MacGregorSailors.com

Crikey asked in a previous post on raising the boom about opening up a topic about first boat owned etc.
So I will start a new post. The first boat I owned was a 15' Coleman canoe I bought used about 10 years ago. The wife and I went out a few times and we went swimiing a few times when the canoe rolled. Of course it was not myself that could have caused the roll. Needless to say the admiral did not like swiming without her suit on. So the canoe sat dormant in the backyard until it was donated to a brother-in-law.
So bought a used M 3 years ago and when we pull a heel the admiral flashes back to the canoe days. As all us owners know it is a very safe boat and the admiral trusts my meager sailing ability a little more than my canoe paddling. Still happy while we learn how to sail.
Also to all who use and value this forum lets give a small end of year present to help this forum stay running. As you check the other forums you see that this is the one they try and emulate.
Mike

Okay, you aked for it:


Around 1976-1977 my parents went on a sailing adventure just off the Florida Keys. They spent two weeks learning how to sail on their own rented boat along with several other classmates who also had their own rental boat for learning. They had so much fun eating, sleeping, partying, and learning to sail that when they got back they purchased a 1977 Hunter 27 foot sailboat. For the next several years I spent time with my parents and my two brothers on the boat called "Artemis".

I specifically remember spongeing out the bilge a lot because the bilge pump never worked properly. The boat was a keel sailboat that was kept at a dock in Toledo near Lake Erie. We continued to learn things on this boat.. like sandbars do exist in a lake.. and it is still embarrassing to ask a power boat for help, that sitting on the front of the boat with 3-5 foot waves is really cool... unless you are the captain, anchoring is always a test of the crews patience, and never let your son touch the throttle during a docking (ramming) procedure. I remember going to Turtle Island and staying the night on the boat. The most memorable was the time my mother and brothers and I had gone to the dock to clean the boat and my mother dropped her car keys between the dock and the boat... we all looked at each other as if to say "you dive in and get them". We called my father to pick us up. So with such fond memories I had unknowingly been bitten by the sailing bug... I found that I loved to go to Boy Scouts summer camp because they had a sailboat dingy there... and of course it was always available because hardly anyone knew how to use it.

Ok, so several years go by and my first year at college I get lucky and get on the Dean's List. As a gift my father and I go out looking for used sailboats and we find this daysailer called a Starcraft Skylark... never heard of it but it look sleek.

I now had MY first sailboat... so I did what every good sailor does... modified the heck out it. I painted the trailer and the boat, added rollers to the wood skids, attached a wire to the top of the mast to hold the boom up, added a tiller extension, and added a mount for an electric trolling motor.
This was a really cool boat with dual dagger/center boards and it helped increase my learning through hard experience. A prime example is sailing with the wind behind you.. yes you can go far in a short amount of time.... tacking back that same distance is much more time consuming.
I had sailed from the Maumee River in Perrysburg to the mouth of Lake Erie in Toledo in just several hours.... however when I turned around and started tacking back I had trouble getting under an overpass bridge (hence the trolling motor modification).
After being hit by the boom in the head 3 times trying to get under the bridge (the wire modification was implemented soon after), when I finally did, I sailed over to the closest marina and called my father. Who picked me up so I could get the trailer and have the marina lift it onto it.
The really interesting thing about the Skylark is the design... it is very reminiscent of a submarine... in that it tends to dive into waves at the bow... not that you would know it from the picture on the manual. Now I know what that diverter is for just at the front of the mast... not that is really helped. It was a good fair weather, hardly any waves sailboat. So like any good sailor... again... I looked for a bigger boat.

The first loan I ever got myself.. and didn't need a co-signer... all two thousand dollars. I happen to see this boat in someone's yard with a faded For Sale sign on it and a garden growing in it. It's name was Barefoot Bev.. named for the daughter who used to roam about it with bare feet. I had no idea how much work a full restoration meant, but it was 19 feet and I wouldn't get wet sailing it. Now I know my father would probably have another heart attack if I brought this thing home to work on it, so I took it to a marina and stored it there while I worked on it enough to make it presentable. I borrowed a jack, some concrete blocks and railroad ties and proceeded to jack the boat off the trailer so I could work on the bottom and the trailer. Then I de-weeded the inside and scrubbed it and painted the bottom and the hull and the trailer. After finishing all the superficial cleaning I loaded it back on the trailer and presented it to my parents... they didn't freak. I think my father was actually a little excited... I think he missed having a sailboat. My father helped me a lot during the restoration... click on the flip-book to see the time lapse of the fixing and a picture of my father sailing on the sound at Atlantic Beach.http://www.enctrader.com/hardtlefamily/Flipbook.htm Some of the restoration: I enclosed the cabin area, pulled out all the rotted wood inside, had new cushions made, and had the wood rudder refurbished. I loved this boat (I put about $3000 into it plus sweat equity) and I would probably still have this boat if it wasn't for me finding out about the MacGregor Powersailor.


I love to show off... what boat owner doesn't.. but I had something no one else had in Eastern North Carolina... I had something that made people say.. 'what is it?'
I don't recall how I found out about this boat.. I just remember we bought it from just looking at the Sales Brochure.
After we sold the O'day ($1,700... ) we found a dealer in Hilton Head, SC who had a demo model for sale. So we zipped down there and hauled it back up the same day. Because this was such a unique boat it was able to handle a 40 hp motor... now I needed to find one... a cheap one. So we bought a used Johnson... probably from the 70's... well it ran... sometimes.
So here comes THE most embarrassing moment in my life as a sailor. This is the first time I launch the boat... start the motor up... get 100 feet from the dock... the steering connection snaps and the motor dies. Great... and the only powerboats nearby are Jet Ski's.... so I hook up to one and they pull me back to the dock. Now as if that wasn't bad enough... to add injury to insult... a jet ski has a stream of water it spits out the back like an arch as it goes...yup you guessed it... right on me as I sit at the front of the boat.
Now I always test the motor on land before even going to the dock.



I owned my MacGregor 19 Powersailor for about 8 years before I started salivating over the BIGGER Powerboat/Sailboat MacGregor was building.

Ok... so about 1 month goes by and my wife just happens to hear about this boat donation program near the beach.. and mentions she misses having a boat.
Yup.. we took some of the money from the sale of our Mac 19 and bought this used powerboat to get us out to the barrier islands. After bringing it home my daughter and I saw a video of a black boat in a movie (Thunder something) and that's when I decided to paint it black... the boat was cheap after all.

Yes this is not a sailing vessel... but I learned a lot about how to keep a four cylinder inboard engine running, how much money it costs, and what happens when it stops running in the middle of the river. Hey and guess what... I got it all fixed and running reliably... and sold it... especially since I went ahead and bought the Sailboat I had been salivating over for several years.

Yeee Haaa... here it is... Our Dream boat and probably last boat.
We had been looking at this boat ever since they started building it, back when we still had the MacGregor 19. So then MacGregor stopped making the 26X in 2003 and started making the 26M a variation of the X. After looking at the manufacturers website ( http://www.macgregor26.com ) we decided we didn't like the changes to the interior and the change from a centerboard to a daggerboard. So I surfed the internet and looked for the best deal on a 1999 or later model within the eastern side of the country. Turns out there was one in Oriental just 30 minutes from us. So like any good husband I went behind my wife's back and started working on purchasing the boat without her suspected a thing. After closing on it, I picked it up and took it over to the sign shop to get it lettered and decals put on from my designs. My wife came up with the name back when we had the Mac 19.. because of all the people that asked us 'what is it'... and the answer is 'not sure'... which she changed to "Knot Shore".... she's very clever. Then 2 days later I pulled the boat into the backyard in the afternoon while my wife was at a meeting with the kids and would not be back until night fall. So Saturday morning I showed the kids the boat and had them run into the bedroom and wake up mommy because there was 'something in the backyard'... she was pleasantly surprised.

... hope you all enjoyed the history.... and we are still having fun with our Mac... please feel free to click on the world icon to visit our website and read our ships log.

Our first boat was a 1979 Phantom. 14' of fun. You had to have quick reflexes, or at least you had to develope quick reflexes to sail it.



We bought it at the New York Boat Show in January of 1979. I knew I wanted a Sunfish, and that's what I went to buy, but I saw the Howmar Phantom, and really loved it. For the next hour or so I went back and forth between the two dealers (Howmar and the Sunfish dealer). I went with the Phantom, and never regretted it. The Phantom was a much better boat, and I bought it It only weighed about a hundred and ten pounds, so I tied it on top of of our 1976 VW Rabbit, and off we went. The boat was a little longer than the car. We used that little boat for twenty-five years. We still have it. The Admiral won't let me sell it.

In 2003 we went to the Annapolis Boat show to look at a Mac. I knew the ( what we wanted) was not being built anymore, so we went to look at an We liked the refinements, but did not like the rearrainged interior, so we left without a boat. When we got home, we talked about getting a used , but in December, the Admiral was diagnossed with breast cancer, so everything was put on hold. By the next Annapolis show we decided to not place life on hold any longer. We learned first hand that life is to short to waste We went to the 2004 show, and were pleased that the now had an interior that more ressembled the , but was more refined. As a designer, I liked the small visual changes. Carpeted walls so there was less shinny plastic surfaces. Too each his own. We bought the 2005 . It was delivered in January of 2005, and we have loved it ever since. I named the boat for the Admiral, and she gave her approval

Oh yes, this being December, the Admiral is now an eight year survivor of breast cancer



Ray

Great story Erik, really enjoyed it.

I sailed with high school chums on Lake Ontario, but the real bug started me at age 5.

I came over the North Atlantic on the Macgregor 1019 (Queen Mary) and my mother recalled I spent hours watching the sea....later my dad came home from the rummage sale with a copy of Hiscocks Cruising under sail, which I read every night it seemed..

A Lockley Sea Devil sailing board was my first dabble into the sea, then the Island 17 (still in my fleet) and then in 2003, the

First Sailboat we owned was a Venture 21 in 1969. My folks owned a ski boat. The first boat I ever owned I built myself. My brother and i bought a droptank off a fighter jet for $10.00 at a salvage yard. Took it home, cut a hole in it, cleaned it out, installed a couple of seats and attached an outrigger. Looked funny but worked great. Cowabunga dude. Fair Winds and Full Sails....

The first boat on which I held the wheel and did other salty things. As a tax payer and a Canadian citizen I guess I owned her too!

Q1

IN line with Q1 above, I guess my first boat was the USS Kitty Hawk - - - but in 1972 I bought a 20 year old 20' Chris (sic - Cris?) Craft with a 4 cylinder Gray (sic?) marine inboard engine which I had on the Niagara River and Lake Erie at Rich Marine on Niagara St.- - - that engine was indestructable. One winter, while the boat was on a cradle, I had it tarped, but apparently not very well, and when snow melted the cockpit and the engine compartment filled with water. I turned on the bildge pump and to my amazement the boat started to empty. When it was empty, just for kicks, I turned the ignition key (the engine had been under water) and it started right up

I've been all around the world but I, my first wife and three year old daughter took one of the best vacations we ever had on that boat. We spent a week on the Erie Canal from the entrance on the Niagara River east - - - and we had a great time. This is the FIRST time I have been boatless since then. I don't know about nowadays, but the Erie Canal was a fascinating waterway back then, with lots of spots to stop and eat and explore.

I also had one of my two scariest moments on that boat. I was alone around Grand Island on the Niagara River when the engine did quit and I started off toward Niagara Falls at 18 MPH (current speed). Just when I was trying to decide where to jump in and try to grab something and let the boat go, there appeared two VERY powerful patrol boats to save me and any other dummies to whom this happened an average of two times every day. Back then there were two or three SETS of patrol boats on the river for this purpose - - - out tax dollars at work!

Rick

My first boat was USS England, CG-22. A 500-foot cruiser with a crew of 400 that was 25 years old when I reported aboard and 30 years old when I mustered out. Learned a ton about maintenance and corrosion--mostly that I didn't ever want to deal with it again

But I absolutely loved the sea, especially the deep ocean. About two years after I got out of the Navy, I started getting the sailing itch when my best friend bought a sailboat: A 1968 Columbia Sabre 32' olympic race class keel boat. Was the best of all possible worlds: My wife & I crewed with him for three weekends of every month and he paid the $500/mo. slip fees. This is how I learned to sail, and it went on for about four years.

That worked great until he lost his job and couldn't afford it anymore, at which point he just stopped paying the slip fee and let the marina repossess his boat. When he finally told me about it, I ran down to the marina and bought it out of hock, thus becoming a boat owner for $1800 in unpaid fees. And of course now the slip fee was my responsibility, which was only fair. The three of us continued to sail uninterrupted for another two years or so until my first child was born, and we suddenly went from sailing three weekends a month to three times a year. At that point, I put the boat on a mooring ball because slip fees were getting out of hand in San Diego (up to $900/mo. at many marinas).

That lasted for about four years until it was becoming clear that being on a mooring ball was killing the boat because it was too hard to use and maintain. So after ten years, I sold it for $6000 to a class race club in Oregon, which recouped most of my expenses on it.

We joined a rental club after that and sailed Catalina 28's on occasion while I fantasized about buying a Corsair trailer-able trimaran. My experience with paying for a marina convinced me that I wanted a trailer-able boat. I found a guy in Oceanside who had one on Craigslist, so I crewed for him a couple of times, which turned me off to the idea. The cabin was way to small to accommodate me, much less my wife and now three kids.

Once I was off the idea of the corsair I started googling other trailerables and came across the Mac. I didn't care for the powering aspect at all, and probably should have looked at a used 26S but I'd had an older boat before and really wanted something I could just get out and go in without a lot of maintenance or repair. Got excited about it but I felt it was probably too small. Went up to the factory in Costa Mesa to have a look, and fell in love. It was basically perfect for my family. Showed the wife, she loved it and we towed Luna Sea home a week later. We've had the boat for 10 months, and have spent 60 days aboard at this point.

Biggest problem has been finding a reliable place to store her, since I live on a postage stamp in So Cal. The three places she's been stored thus far have all closed down. Currently looking for a new yard for her.

She won't be my last boat--I'm 42, and I intend to circumnavigate by sail when I'm 65. I'll be doing that in a 47' or larger Beneteau or similar. I'll buy it used, spend two years sailing it around the world, and then sell it. Luna Sea will be waiting for me to get back.

Oh Booooo!!!

Stole your friends boat

Rick

Your boat, was my second sailboat, my first summer on the water, 29 years ago.

I could not remember the name, but your story jogged my old memory. I found a video of one.

It was a great sailboat. Mine had a 24' tall mast. I sold it to make a down payment on a house when I was a little short for cash. Sure wish I still had that boat!

Thanks a million for posting your (our) story.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37NUKbcbsy8

Here is one for sale on Craigslist, if you are interested. Too far away from me.

http://eastnc.craigslist.org/boa/2754394207.html

We used to pull this behind a GoldWing motorcycle. The tongue weight was a bit much, so I pulled another small trailer, and hooked the boat trailer behind that trailer. I still own the little trailer, 29 years later.

Erik Hardtle wrote:Ok, so several years go by and my first year at college I get lucky and get on the Dean's List. As a gift my father and I go out looking for used sailboats and we find this daysailer called a Starcraft Skylark... never heard of it but it look sleek.

I now had MY first sailboat... so I did what every good sailor does... modified the heck out it. I painted the trailer and the boat, added rollers to the wood skids, attached a wire to the top of the mast to hold the boom up, added a tiller extension, and added a mount for an electric trolling motor.
This was a really cool boat with dual dagger/center boards and it helped increase my learning through hard experience. A prime example is sailing with the wind behind you.. yes you can go far in a short amount of time.... tacking back that same distance is much more time consuming.
I had sailed from the Maumee River in Perrysburg to the mouth of Lake Erie in Toledo in just several hours.... however when I turned around and started tacking back I had trouble getting under an overpass bridge (hence the trolling motor modification).
After being hit by the boom in the head 3 times trying to get under the bridge (the wire modification was implemented soon after), when I finally did, I sailed over to the closest marina and called my father. Who picked me up so I could get the trailer and have the marina lift it onto it.
The really interesting thing about the Skylark is the design... it is very reminiscent of a submarine... in that it tends to dive into waves at the bow... not that you would know it from the picture on the manual. Now I know what that diverter is for just at the front of the mast... not that is really helped. It was a good fair weather, hardly any waves sailboat. So like any good sailor... again... I looked for a bigger boat.

The first boat I ever owned in this part of the magnetosphere was my departed Uncle's 18.5 Sandpiper. He bought it new and sailed out of Port Dover, Lake Erie, Canada. My Admiral and I sailed both ends through, of the Trent Severn canal system, as well as most of the Rideau canal with it. As we were previously inveterate campers, it came with a certain amount of pride that we were always the smallest boat in the lock - who were clearly, having the most fun. Sailing boat , at that!

This is a bitter-sweet picture a short time before we sold her. Our new (2010) MacGregor is fresh in the driveway behind her.

Funny thing is, when we did the Rideau again in it last year, it seems we got the same respect in the MacGregor, that we did in the Sandpiper. Many people see this as a classy machine!
Ross

Well, at this hour I'd like to say Merry Christmas and safe voyage home to all sailors.
tommy