SailNet Community banner
  • SailNet is a forum community dedicated to Sailing enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about sailing, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, repairs, reviews, maintenance, and more!

MacGregor ID help needed

5K views 14 replies 9 participants last post by  jhnblngr 
#1 ·
Hi, as you can see, brand new here. Not new to sailing but have always been on small cats and lasers. Now I just bought what is listed as a Mac 21, however as I look at other photos on the web I see some things that have me wondering. Here are some features:

20' 8" stern to bow

No front window on cabin, only two side windows

No front hatch on fore deck

No "box" or "stroage compartment" a the stern in the foot well

Swing down keel

Solid, one piece rudder

No spreaders on mast

What other points can I offer to help ID her? I have no idea of her age (but still young and gorgeous!!:)

Thank you!!
 

Attachments

See less See more
3
#2 ·
Hmmmm, doesn't exactly look like a Mac to me but it is a little hard to tell. Some more pictures may help, and by the looks of the filename of the attached images you probably have some more.

Have you looked the boat over well and checked for a ID plate of some sort. Or maybe enven the hull number?

The reason I am skeptical about it being a Macgregor is that the cabin structure looks to be built of wood. I used to own and Mac 25 and the interior was not made of wood and I have looked at pretty good bit of photos and don't exactly remember any being wooden. But I wasn't looking for it when I saw the photos so I could be wrong.

Did any sails come with the boat? If you have the original sails, sometimes the name is on them.

When you say there is no box or storage compartment in the footwell, are you talking about the floor of the cockpit? I have seen some Mac's with a little storage compartment but they can easily be removed as mine didn't have one. Are there any places visible where the mounting holes were possibly filled?
 
#4 ·
It looks a LOT like the smaller Venture to me (Believe me, I've been POURING over pictures the past few weeks).

Of all the boats I can positively identify now, that's one.

To me it looks like a 21' Venture - probably early 70s.

IF it is built after 71 or 72 (I forget exactly) the stern on the starboard quarter ought to have the id stamped in it. I think it is also inside, but I've yet to find my internal markings.
 
#5 ·
It is a Macgregor/Venture 21. The foredeck hatch was an option back then, as was the kick-up rudder; it appears you got the "stripped down" model. The spreaders are not missing. I think the early models had a simple tripod rig without spreaders. It is a simple boat but VERY fast.

My first "cruising" boat (meaning it had a couple of berths and room for a porta-potti) was a Venture 21. We had it for two years back in the 70s and then moved up to a huge (to us) Venture 23 which we still have.:)
 
#7 ·
Hey thanks for the quick help. I have a "boat load" of pictures:rolleyes: Glad to know the hatch on the fore deck was an option as was the kick up rudder. I'll look for numbers as I address the paint (ahhh, the paint...What were they thinking!) The hull and deck are all fiberglass. I am missing the sliding portion on the top of the companion way. I have the wood for the companion way but just the fiberglass lid is missing.

Does anyone know if someone makes an aftermarket or replacement sliding portion?

Glad to hear she can be fast, nothing worse than sailing a bathtub!

I don't see any indication on the mast that there were spreaders attached, so glad to hear they may have never been there.

Here's a few more pics. As you can see there is a bad repair on the starboard side at the water line. The story is a tire blew on the trailer and flipped up and damaged the boat.

Any suggestions for this. It looks to my untrained eye that I need to cut it out and start over, but can it be sanded down and smoothed out? (I have lots of power tools!) The integrity of it is ok, no apparent air bubbles and good adhesion. Not spongy, just rough.

Other than that, just cosmetic gel coat crazing and filled holes from hardware changes over the years. I'll start this weekend getting her cleaned out and dry.
 

Attachments

#8 ·
Congratulations on your new Venture 21!

My dad sails on one Central Florida. Nice boat, and fun to sail.

Betcha CharlieCobra will give you a good deal on a spare one.

David
 
#9 ·
I have an original 1975 price list and Venture brochures that I tried to post for you but they are .pdf files and the forum will only let me post jpegs. If you want to contact me in a private message w/your email address I can send them to you.

In looking at 2 different V21 brochure pages it is apparent that the earlier ones were rigged differently than the later models. The earlier boats had a fractional rig with no spreaders. An optional forestay to the masthead allowed use of a larger genoa. I don't know if the inner forestay was then removed. I don't think it was meant to fly 2 headsails like a cutter. Later models were masthead rigged and used spreaders on the mast. Later models also incorporated a full hull liner while the earlier ones had carpet lining the hull.
 
#13 ·
Thanks for the tip Joe. I've looked at your posts many times, as I've undertaken a similar effort on my little ship. I won't be separating the deck and hull but I've gutted and rebuilt my entire interior. I did fine one number, but it looked kind of informal and I wasn't sure if it was a factory hull number or if someone was writing down a note while they built the boat.

The number I found is 647 in digits about an inch high and formed with dots (kind of like an old dot matrix printer does)... Is that the hull number? Does it mean anything or help date the vessel? Were they numbered sequentially from the beginning? I think mine is an early '70's vintage, but I may be way off.

Thanks again for the interest. I hope to be sailing before too long. But I still have a lot of work to do.

Flat.
 
#14 ·
Thanks for the tip Joe. I've looked at your posts many times, as I've undertaken a similar effort on my little ship. I won't be separating the deck and hull but I've gutted and rebuilt my entire interior. I did fine one number, but it looked kind of informal and I wasn't sure if it was a factory hull number or if someone was writing down a note while they built the boat.

The number I found is 647 in digits about an inch high and formed with dots (kind of like an old dot matrix printer does)... Is that the hull number? Does it mean anything or help date the vessel? Were they numbered sequentially from the beginning? I think mine is an early '70's vintage, but I may be way off.

Thanks again for the interest. I hope to be sailing before too long. But I still have a lot of work to do.

Flat.
Yes, That's your hull number. It was the 647th hull for a Venture 21. That would probably be within the first few years. I don't know how many of those they made but I remember a website a few years ago that gave the numbers. If I can find it again, I will let you know.
 
#15 ·
i have a '69 venture with spreaders but they are only 6' down from the masthead. i also have double headstays and remove the inner stay when flying the genoa. also my cabin has tabbed in plywood benches and forepeak. i can send you a pic or two of the hatch and top slider i made using brazilian cherry flooring. jhnblngr at yahoo dot com
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top