailboats in the marina have their motors on brackets and can hand steer them through a 180 degree arc.Our slip at the marina is at the top of a "T" intersection. The channel is only 35 ft. wide. I would like to motor past my slip ,back up and around the "T" and then pull forward into my slip. I'm waiting for it to quit raining and I'm going to take the boat out and experiment.

[magiccity_02]

I have an '88 Mac 26D that we bought a couple of months ago. My wife and I love it! I grew up with a Hobie Cat and was out of sailing for a few years. We're landlocked but it's still nice to take a sunset cruise or spend an entire weekend day out on "Vado Lento". She's not as fast as my Hobie but my wife is probably happy about that.

[Frank C]

Thanks for the comments Paul. I'm kind of disappointed that there is not more response to this poll.

This forum was called the Mac26X forum for the 4 years before Roger replaced it with the the 26M design. The vast majority of members are therefore powersailer owners. I guess you've now determined the number of classic owners ... I expect that Paul understood the likely scaling of his poll results.

The Sailnet owners' community once had a large, thriving membership of classic owners (mail server, not forum), but I'm ussure how that community weathered the Sailnet storm?

[Isabelle]

We have a 1988 Mac 26D which was purchased in 2004. Our boat is kept at Sunset Aquatic Marina in Huntington Beach. We've sailed to Catalina a few times and down the coast to Newport Beach and Dana Point. Its fun to anchor at White Island in Long Beach and watch the sun go down while dining. Great trip going through the Long Beach/Los Angeles harbor, too.

Is there a special place to vote in the poll?

[Isabelle]

Went to the top of the page and voted... er, is the fact I'm an elder of the tribe a good enough excuse for not seeing it sooner???

[nnelson1]

We have a V2-22 that we purchased late last season. We've been getting quite a bit more use out of her this season and have been enjoying it immensely. In fact, we just got back from our first trip to Lake Michigan which also included staying at a marina. A bunch of first for us and we had a ball!!

We are a family of four, so, for us, it's more like "boat camping" than anything else, but when we get out on the water and hoist the sails, it's fantastic!

I love my little boat.

Fair winds,

Nick

[johnnyonspot]

I bought a 1983 Mac 25 last spring and have had it out on Lake Mille Lacs here in Minnesota a few times. Been a lot of fun. Several friends are getting into it too. Love the swing keel; its saved me a couple times already from running hard aground.

[goddardw]

We thoroughly enjoy our Continuing Cruises of "Chantel Marie" Mac 25 on Clear Lake, CA We are up to 2,500 mi by GPS track on our 142 days cruising in the last 2 years. We keep a track map of each outing as a log.

We anchor out nightly usually going out Tuesdays and coming in on Fridays. Clear Lake has over 100 mi of coast line so there are always new areas to explore and friends to meet.

"Chantel Marie" lives on our trailer in the back yard ready to hit the road between outings.

Best Regards to All!

[Abby Normal]

Greetings all,

My wife and I acquired a 1985 Mac 25 a month ago. I had a Sunfish when I was younger and spent many-a-summer on it.

I narrowed my search down to this particular Mac 25 and a Catalina 22, I wanted a trailerable boat for certain. For one thing, I figured if I started out with a 22, I'd want a 25 or 27 later on, so I bought my second boat first. Out of the other deciding factors were equipment and over-all condition of the boat, but the clincher was getting on various MacGregor web sites and seeing what a great on-line community there is for these boats. I also like that I'm not castigated for sailing a 21 year old boat instead of the newest thing.

I'm enjoying learing the boat and I'm a terminal tinkerer, so I'm already making lists of things to change, modify, or add to get it precisely to my liking. The guys at WM love me already.

Gotta say at some point there may be a Mac 26 in my future, but for now my wife and I are more than pleased with "Abby Normal".