Sorry I put my first post about this in the wrong place--something to do with spinnakers. Anyway, I'm thinking of buying a MacGregor 22 to use around the Lake Erie Islands. I'm an experienced fixed keel sailor (owned a Paceship 26 for years) and have been on the lake enough to respect its strong moods. I don't care that much for long distance cruises and find I enjoy a good sail around the islands more. It's for that reason that I'm leaning toward a retractable keel. I used to run into problems with 5' 6" draft. The idea of, say, an Interlake, a Flying Scot or such appeals to me because I appreciate a well-made boat, but I don't find myself inclined to race. So, what kind of sailers are these trailerable models? I'm also a bit worried about all the posts on weather helm frankly, but I'm not sure the MacGregor is significantly worse or better than, say, a Catalina, O'Day, Hunter or Morgan. Any advice would be welcome. Thanks, BassJake
MacGregor 22--should I buy one?
- Thread starter BassJake
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Jake...
I have to honestly say that most of the talk about weather helm is from rookies...who don't know how to tune a boat(when you say CLR, they think you are talking about scouring powder). The 26C gets lots of bad press about it, but mine has virtually none (well just enough)...I tuned it out. Yeah, Macs are crappy boats...poorly built, lousy fitting out, thin hulls (maybe you should get a swing keel Cabo Rico, oh yeah, they don't make one!)...and that 22 you are thinking about is about 40 years old...give me a break! That is a good choice in my opinion and the Sisters will be fun to explore on it. Hope to see you out there!
I have to honestly say that most of the talk about weather helm is from rookies...who don't know how to tune a boat(when you say CLR, they think you are talking about scouring powder). The 26C gets lots of bad press about it, but mine has virtually none (well just enough)...I tuned it out. Yeah, Macs are crappy boats...poorly built, lousy fitting out, thin hulls (maybe you should get a swing keel Cabo Rico, oh yeah, they don't make one!)...and that 22 you are thinking about is about 40 years old...give me a break! That is a good choice in my opinion and the Sisters will be fun to explore on it. Hope to see you out there!
If you like lively sailing....
you'll like the 22 Mac. I have a 1980 V22 Macgregor and have sailed it in numerous places. I have a friend who has a Catalina 22 and we sail it 2-3 times per week. Mine is on a trailer and his is in a slip. With set up on mine taking 30-40 minutes, guess why we sail his. We did do both boats one day to just do a close comparison. There was very little difference.....with one exception.....weather helm. Both boats reacted to the wind very similarly and both could be easily trimmed to alter the effects of weather helm. He had a $200+ replacement rudder on his Catalina and I have a rudder I built out of Mahogany. His had a tendancy to round up if quite a lot of pressure on the tiller was not maintained. It usually could be held, however, and was quite stable. Winds were in the 25+mph range with some gusts going up to about 35mph. There was plenty of time where the water was coming up over the leeward gunwales. We could hold either boat securely on a tack with the rub rail about 8-10" out of the water. The difference was that my Mac did it with less effort because of the replacement rudder that I had built. It was extra long (so that severe tilt did not get it out of the water) and I had put 3" of leading edge on the rudder over the old one to move that leading edge farther ahead of the pivot point, effectively reducing the amount of pressure necessary on the tiller for the same rudder effect. It simply did not "round up" unless I decided to let it. A couple of times I had the side stay chainplates in the water and stability and ease of handle were there. Now don't get me wrong. I don't enjoy leaning over that far really!! We just had a good strong wind day and were in a testing mind set. Normally, I like very little lean, but that day really gave me confidence in what either the Mac or the Cat would do and stay upright. Boat tuning and rudder are the key issues. One word on the draft, though. Even with the swing keel (which weighs 600 lbs.), your draft is 5'6" when it is let all the way down. Obviously, that is where you want it if at all possible. We have shallow conditions to contend with around here and have to alter draft occasionally, but I really want that weight all the way down as much as possible. Don't know what you are wanting to do, but I will say that the Mac 22 is tough, somewhat spartan, reliable, safe and quite quick. I've really enjoyed mine (which, by the way, is for sale since I just bought a 26 footer and "momma" says one of them has to go). Good luck and happy sailing (is there really any other kind?)!!
you'll like the 22 Mac. I have a 1980 V22 Macgregor and have sailed it in numerous places. I have a friend who has a Catalina 22 and we sail it 2-3 times per week. Mine is on a trailer and his is in a slip. With set up on mine taking 30-40 minutes, guess why we sail his. We did do both boats one day to just do a close comparison. There was very little difference.....with one exception.....weather helm. Both boats reacted to the wind very similarly and both could be easily trimmed to alter the effects of weather helm. He had a $200+ replacement rudder on his Catalina and I have a rudder I built out of Mahogany. His had a tendancy to round up if quite a lot of pressure on the tiller was not maintained. It usually could be held, however, and was quite stable. Winds were in the 25+mph range with some gusts going up to about 35mph. There was plenty of time where the water was coming up over the leeward gunwales. We could hold either boat securely on a tack with the rub rail about 8-10" out of the water. The difference was that my Mac did it with less effort because of the replacement rudder that I had built. It was extra long (so that severe tilt did not get it out of the water) and I had put 3" of leading edge on the rudder over the old one to move that leading edge farther ahead of the pivot point, effectively reducing the amount of pressure necessary on the tiller for the same rudder effect. It simply did not "round up" unless I decided to let it. A couple of times I had the side stay chainplates in the water and stability and ease of handle were there. Now don't get me wrong. I don't enjoy leaning over that far really!! We just had a good strong wind day and were in a testing mind set. Normally, I like very little lean, but that day really gave me confidence in what either the Mac or the Cat would do and stay upright. Boat tuning and rudder are the key issues. One word on the draft, though. Even with the swing keel (which weighs 600 lbs.), your draft is 5'6" when it is let all the way down. Obviously, that is where you want it if at all possible. We have shallow conditions to contend with around here and have to alter draft occasionally, but I really want that weight all the way down as much as possible. Don't know what you are wanting to do, but I will say that the Mac 22 is tough, somewhat spartan, reliable, safe and quite quick. I've really enjoyed mine (which, by the way, is for sale since I just bought a 26 footer and "momma" says one of them has to go). Good luck and happy sailing (is there really any other kind?)!!
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