Buying my first boat

[BobJones]

I just joined this forum in hopes of learning some things about the MacGregor boats.

I am 70 YO, live in Seattle, have aspirations of taking week-long trips in the protected waters of the Pacific NW (San Juan Islands, Canadian Gulf Islands, Desolation Sound). I have a lot of sailing dinghy experience and several week-long cruises under my belt. I want a boat to accommodate my wife and me, and sometimes another couple. I would probably keep the boat in a marina at a dock in the spring, summer,fall.

I'm considering buying a MacGregor sailboat and would like as much advice as I can get from this group. I would love to find someone to take me out on a MacGregor to see how they sail, so any advice of how to find that would be really appreciated.

Bob

[kmclemore]

Welcome! We have quite a few members out your way, and you are fortunate that the leading parts supplier for Macs is headquartered near Seattle as well (Blue Water Yachts).

Macs work well for one or two couples, and a great many of us owners take our boats out for a week or more quite happily. I'm 69, and we keep ours in a slip most of the summer on Lake Champlain in NY, taking it out many times during the summer.

MacGregor made a great many different boats. Which one is best for you is a function of your needs and tastes.

We await your questions!

Cheers,
Kevin

[Russ]

You came to the right place. This is a friendly forum and I came here for the same reason and learned so much from the members.

The top of this page is a link to the "User Map" which you can locate members close to you and if you want reach out to them for local advice.

There are several flavors of Macgregor. All will fit your needs as described. There are tons of Macgregors in the Seattle area. The Macgregor Yacht Club of B.C. (banner above) might also be a resource to reach out to.

There are essentially 2 types of Macgregors. Traditionally, the 26 S/D flavors and the Power-Sailors, the 26X/M flavors. If you want a pure sailboat, the traditional is a great sailboat. The 26X/M are hybrids with big motors to get someplace fast if needed and have larger cabins.

One of the biggest things in your area would be currents.

Ask more questions.

[NiceAft]

Welcome:

I won’t rehash what Kevin and Russ have already addressed; they gave a synopsis quite well.

You said:

I have a lot of sailing dinghy experience

Before buying my , I sailed this for twenty-five years.

Dinghy sailing is exciting. It gives an education of quick reflexes.

Going from a fourteen foot dinghy to tweety-six foot sailboat with an actual cabin to spend time in was a thrilling experience; I have no regrets.
Both my wife and I love our Mac.


By the way, you won’t be the only septuagenarian here, I’m 76.