New member old Venture 21

[Wayward2021]

Hello!

I've been boat shopping for a long time, my budget (and childhood dreams) has landed me an old MacGregor Venture 21. Reasonably good shape, obvious deterioration from age, minimal abuse it seems (outside uncovered most of the time). I have noticed a few things awry and I'll be making use of the search function to find answers as much as I can so as not to be annoying, but I'm sure I'll have to pry into your minds for some answers at some point.

Anything specific I should be looking for right away?
Common things I need to address?

Title says it's 1970, hard to verify a HIN when it's old enough they didn't put it on the Hull. All the info I found seems to indicate it is an older model aside from someone seems to have changed it to masthead rigging and it has turnbuckles.

[Jimmyt]

Welcome to the forum. When you have a chance, snap a few pictures of your boat so the rest of us can check it out. We all love to watch neglected boats being brought back to life!

Adding a pic to your post is easy if the picture is on the device your using to post. See the "Add image to post" button by the P at lower left corner of the text entry window. Hit the button, browse to your picture, and voila.

Again, welcome. Look forward to watching you bring her back to her former glory!

[Wayward2021]

It's a little dirty but as I mentioned it seems to have lived a neglected life for a decade. You can see I've been sorting through the rigging, I plan to raise the mast today and get it set up for the most part so I can inventory the items I have and the things I need to replace. Most likely it'll get wet next spring. It should be in shape for the local lake by then, but a long term operable restoration project.

Sadly I'm in Ohio , so I won't get to hang out in B.C. but I've learned that the appropriate forum is the absolute best tool in any project.

[Jimmyt]

Looks like a nice project!

Link to manual in case you haven't found it yet. Some info but not a lot of detail... https://macgregorsailors.com/resources/ ... Manual.pdf

[Wayward2021]

I've deduced she needs all the wood.

[Jimmyt]

I've deduced she needs all the wood.

Hopefully, that will be a good DIY. Are the original pieces still there for patterning?

[svscott]

It looks pretty good for having been neglected for a few years! What part of Ohio are you in?

[PSNA]

The 21 is the fastest of the Ventures with the exception of the 15' catamaran.

Pay close attention to the entire keel lift assembly, especially the bolt that attaches the cable to the keel itself.

I would replace the bolt, cable and winch just to be on the safe side.

You could order the boat with a fractional or masthead rig. Hopefully, you have the masthead. If not, a future project would be to move the headsail halyard to the head. Huge performance booster.

Classic plastic!

[Wayward2021]

I've deduced she needs all the wood.

Hopefully, that will be a good DIY. Are the original pieces still there for patterning?

Yes its all still there, pretty soft though, im not expecting much to come out in one piece.

[Wayward2021]

It looks pretty good for having been neglected for a few years! What part of Ohio are you in?

I live near Dayton so i'll probably frequent Ceasar's Creek Lake as its the closest to me. With enough practice and skill i'll make the longer trip to Grand Lake/St. Mary's and play on the big lake, something i may actually need to try navigation on.

[Wayward2021]

The 21 is the fastest of the Ventures with the exception of the 15' catamaran.

Pay close attention to the entire keel lift assembly, especially the bolt that attaches the cable to the keel itself.

I would replace the bolt, cable and winch just to be on the safe side.

You could order the boat with a fractional or masthead rig. Hopefully, you have the masthead. If not, a future project would be to move the headsail halyard to the head. Huge performance booster.

Classic plastic!

Thanks for the heads up!
Ill have to check the keel out again. Im pretty sure what i saw was stainless so i wasnt so worried about the bolt itself as the cables. Then i find its resting on the trailer anyways... It did wiggle a smidge using a jack so i dont think its rusted in place. I did notice there seems to be a bit of repair or something in the cabin where you are supposed to pin the keel in the down position, im hoping someone just 'glassed over the holes because they were afraid it would leak. Maybe ill buzz it a bit with the oscilating tool and see if i can see a hole.

i plan on replacing a lot of hardware just so i dont have to deal with failure on the water. The winch is rusty looking so it'll go for sure. All the stays run up to the masthead so it looks like i got a better setup to start, means i can upgrade elsewhere, save the $ for real rope and a Gin pole and tackle so i can solo the mast myself. Didnt get it up yesterday as I had hoped, i got a lot of interference from my other half, its like shes trying to stop me...

[PSNA]

There should be two.

One that holds it to the boat (inside the cabin) and the one that holds the lifting cable.

Plenty of stories (including my father) where the bolt holding the lifting cable snaps due to rust and or fatigue.

Great to hear it is the masthead version.

[OverEasy]

Hi WayWard2021,

Old pieces make it easier to make new pieces….

If you think the price is gonna self destruct on removal might I suggest that you get some strip pieces of 1/4 ply and secure them as appropriate either good double stick tape and short sheet metal screws. Leave access for removal from the boat and your way a head of the game for making new.

You might want to consider laminate plastics or PVC board for your replacements. Once done and stays done.

Might I suggest you Check all your stainless steel cables carefully. Take a soft cloth wrap it around each cable and carefully “wipe” the cable to see where the fabric catches. “Catches” are generally strand breaks or nicks. Replace any cables with either breaks or nicks as a cable failure later in the water under strain could be a real hassle or damage to mast/boat/persons.

Try and get your boat up ina secure cradle if you can to check your keel and hull. Especially at the keel line and trunk.

MacGregor seems to have used 304 SST for bolts and formed brackets. End and edge penetrating electrolytic corrosion is not uncommon so it pays to be cautious and skeptical. Trim back corrosion to find out how deep it may have penetrated. Surfaces can be deceiving.

Also, take detailed pictures for your own reference before disassembly / removal (unlike moi ) so you know how it’s supposed to go back together……

You have a nice boat that by all accounts can be a whole lot of fun!!!

Best Regards,
OverEasy

[Wayward2021]

Hi WayWard2021,

Old pieces make it easier to make new pieces….

If you think the price is gonna self destruct on removal might I suggest that you get some strip pieces of 1/4 ply and secure them as appropriate either good double stick tape and short sheet metal screws. Leave access for removal from the boat and your way a head of the game for making new.

You might want to consider laminate plastics or PVC board for your replacements. Once done and stays done.

Might I suggest you Check all your stainless steel cables carefully. Take a soft cloth wrap it around each cable and carefully “wipe” the cable to see where the fabric catches. “Catches” are generally strand breaks or nicks. Replace any cables with either breaks or nicks as a cable failure later in the water under strain could be a real hassle or damage to mast/boat/persons.

Try and get your boat up ina secure cradle if you can to check your keel and hull. Especially at the keel line and trunk.

MacGregor seems to have used 304 SST for bolts and formed brackets. End and edge penetrating electrolytic corrosion is not uncommon so it pays to be cautious and skeptical. Trim back corrosion to find out how deep it may have penetrated. Surfaces can be deceiving.

Also, take detailed pictures for your own reference before disassembly / removal (unlike moi ) so you know how it’s supposed to go back together……

You have a nice boat that by all accounts can be a whole lot of fun!!!

Best Regards,
OverEasy

Thanks for all that info! I like the idea of doing the berth once i work at a Menards ill have to see what we have in the way of PVC boards otherwise i was going to wrap plywood in fiberglass but the less i have to work with that the better. If i cant get anything to attach to the old wood ill try a "controlled disaster" and see if i can cut it up during removal so it comes out in the pieces i want and can easily piece together into a template. That old wood is soft and spongy, i suspect its been wet inside for a while. Ill have to try that trick with the towel on the cables, and if the general census is to replace the keel hardware ill just plan on it before my first sail because the experienced hands seem to be repeating this one a lot lol

[OverEasy]

That’s at least two of us who will have benefited from similar advice…. The keel line discussions prompted us to look at our keel line and we found it substantially frayed. Replacing a line while on shore is a whole lot easier than skinny dipping with the SC estuary Bull Sharks in zero visibility murky water any day of the week‍