Anybody have any experience with MacGregor boats? I've heard there a budget boat, and that a lot of their construction cuts a lot of corners. That having been said has anyone ever heard of a sides day pulling out of the deck of a MacGregor 26? I would have thought something that's that critical to the boats operation wouldn't just be mounted into fiberglass. I would think that it would have a metallic structural member underneath the deck to mount too. Any comments? I'm looking at possibly perching purchasing a MacGregor 26s. The guy said the starboard side side stay in the standing rigging had pulled out of the deck. If there's no fiberglass damage I could just get a new bracket and simply refix it to the deck. Hopefully that's all it is. Any experts on McGregor construction out there?
MacGregor 26 side stays
- Thread starter exgeologist
- Start date
I've owned two Mac 21 and a Mac 22. They are basic but well made. Not intended to cross oceans but great for ghunkholling. Easy to fix and maintain. The 26s has a lot of followers. Look up a guy named @summner on this forum. He has a 26 and has done a tonne of modifications.
There are two threads on this. Maybe they can be combined. Can you post pics of the area in question in the other thread?
We had a Mac26D and never had an issue with it, but here is my take: the (the ones on the side are called shrouds) shroud chainplates are small stainless steel pieces that disappear between the outside hull and the hull liner. I would cut a hole in the hull liner so I could look at and work on the attachment. If memory serves me right they are held in place by bolts with the heads visible on the outside of the hull. After you are finished with the repair, simply fabricate a plastic cover for the hole and install it with SS screws into the liner. I did this when I needed to rework the bow eye and it looked like that was the way it was supposed to look. It is now also easy to inspect.
Ken
Ken
yep, the couple that bought mine a few years back were new to sailing. They wanted a boat they could bring up to shore. I don't think they could appreciate all of the cool equipment I installed over the years. Perhaps now they are enjoying it that much more. I never heard back from them.
Funny that, I never heard from the guy who bought mine.
To the original poster, you get what you pay for. If you're looking for a boat to cross an ocean, the 26 isn't it. If you're looking for something fun to sail, big enough for a small family, seriously easy to tow and set up, cost effective with simple systems that are easy to maintain, the 26 is a great candidate. Lots of people here own, or have owned them, and what usually does them in is what Ken said...after about 15 years, you get tired of (or it gets hard to) manoeuvre around inside on your knees.
Except yugos were not fast. I've never sailed the Mac 26S or 26D but I did sail a Mac V222. I would regularly run down boats in the 27 to 31 foot range. I even got the boat to plane once coming down a swell while on a run. It only lasted about 15 seconds but it was a rush. GPS said 11 kts. I really miss my V222.
That is what many people think who haven't owned them. I will say the 26S or the 26D (even faster) will run circles around most boats of the same size. The 26D and 26S are collectively known as a 26C (for Classic) which distinguishes them from the ones with the big motor (X or M models). As someone said it's not for blue water, but for protected water, it does well and at little cost. These are really basic hulls where many people do some really creative mods. It has a larger cockpit than my San Juan 28 or my Hunter 30. I've had ours in uncomfortable waves and the boat did fine. I turned around because of me and the Admiral.
They are a bit tender until it hits 10 or 15 degrees then it firms up and goes. For a trailerable, I love that water ballast. Emptying the ballast tank is an exercise in patience on the boat ramp, but you can fix that by using an electric (use the 12 volt type) pool toy inflator. Put it on the ballast tank vent and open the fill valve. When bubbles come out from under the boat, close the fill valve because you have just emptied the ballast tank while not tying up the ramp. Don't do this in choppy water or with the sail up, however. That tank needs to be absolutely full for sailing.
Ken
And you'll never read things like this about the Macs 
What do you call a Yugo in a car junkyard?
A blessing.
How do you double the value of a Yugo?
Fill the Tank
What do you call a Yugo at the top of a hill?
A miracle
Q. How do you make a Yugo accelerate from zero to 60 mph in less than 15 seconds?
A. Push it off a cliff.
Q. What is found on the last two pages of every Yugo owner's manual?
A. The bus schedule.
Q. What did the parts dealer say when the customer said, "I'll take a set of wiper blades for my Yugo"?
A. "Sounds like a fair trade to me."
Q. Why do Yugos come with heated rear windows?
A. To keep your hands warm while you're pushing them
Q. What do you call a Yugo with brakes?
A. Customized.
Q. How do you make a Yugo go faster downhill?
A. Turn off the engine.
Q. Why don't Yugos sustain much damage in a front-end collision?
A. The tow truck takes most of the impact.
Q. What do you call Yugo passengers?
A. Shock absorbers
Q. How do you improve the appearance of a Yugo?
A. Park it between two 914s.
You go. Car stays.
Q. What do you call a Yugo in the fast lane of a highway?
A. A miracle!
A. Roadkill
Some used car dealers might try to reduce the miles on the odometer to make a car seem worth more money.
With a Yugo, they add miles to try and convince you it really will go that far!
"Optimist" defined: A Yugo owner with a radar detector
Q. Why do Yugo owners never carry a map?
A. It'll never get far enough to get lost!
Despite their small size, Yugos are actually designed for five people;
1 person sits in the driver's seat, and the other four would get out and push.
A thief caused $39.95 damage to a Yugo.
He broke in and stole "The Club" off the steering wheel.
Q. Do you know what you call a Yugo station wagon?
A. We-all-go
Did you hear about the Yugo/pedestrian accident?
...Poor Yugo.
"You know what they do with junked Yugo's don't you?
They recycle them into tin cans."
Here is a true saying in Croatian, which was very popular, where the car comes from (and it rhymes): "Yugo nije za dugo."
...Translation: "Yugo is not for long."
"Yugo missed out on a great slogan when Doritos took it first:
'Crunch all you want. We'll make more!'
Q: How do you make accelerate a Yugo from 0 to 100 km in 10 seconds?
A: Push it off the top of a cliff.
Q. What's the difference between a Yugo and the principal's office?
A. It's less embarrassing if your friends see you leaving the principal's office.
Q: What is the sport-version of Yugo?
A: The driver wears Nike shoes.
Q: What do you call a Yugo with twin exhausts?
A: A wheelbarrow
Q: What is the Yugo owner's most ardent wish?
A: To buy a car.
Q: What do you have to do if your Yugo gets in the way of a swarm of killer bees?
A: Stop pushing and take refuge into the car.
Q: What do you call a Yugo with a seat belt?
A: A rucksack
Yugo . or you not go!
Q: How do you make a Yugo go faster uphill?
A: Throw out the passenger.
Q: What do you call a Yugo with a flat tire?
A: A write off.
Yugo has announced a new 16 Valve model for 2002.
8 in the engine, 8 in the radio.
- I can see you've got a new car - a Yugo!
- Yes, I won the second prize in a lottery.
- What was the first prize then?
- A fruit-basket!
Yugo will be introducing three new vehicles next year.
They will have a moped called an "I Go".
They will have a 4-door called a "We Go".
They will also have a new station wagon called the "Y'all Go".
Why were sidewalks invented?
So Yugo owners would have a safe place to walk home.!
What is the difference between a golf ball and a Yugo?
You can drive a golf ball 200 yards!
Q: What do Yugos have in common with Ferarris?
A: A Ferrari can go from 0 to 60 in 4 seconds, whereas a Yugo can go from 0 to 4 in 60 seconds.
Actually, a Yugo CAN accelerate as fast as a Ferrari,
if you give it a fast enough running start, so it clears the cliff's edge.
"The Oakland Police captured two men in their Yugo last night.
The men are being held as suspects in the city's first push-by shooting."
From the Yugo owner's manual:
"If you sense an impending accident with any other animate or inanimate object larger than a breadbox, quickly 1) place head between legs, 2) lock hands behind head, 3) Repeat:
'Our Father, who art in heaven...'"
Yugos are now much safer and come standard with an air bag.
When you sense an impending accident, start blowing *real fast*.
Consumer safety tests showed that a 5 mph parking-lot crash will cause about $2800 damage to a Yugo. What's left?
About $1200 of "dealer prep."
What do you call a Yugo in a car junkyard?
A blessing.
How do you double the value of a Yugo?
Fill the Tank
What do you call a Yugo at the top of a hill?
A miracle
Q. How do you make a Yugo accelerate from zero to 60 mph in less than 15 seconds?
A. Push it off a cliff.
Q. What is found on the last two pages of every Yugo owner's manual?
A. The bus schedule.
Q. What did the parts dealer say when the customer said, "I'll take a set of wiper blades for my Yugo"?
A. "Sounds like a fair trade to me."
Q. Why do Yugos come with heated rear windows?
A. To keep your hands warm while you're pushing them
Q. What do you call a Yugo with brakes?
A. Customized.
Q. How do you make a Yugo go faster downhill?
A. Turn off the engine.
Q. Why don't Yugos sustain much damage in a front-end collision?
A. The tow truck takes most of the impact.
Q. What do you call Yugo passengers?
A. Shock absorbers
Q. How do you improve the appearance of a Yugo?
A. Park it between two 914s.
You go. Car stays.
Q. What do you call a Yugo in the fast lane of a highway?
A. A miracle!
A. Roadkill
Some used car dealers might try to reduce the miles on the odometer to make a car seem worth more money.
With a Yugo, they add miles to try and convince you it really will go that far!
"Optimist" defined: A Yugo owner with a radar detector
Q. Why do Yugo owners never carry a map?
A. It'll never get far enough to get lost!
Despite their small size, Yugos are actually designed for five people;
1 person sits in the driver's seat, and the other four would get out and push.
A thief caused $39.95 damage to a Yugo.
He broke in and stole "The Club" off the steering wheel.
Q. Do you know what you call a Yugo station wagon?
A. We-all-go
Did you hear about the Yugo/pedestrian accident?
...Poor Yugo.
"You know what they do with junked Yugo's don't you?
They recycle them into tin cans."
Here is a true saying in Croatian, which was very popular, where the car comes from (and it rhymes): "Yugo nije za dugo."
...Translation: "Yugo is not for long."
"Yugo missed out on a great slogan when Doritos took it first:
'Crunch all you want. We'll make more!'
Q: How do you make accelerate a Yugo from 0 to 100 km in 10 seconds?
A: Push it off the top of a cliff.
Q. What's the difference between a Yugo and the principal's office?
A. It's less embarrassing if your friends see you leaving the principal's office.
Q: What is the sport-version of Yugo?
A: The driver wears Nike shoes.
Q: What do you call a Yugo with twin exhausts?
A: A wheelbarrow
Q: What is the Yugo owner's most ardent wish?
A: To buy a car.
Q: What do you have to do if your Yugo gets in the way of a swarm of killer bees?
A: Stop pushing and take refuge into the car.
Q: What do you call a Yugo with a seat belt?
A: A rucksack
Yugo . or you not go!
Q: How do you make a Yugo go faster uphill?
A: Throw out the passenger.
Q: What do you call a Yugo with a flat tire?
A: A write off.
Yugo has announced a new 16 Valve model for 2002.
8 in the engine, 8 in the radio.
- I can see you've got a new car - a Yugo!
- Yes, I won the second prize in a lottery.
- What was the first prize then?
- A fruit-basket!
Yugo will be introducing three new vehicles next year.
They will have a moped called an "I Go".
They will have a 4-door called a "We Go".
They will also have a new station wagon called the "Y'all Go".
Why were sidewalks invented?
So Yugo owners would have a safe place to walk home.!
What is the difference between a golf ball and a Yugo?
You can drive a golf ball 200 yards!
Q: What do Yugos have in common with Ferarris?
A: A Ferrari can go from 0 to 60 in 4 seconds, whereas a Yugo can go from 0 to 4 in 60 seconds.
Actually, a Yugo CAN accelerate as fast as a Ferrari,
if you give it a fast enough running start, so it clears the cliff's edge.
"The Oakland Police captured two men in their Yugo last night.
The men are being held as suspects in the city's first push-by shooting."
From the Yugo owner's manual:
"If you sense an impending accident with any other animate or inanimate object larger than a breadbox, quickly 1) place head between legs, 2) lock hands behind head, 3) Repeat:
'Our Father, who art in heaven...'"
Yugos are now much safer and come standard with an air bag.
When you sense an impending accident, start blowing *real fast*.
Consumer safety tests showed that a 5 mph parking-lot crash will cause about $2800 damage to a Yugo. What's left?
About $1200 of "dealer prep."
My shop used two of them as courtesy "loaners" for 20 years before selling them to one of our cutomers before we moved to a new location. Drivetrain by Fiat. Had one up to 80 on the freeway. Thats fast enough in one of those! They were good for the money($3000) each brand new. $1500 for both after using them for 20 years. They are still going( well one, the other is a parts donor). They are the butt of many jokes but were perfect for what WE used them for. Still have a stack of valve shims in my toolbox for our customer! By the way I own a Mac 25 and love it too!
I owned a Mac 26D for 5 years and am very familiar with the shroud chainplates on this boat. The structural component passes through the deck and is through bolted to the sides of the hull. You can see the slot screw type heads on the side of the hull. The piece the OP referred to as pulling out of the deck is merely a trim piece that fits over the chainplate and is riveted into the fiberglass deck.
It's common as the boat flexes for the trim piece rivets to pull out of the deck. This is also the source of leaks which are common to this boat. I used butyl tape to reseal the opening and replaced the rivets with stainless steel bolts.
It's common as the boat flexes for the trim piece rivets to pull out of the deck. This is also the source of leaks which are common to this boat. I used butyl tape to reseal the opening and replaced the rivets with stainless steel bolts.
That's true that the covers often lift up. I just used SS screws to put our back in place as well. From the above discription, I thought he was referring to the chainplates. If it's just the covers, you need them loose to reseal them anyway.
Ken
I think you may be speaking of one of the two inner short shroud deck plates. The boat I purchased and am restoring, Mac 26D hull #79, has the same issue. I suspected it happened during an attempted break in per th previous owner. I plan on opening up that portion of the deck and glassing it along with securing it under the deck with a backing plate. It appears that it was only secured with through bolts, washers and nuts from the factory. Hope this helps.
