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Our first test sail revealed an incomplete repair to the keel trunk. A little West System and some cloth took care of that


Finally, we replaced the rear bulkhead with a modified design that conceals the rear storage area better. We also replaced the fabric trim panels with white painted plywood like the rest of our bulkheads (some fastening still required)


I built a new electrical panel from scratch, complete with a digital voltmeter activated with a push button

Here's the result - one of our first sails and tied up to the dock where it will live for the summer




It's definitely not an $800 boat anymore, but still a pretty good deal!

Now, one question to the group - anyone looking to sell a hank-on genoa (preferably 150%) for the Mac25? We're pretty under-powered in the light stuff with just the working jib.

Looking good Sisu! When looking for a used sail, don't limit your search to just sails listed for a mac 25. Run a tape measure up your forestay to get your max luff measurement, and measure aft from your tack fitting to check on the foot measurement. A 150 will be aprox 1.5 times the distance from the tack fitting to the mast. A good source for used sails is Bacon Sails in Annapolis MD. ( Baconsails.com)
Their site lets you search by sail size or by boat model.

Looks nice.

Nice is an understatement! great job!! Freedom is 40 years old and showing it. Keep us posted on your adventures. Is that your house in the background? As the The Cuscus says, Lots on used sails around. Contact North, Hood, etc. online they have a big inventory of good used sails. Fair Winds and Full Sails...Old Salt.

Thanks! Yeah, I'm looking around for used sails from other boats, no luck yet. Might just go for a new one, as the few used candidates aren't that far off in price.

Now, here's a used sail tip for everyone - it turns out the old E Scow symmetrical spinnakers are just about perfectly sized for the Mac 25. The best part is the class replaced them with asyms a number of years back, rendering these things mostly worthless (for racing, which most scows are exclusively used for). I managed to source a practically new sail, easily worth around $1500, for free! Managed to find a pole too, although it does well enough just tacked to the bow, as seen here. I'm a sailing nerd so I'll probably still get the pole rigged up at some point and a dedicated halyard a little higher up on the mast to accommodate. Square 'er back!

Your boat is looking great! Congrats on getting her in the water!

Your boat does look great. Do you or anyone else have a suggestion for cleaning 20 years of filth from my Mac 25 hull? The top sides are covered with what resembles dried algae. I am afraid I will remove any shine left in the gel coat by using the wrong chemicals or too much pressure from a pressure cleaner. The boat was abandoned in storage since 1997. Any cover for it was long since blown away. It have about 8" of water inside the cabin when I got it. I towed it away for free and am now paying storage fees while I try to get it cleaned up and back into the water. It looks like it will float but I need to check out the swing keel cable and trunk for wear. Then I need to buy a motor and work on getting the trailer and boat titled. (Maybe not in that order.) LOL

We used mostly Simple Green, which comes in liquid and spray bottle form. Get a box of disposable shop towels a good plastic bristle brush and apply elbow grease. Once you have the grime off, there are products that you can use to rehab the gelcoat that are well documented on here.

Thought I'd offer an update, 2 years on from the initial restoration. We just finished our first scored series on the boat racing PHRF in the spinnaker class, and we were within a few dumb mistakes of 2nd place overall! I was a little disappointed after we lost the series-deciding race to our rival, a well-sailed Pearson Electra, by 50 seconds on correction. I'm determined to make a winner out of our little roadside find with mostly hand-me-down sails.

I've made a few racing mods that may be of interest to a few people on here, including a rope traveler that works almost as well as the real thing and is stern-mounted, which keeps the cockpit less cluttered. I also am successfully using the full spinnaker setup from an E-Scow, including the pole. Not recommended for cruising as it takes a minimum of 3 skilled sailors in any sort of breeze, and honestly if the parts weren't so cheap (thanks to the E's converting to Asyms and making the symmetrical gear worthless to the owners) I'd go with an asym off the sprit similar to Grady's setup. I'll post photos when able.

Great stuff, holding the Macgregor banner high and proud. Well done sir!!

What happened to some of the pictures in this thread? I have the same model and need as many pictures of others as I can find to help me with my refurb.

Thanks!