Good Old Boat Magazine Nov/Dec issue article on Venture 25

[Mark Prouty]

The November/December issue of Good Old Boat Magazine has a nice feature article on the Venture 25. Some interesting points:

Roger MacGregor:
In 1967, as a final requirement for earing his MBA at Stanford Business School, Roger wrote his thesis on automating sailboat manufacturing. Roger and his wife started MacGregor Yacht Corporation in their garage. In 1968, they introduced the Venture 1.

Venture 25:
Debuted in 1973 in their Costa Masa facility. After 7,000 boats, production ended in 1987 with the introduction of the water-ballasted MacGregor 26.

Summing up:
The Venture 25 is a good first big boat. Keep in mind that its overall construction and rigging are on the light side. The swing keel offers shallow-water sailing; and the boat is best sailed in protected waters. Some of the best support and information is available from independent sources, such as http://www.macgregorowners.com. Availability of Venture 25 is good. And on the used-boat market, typical pricing for a Venture 25 in sail-away condition is in the range of 4,000 to 6,000, with condition and upgrades being everything.

Much more in actual article....

[Don Y.]

Mark, thanks for that! FWIW, there are some differences between the Venture 25 and the MacGregor 25, the primary one to my eye is that the Venture's cabin did not go all the way athwart. Instead, it left a very narrow ledge. Owners I've asked about it said they could, with difficulty, use that ledge for going forward. The Mac25 puts that space inside the "house" - better I think.

Also, the MacGregor 25 was inducted into the *Sailboat Hall of Fame* - yeah for our side Don't tell anyone, but I would really like to try a Mac 26S because IMHO it would be better for the California "Delta" region, and for the Sea of Cortz than the "D" model. I have a Mac 26D owner nearby, but I haven't been able to talk him into a sail to Catalina Island (So CAl) for two years now Come to think of it, I've never sailed on a water ballast boat. And, I have a good friend who has a Mac26M - *maybe* I need a personality makeover

Don
'85Mac25 "Nina"
Left Coast
Huntington Bch., CA