How were you introduced to MacGregors?

[RandyMoon]

I spent many years with power boats. The wife wanted to get another boat to have some fun activities with the kids (mostly grown). I could not bring myself to getting another power boat. Doing circles in the lake kind of gets redundant after many years.

I had done some sailing in my youth and throughly enjoyed it. I went on numerous cruises in the Carribean and kept getting drawn to marinas, checking sailboats out. I came close a few times to getting one but my business never seemed to give me the time needed to start something new.

Last year we went to Puget Sound, the islands, and British Columbia. Again I was drawn to the marinas and sailboats. Being 57 and seeing retirement happening in a few years, I was intrigued with all the retired folks who live on their sailboats and cruise the coast, following the seasons. That hooked me.

I did the internet research, found the Mac, discovered this board with its entertaining cast of characters, and bought a M. I like the interior layout of the X much better than the M but wanted a new boat. I am glad now that I got the blue hull since it is much faster then the white hull. I love my Mac and think about it way too much. Being an engineering type, I have tons of mods planned. The wife wants to ski so we put the honking 90 horse on the back.

The Admiral and I are planning on retiring in a few years, buying a 35' to 40' sailboat and retiring to the coast. I am into the stock market, so for me, a wireless connection for my laptop is all I need to keep on trading and enjoying life. For now we belong to a sailing club with about 200 sailboats in wet slips. You rarely see any of the other members walking around without a beer in their hand, so I am thinking I am going to really like this group of people.

[ALX357]

Previously i had a Hunter 22, ok boat, roomy for its size, and after enjoying it for awhile, i learned what i like and don't like. I like shallow draught, retracting centerboards and rudders, light weight for trailering, low trailer height for launching ease at regular ramps, and lots of room. I like a faster motor/boat than the usual kicker sailboat.
I DON'T like wood on my boat, the teak rails on the Hunter were always needing bleach, scrub, oil, etc, and then they were rough as cobs, and opening grain all the time. The inner bulkhead did double-duty as a chain-plate attachment strong-point, but the deck slots leaked, and the wood bulkhead rotted at the bottom and at the holes for the chain-plate.
Structural problems long before i knew it. SO i wanted a Glass-and-Steel boat, with the ability to sail Genoa alone, and with all the other features mentioned, the Mac was the only boat that filled the bill. Plus i found YOU'ALL on this site before i bought, and now you are like family too. !
Just keep the crabbyness to a dull roar

[HERNDON]

I grew up on a Navy base in San Francisco bay area in the late 60s.
During the summer we would sail El Toros (8'-0) at special services for
$.25/hr... great times.

Well...30 years later I am in Wailea on Maui with son and wife. Did the Scuba thing with son and he wants to know if I had ever sailed...resorts has Hobbie 16s..... Very exciting...

So, came home and started dreaming again about something other than
work.... "sailing" and via the internet found Mac Gregor boats and this group. It was because of this group I bought my boat. (Thanks)

Fine boat... great group.....still dreaming of mods..

Rob

[Rick Mathews]

Rick's version:
I was raised around sailboats in Puget Sound, and hoped to own one since my youth. Over a period of 17 years, my wife and I sailed occasionally with some friends who own an Ericson 27. Off and on, we contemplated buying a boat of our own. Living in Portland, Oregon however, we felt that we might tire of always sailing in the same area of the Columbia River since sailboats are so slow under power. So we came close to buying an older power cruiser a couple of times. Thankfully, that
didn't happen. After one sail with our friends in the early summer of 2002, they pointed to a boat a few slips away and said, "You might be interested in one of those". It was a MacGregor 26X. I looked it up on the Internet and said to my wife, "Look at this--a sailboat that goes fast under power"! And it was relatively inexpensive! So I made some initial inquiries at Blue Water Yachts in Seattle. We had already planned to spend several days in the San Juan Islands that summer (by car and ferry) and made a demo appointment with Blue Water for the day of our return trip. While in the San Juans, we rented a small outboard boat and blasted around in it for a day. One of my motives for doing this was to see whether such a boat would be suitable for us instead of a sailboat. I was particularly interested to see what my wife's reaction to it would be. She didn't like it much, and neither did I. We decided that we both liked sailing better, and that if we were going to buy a boat, it would be a sailboat. So we drove home, and stopped for the demo at Blue Water on the way. We were impressed, and a month later we purchased one. Since it was fairly late in the summer we thought of waiting until 2003, but Todd at Blue Water talked us into buying a 2002 model. We have been glad that he did, because we prefer the X layout over that of the M. It was an emotional moment for me the next summer when we raised sail in the San Juans in our own boat--fulfilling a desire of mine that stretched across more than 30 years.

Joan's version:
OK. Here is the wife's version of events (I remember it well...):
I have NO sailing background in all my growing up years. My first experience was on Rick's family's 19' wooden daysailer. (Responsible for my determination NOT to have brightwork on our boat.) Later we found a friend who liked to have guests on his 27' Ericson. I enjoyed those sails with "experts" at the helm. I could just sit on the bow and let my feet get wet, or throw myself to the high side of the boat when Rick shouted "Rail!." (My role in sailing life was as free weight!) After a sail with our friend in June 2002 he pointed to a boat down the dock and said we might be interested in looking at that kind. It was a Mac 26X with a Blue Water full enclosure, and looked very dolled up. Rick was smitten. I had thought Rick's wishing for a boat was just vocalizing an unreachable dream. I could very happily have lived my entire life without owning a boat, but I soon discovered that my husband couldn't. At that point I told him we should look into it - figuring we could never afford it. He was on the web finding out all he could. He called Blue Water Yachts. He made an appointment to demo the boat on the way home from our vacation! Everything was moving way too fast for me! And, of course, it wasn't out of reach (ARGH!). We bought a 2002 26X within 6 weeks of seeing one for the first time. (I'm really glad we got the X rather than waiting for the M. Just my personal preference.) My family thought we were crazy, but, as we were not known for doing costly, half considered things, they made allowances for this aberration. I was dreading we would get a scratch on it. I was uneducated and afraid. Joining the US Sail and Power Squadron has helped with that tremendously. They educated me incredibly quickly. Though it's an ongoing proposition. I do remember telling a person who helped fend us off of his boat while trying to dock the first time during spring run-off (we learned to only use a little centerboard after that) that my favorite part of boating was the classes in the winter!) It's amusing to me that I so loved to heel in our friend's boat, but now that the boat is ours, I DON'T LIKE to heel more than 25 degrees. (15 is better!) Ah the joys of ownership... We've had some wonderful and memorable times on that boat. It's just right for the two of us at this point in our lives. I'm still getting used to this boating life, but there are worse things for a couple to share together.

[billd]

Grew up learning to sail on Lake Coeur d' Alene (CDA) Id. My Grandfather and Father taught me to sail an El Toro, and my grandfather's 10 ft Glen L. Feel in love with sailing. Had no real interest in power boats. From age 12 to 34 wanted a sailboat, any sailboat.

My wife rented a 25 foot O'Day on Lake Pend Orielle in North Idaho. We had a great weekend and learned a bunch, the hard way. Finally found a guy in Salt Lake City with a fully rigged 26S. I had looked at an X in our bay at the lake and fell in love with the boat and price. The guy in SLC was great and for $50 extra trailered the boat all the way to CDA. Since I had looked at the X, boy was I surprised when I saw the S show up. Didn't exactly do my homework. Wouldn't have traded it for anything and really pitched the pop top to my wife. We loved it and planned to keep it forever.

Then the guy, a 76 year old gentleman with the X in our bay, came to me with bad news. He had been given a terminal non surgical heart diagnosis and had to sell his boat. Wanted to sell it to us because he knew how much we loved to sail and he loved watching our kids have fun as we pulled out of the bay for a long weekend of cruising. So, we bought the boat.

Well now we have a problem. I own two boats and really need to sell the beloved S. After two months on the market it sold and is now in the Puget Sound. Even though commited to bed rest and against my wishes, the man came out to help me rig the boat. I was scared for his health but he showed me everything about the X. He would sit alone on his deck, in the shade, drink in hand and wave every day we went out that summer.

He died on Christmas day that year. The next summer I found a sailbag dropped off at the cabin. Inside was a note explaining how much he enjoyed seeing us have fun on the boat all summer. He had odds and ends in the sail bag that he had found that belonged with the boat.

So our MacGregor means even more to us now. To cap it off last summer I took my 86 year old Grandfather sailing for the first time in years. What a great day!

[Max]

Great story billd...
Max's story:
Heard about the Mac 4 years ago...seemed too good to be true!
Thought I'd never own one...just out of reach, so bought an American designed V8 cruiser..very thirsty, especially at British gas prices!
Then saw a Mac 26X at Plymouth, UK where we'd trailed the cruiserto. Admired it, looked at it touched it etc etc etc.
Following year - 2003 - saw it again....then, happened to be in the marina office when a chap asked if there was any mail for him, giving the boat name 'GOFRIT'..my ears pricked up, so on the way from the office, I caught up with him and asked if 'GOFRIT' was indeed the Mac. Could I have a look round as one day I would like to own one. He happened to say that he was probably intending to sell around December 2003 - coincidence or what?
To cut a long story short..that was in the August..I scraped together a loan and - miracles - managed to sell the V8 gas guzzler on the internet.
Took possession of her in Dec 2003...the rest is history.

[Tony D-26X_SusieQ]

Back in the 70's I bought my first sailboat. A little 12-foot day sailor. I only had it for one summer but learned to sail (sort of) on it and learned to love sailing. Of course at the same boat show where I bought my boat there was a stand with a new design for a trailerable sailboat a Venture 24. I thought one day I would love to own one of those But at that time it was a real stretch to come up with $500 for the day sailor.
Over time I got busy with life and a 60-hour workweek and my dreams of sailing got put on hold. Then one day I discovered my ship had come in so to speak, and that dream of a sailboat became a possibility. Oddly enough while doing some spring-cleaning I ran across that old, yellowed and worn Venture 24 brochure. I did a search on the Internet and in the process I ran across an add for a Macgregor 19. What a great idea for a boat. Sail and power in the same boat. I love to fish almost as much as sail but fishing is not so convenient on a sailboat.
I looked up the Macgregor web site and there she was. The Mac 26X and it was love at first sight but I still was having trouble making the plunge. Spent hours on the web site reading every detail about her and found this discussion board where I lurked for months and read every word there for hours every day. Then it happened. Disaster struck. The 26x was to be discontinued and replaced with something else. No one knew what but it certainly would be some ugly monster and not my beautiful X-boat. I had that money coming in but it was tied up and would not be available for another three months. So I hocked everything I had and called the dealer. I prayed that there would be one left. Fate smiled on me. He had just had a cancellation on the last X he could guarantee he would get. I bought it there on the spot the same day I took my demo ride.
As it turned out the ugly monster was the M and is not an ugly monster after all, but I prefer the X and am having a ball with mine.

[Frank C]

As Tony observed, the sixty hour work week had caused me to defer my dreams of an RV for 25 years. In-laws had loaned a 17' sailboat for a couple of years (needed garage space) but we only used it twice. Fun, but it seemed lots of work.

We went tent camping when we could, but I always scoured the campgrounds, looking enviously at those gleaming trailers and van conversions ... a real bed, no sticks 'n stones, no ants, a private toilet ... Life'o Reilly!

My 19 yr old son had gone thru Sea Scouts and loved the boat shows, dragged me down to see a 26X, but I wasn't in the zone. Yet a few years later circumstances left me with cash in hand, and as I browsed a boat show I had the same Eureka moment (as backyard builder above) ... if not now, WHEN?

So I pored over that brandy-new 26X w/ fine-tooth comb in Feb '99. First look at the price sheet & it was immediately obvious how choice of the outboard motor would be crucial to cost, performance, resale and enjoyment. That started a six month study of the used boat market, the new outboards market, and weekend visits to the marina. Took delivery of nearly the first model-2000 in August '99. My first RV and my first boat, great project, great choice, great decision - no regrets.

[Erik Hardtle]

I don't recall exactly how I found out about the Mac 19... some local boat show I think back in 1993... I just remember we bought it from just looking at the Sales Brochure.



After we sold our 1965 19' O'day Mariner, 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.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(insert cheezy power boat purchase here after I sold the Mac 19... we won't say anything more about the $#@$#&*^% powerboat...)

Yeee Haaa... 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 ( 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. (this might seem wrong to some? )

After closing on it (got a great interest rate) , 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. (thank god.... )

[DavidB]

The first sailboat I owned was completely made of styrofoam and had single sail I think I was around 10 years old. I would sail in ponds as my dad fished. It lasted about a year or so. After that it never even crossed my mind to get another sailboat until one day someone in the office said thet they were thinking about buying one and the light came on. The search was on the wife and I decided to try a day sailor Force 5 after about 4 times out the wife hated the force 5 and it want on the chopping block. About two months later a Macgregor 26 D came up for sail. Knowing nothing about anybrand of sailboat and somewhat impulsive we bought the Mac. Thats been a little over 3 years and I love it but she's wants one just a little bit bigger. I got the 26 M in my sights just gotta get around to test sailing one before we make a decision.

[philbrook]

Great stories, now mine.
I was invited out on the bay (San Francisco) for a day sail with the family of a friend. Loved it! For some strange reason, this family intrusted me with the keys, asking me to look in on the boat (a 23ft Islander) at the Berkeley Marina whenever I had the chance. They lived in the Sierra Nevada and came down to the flatlands for sailing whenever they could. Besides looking in on the boat, they encouraged me to take it out if I wanted, just leave it ready to sail when I was done. For 3 years I had a boat for nearly free, just minor maitenence stuff. No marina fees, no insurance, most excellent! They came down once or twice a year and the boat was always ready to go. My second date with the future Mrs. was
on that boat! Well, all good thing come to an end, the family and the boat relocated to Montana, no more boat.
Fast Forward almost 20 years, wife, kids etc, but no boat. One night of reminiscing lead to a visit to a boat show. Low and behold was a proto-type of the new M Mcgreagor. My wife claims the boat "talked" to her,and that we would be getting one soon! I started researching and was leaning towards a Hunter or Catalina and lastly the M. But those boats didn't talk! This board convinced me of a Mac community that could help with the expirence and the deed was done. Arena Yacht Sales
in San Rafael jumped thru hoops to get our boat by spring break 2003.
When the boat hadn't arrived by the promised date, they lent us their demo for the week! A week later our ship came in (hull 32). Its been all good since. Because we bought when we did, we had the choice of one of the last Xs or our M, but for us, the M was the one. (even though I later found it was significantly inferior to the X [not] thanks to Moe) We love our M and sailing and hope to pass both on to our kids when that day comes. Not to soon I hope!

Phil
Ships Doctor
2003 M, the BB