Mac 19 Draft & steering queries

[Pilchard]

Hello, I'm new here, thinking of buying a mac 19 in the UK, partly because of the shallow drying mooring that the boat will have to live on. Spec quotes a draft of 9" with centre-board up, but I guess this is with ballast tank empty. Any idea what it is with tank full?

Also I see reports of 'sluggish steering' Is this a problem experienced by owners? Would it make life at a mooring with tight access a pain in the proverbials?

Thanks for your help
Bob

[Tim Gallagher]

Bob,

Try going to Yahoo.com macgregor19sailboats group. I learned alot there about our 19 before we moved up to our 26x. Nice photos also.

Tim

[Zavala]

I've never been able to tell for sure on the draft with ballast in, but it doesn't look to be over a couple inches -- four at the most -- in my humble guessing...

As for steering, I'm not sure slugglish is the right word. There's a lot of freeboard, so it can be sloppy when docking in the wind, as I understand the 26's are. You can have a bit of a challenge with dual tillers for the outboard and rudders -- but most folks get used to this. Otherwise it gets around just fine. It's a great compromise boat.

Tim is right about the Yahoo group. Lots of nice folks there and they are quite helpful...

[bradhill]

I sold my MacGregor 19 last year. I found the steering with the engine and tillers, in unison, to be very quick. Steering into my slip was always very easy.

Of course, now I have a 26X , big difference. The MacGregor 19 was much easier to facilitate low-speed steering with the engine.