Problems With Fiberglass and Ballast Tank | MacGregor 26x Stripped Down Walkthrough | Trailer Sailer 

Guys you obviously don't like the MacGregor workmanship. Instead of bashing the company with every second breath just sell the boat and buy one you actually like. I can assure than I have had thousands of very enjoyable hours on my MacGregor and true they are not perfect, but they sure are a lot of fun.

Macgregor was proud of its hand laid fiberglass and used the same labor as others in Costa Mesa California. This is where many famous ocean sail boats were produced. The company even warned boat purchasers of competitors that painted the bilge because that is how you hide poor quality. The light showing through is called birth marks. In the X model Macgregor reinforced the stress spots rather than the entire boat with up to 17 layers of matting. The video doesn’t do well showing this. This was the advanced form for fiberglass building at the time, after it was recognized that fiberglass is stronger pound for pound than aluminum. That is why fiberglass is preferable to aluminum in bass boats (and much more expensive.) I tend to compare the x model to bass boats because you can visualize a bass boat hull with thin sides added to make the boat an ocean cruiser. Clearly the X model is run like a bass boat with 50 and 90 hp outboards. The leaky ballast tank is a puzzle as you would think more x boats would have that problem. However two items are noteworthy. Macgregor changed the ballast system by 1999, and recommended that owners not allow water in the tank to freeze. So if you take the latter, did the owner let water freeze in the tank. My final comment is that Macgregor built the X model to be compared with a power boat retailing at 40,000 new. So by all means restore her. If you put 10,000 to replace the solid flotation with bilge pumps (which would be needed without the floatation) and added refrigeration and air conditioning then mounted a 90 hp outboard, you would really have something! But then you already do. I would consider restoration to factory specs and new sails.

If the leaks are not real bad you can seal up all openings on the ballast tank and tape up a shop vac to the drain. Get some epoxy paint or even better a low viscosity epoxy resin and paint it on where the leaks are. The vacuum will draw the resin into the leak and cure sealing it. That way you don't have to try to find where the leak is coming from. Just leave the vacuum on it long enough for it to start curing.

Remove that Positive Foam Floatation, you "Might" have an Issue when she goes to the Bottom, and the Insurance Company Investigation reveals it was removed.....something to consider, if you were to require a Claim in the Future! Frank Mighetto, may just be the Most Prolific Mac Aficionado......I'd come in a Close Second! Just Kidding Frank! I lived close to that Mac Factory in Costa Mesa and met with Roger MacGregor, several times, and was an Officer with the San Diego Venture (MAC) Yacht Club , and Owned 3 of his Craft since the 1980's. I have owned my 2001 Mac 26X, since New, and would Not Own any other Brand So far, what "deficiencies" you have found will be offset quickly when you use this craft! She sails differently than Most Sailboats, and Powers differently than most Powered Craft, as well! It's a learning curve, but if you really end up hating it, many are ready to take her off your hands, too! LOL

Great video. I have the same boat, so will be watching intently for your future videos. My boat came with pool noodles in that narrow rear berth compartment. It provides support for that flimsy deck and some flotation. I replaced all those wood covers and head door with white PVC sheet. More project underway.

I unfortunately bought one, all I do is fix dodgy workmanship... Quality was NOT high on their priority list.....

Thanks bro.wondwerful introduction video...for whom wants to buy Mac Gregor

Build aluminum tanks

Thank you so much for posting this detailed video of all the nooks and crannies! I just got a M26X and it has three years of mice turds in it! Sat in a quonset on a farm. I am just in the process of deep cleaning it. Took everything out, hosed it down, now I have an enzyme working to eliminate the stench. This video is very helpful!

Never heard of the ballast compartment leaking on one before (except at the valve at the back). I know you looked over every inch of the hull so unlikely any cracks or major damage,, but it just seems weird. The ballast compartment on Ms is probably the most solid part of the boat. I've also not heard of anyone having issues with air pockets in the gelcoat, and the beating my hull has copped during the last 10 years, I'm pretty confident I don't have them! I remember hearing of a few who didn't put a barrier coat on before antifouling, getting some osmosis blisters which is to be expected, but that boat looks like it hardly saw the water...

This video is awesome. I like their boat concept but not their execution.

Thanks again! That was the most thorough tour of the belowdeck nooks and crannies of a MacGregor 26X I've seen. Count me subscribed, and carry on, gentleman. I'll be following with great interest!

Great job creating a video record of the bones of the boat. When I bought my 26X, I did the same thing, removed everything, then fixed some issues related the ballast tank. But I neglected to make a video at that time, so well done! I'm not sure MacGregor deserves all the criticism you've rained onto them, but I understand how frustration can build when problems pile onto problems and you begin to lose faith in the boat itself. Fix the issue with the ballast, and you'll have a fine boat. People have made some impressive voyages in these boats. Oh, and do NOT mount a battery over the aft berth as you seemed to suggest. You want them low and central; this is a tender boat.

Frigate Chasers: During your exploratory video you all made some comments in the spirit of the moment that some readers criticized. But your attitude toward the criticism was commendable. "Turn the other cheek" - works every time. Classy attitude! And you will grow to love the Mac 26X. signed, Opie, a satisfied 1999 X owner for over a decade. (and, ps. From inside the bilge on a sunny day I can see anyone's shadow that is walking by the boat outside. Not a problem or worry for me and others. I'm 5 miles offshore in Atlantic often and pound while returning to the jetty often, and the heavy glassed full ballast tank can take it assuredly.)

Kinda funny that these two find a few fiberglass and gelcoat issues on an old boat and can't stop complaining but at the same time they remove all the safety foam that makes this almost unsinkable and think they are jeniuses (and I don't throw the 'j' word around lightly).

Yes the ballast tank is the first thing we're going to check once we get ours home. Have you thought about pouring some epoxy in there and moving the boat this way and that? Might be the only way to patch that. It would probably take a couple of gallons easy, but might be worth a shot...

A prism would work from the light source

I know you mean well but your sarcastic tone alienates thousands of satisfied MacGregor sailors and makes you look stupid because you bought a boat which you obviously despise even after you did a thorough pre purchase inspection which you documented on RU-vid..

I have a 2000 model X , if you havent done so yet replace the valterra (rv) valve with a new one as the rubber seals dry out and will let water in. I havent noticed any ballast leaks on mine but the fiberglass is rough inside the hatches just like yours... I think these things are like a boat kit... you've got to make it what you want

Don't recall the year when these came out but I called the manufacture and spoke to one of the engineers. I asked if the 26X was capable for a voyage to Hawaii and he said no! It told me "it depends on conditions and you're skill level but it's not really an offshore or bad weather boat". Further, I was told it wasn't really built to travel cross country roads a lot (when my other plan was to use it as a camper and travel the country lake to lake and larger river systems, like the Great Loop. Another comment was it could do the Great Loop, just stay closer to shore in the Gulf with weather permitting. Over the years, I have been on a 26X in the lake and it was fun. Like most motor sailors it doesn't do either well, but is a fun boat. Lately, I began thinking of buying one (again). Thank you for your video, I won't be buying one.

Glad I watched this video, I was seriously considering a MacGregor, not now!

What about a 2 part epoxy spray on the inside of the ballast tank like a rubber membrane not the most ideal solution. Heading out this weekend to look at a Mac

put a vacuum on the ballast tank and pour resin on the pinhole.

Sadly, that glass work is fantastic compared to some production boats I've seen from the 1970's and 80's.

Hey Frigates! Thanks for watching! If you have seen similar problems w your MacGregor or have ideas on how to fix let us know in the comments! Hitting the thumbs up helps a ton!

Love my Mac i even got a second one for my cabin

What year is your Mac and how much did you pay. I am fascinated with this boat and am doing due diligence before buying mine. Thanks, Paul

5:24 - you appear to have a problem with the company. NIce sketch (seriously) of the ballast tank. Nice video of the bottom area. 7:16. Not having the safety foam is not very smart. It's there for a reason and for insurance purposes. 7:38 - You're repeatedly expressed attitude is pretty unprofessional.

Decent video followed by a very informative comments section.

MacGregor made four or five of these every day. It was efficient so you got a good boat for real cheap. The mold side of the glass is real nice and the unfinished side doesn't show. That was the deal. Be happy about the translucent black gelcoat. They sprayed black in the mold first on your boat then taped off and sprayed white. They did my boat the other way around and the sails have worn through the white deck and you see the black through it now. Your boat also has the ballast air vent by the companionway stairs, while mine has it under the vee berth, so your boat is newer and more convenient to convert from sailboat to speedboat than mine is. All those fiberglass issues are fine. You are not going to leak a significant amount of water from the ballast tanks in a day-sail. About the flotation foam, you might need it if you plan to keep the boat in the water for a long time unattended. Otherwise your plan is pretty good. If you get a leak, most likely you hit something and punctured the underside of the ballast tank which is welcome to flood because the flooding stops there, and the boat can sail or motor slowly with full ballast. If you leak in one of the parts of the bottom not occupied by ballast tanks, the empty ballast tank will keep the boat afloat. If this happens while sailing with full ballast, run the boat on plane with the engine and open the ballast drain valve.

Yeah I think you really need to buy another boat that's perfect. What was that brand again, that makes the perfect boats? Made from unobtanium and carbon fiber, held together with a snotty attitude, can't remember the name now?

Don’t store stuff below decks. To many opportunities to open up a leak in through hull hoses. Safety foam delete is a dumb idea. People who do things like that eventually become victims.

I love your thorough inspection of every nook and cranny of the boat. I feel I have a much better understanding of how these boats are constructed now. I am sure you are aware ( 12:00 ) that MacGregor applied the inside of the molds with gelcoat then fibreglassed over that. It sped up the process- When they pulled it out, the boat is already finished. I think what happened with your boat is that the boot stripe didn't adhere properly to the fibreglass (edit: maybe it was a different thickness?). It is cured just fine to the other Gel Goat. But, that scratch will let water in behind it and you will see the entire boot stripe pop off at some point. Just a guess.

Thank you, I give up to buy MacGregor. They put very cool technology but build up very cheap. İf I were you first I change toilet put a grey tank and marine pump Wc.

Locate bilge pumps after putting her in the water. Load her up with everything then add a couple of gallons in various bilge locations. Try to locate bilge pumps permanently where the water puddles up.

Great video. I do have a MAC 26M and it is cheaply built, but I don't seem to have any of the leaking issues in the ballast and craftsmanship seems better on mine than yours. I'm sure they improved the manufacturing process as they built them.

Well it seems like MacGregors are like marmite, you love it or hate it. There are as many MacGregor critics as there are fans; I think I would still buy one though....

You two are geniuses.... I mean there are only 20K of these boats in the world. So glad you two are here to help us all. I mean, yours is the second documented ballast tank I know of to have a failure. Go buy a lottery ticket. And if you are so disappointed, start a boat company that sells boats for 20K, and sell more of them than anyone has. Your criticisms are typical for those with typical boating knowledge. I'd say you should sell it. Cut your losses. And go away.

Tíralo y compra otro que no sea Macgregor.

How much did you pay ? Iam looking

That transom drain is the patented MacGregor hull watering system. Boats in northern latitudes risk that thing freezing, breaking then leaking over the winter and filling the hull with water. Fun!

Any sketches suitable for framing? Love my '88 D

Harvestores in the background make me giggle..... farm boys!

one of the best tutorial video ı had ever watched.thank you guys...

I love the MacGregor 26X but two I went to visit, we could see the sun between lair of fiberglass.. I wasn't too impressed then. But the idea of having a Sailboat/Yatch is extremly interesting.. I would had purchased one if the two I visited were ok After the two X I visit a brand new MacGregor 26M but seems little weak again for fiberglass..I am not a pro as you guys.. It's a cheap boat too, don't expect the quality of a boat of 100,000$ for $12,000 Thx for the video!

I am 6 feet tall, and every sailing season, the X bangs my head until I get back in the habit of bending over when walking. Then after several days, my back starts to hurt. This year my back only ached a little.

Thanks for the video. I'm looking at buying one and now know a few more things to check. One of my biggest concerns was access to areas under the deck. From this video, it seems most areas are accessible.

Great video!!! Great content 👍New Friend Here 😉🤙

Its a boat not an F35. The glass looks fine.

Moeller marine 12Gallon low profile 630013LP. I installed 2 of them. They are about an inch longer then the access hole. I increased the opening with a router. I also cut a 6inch round access panels in the seats to easily fill the tanks. At 2200RPM I am doing 8MPH at 7.62MPG. This is tested on a lake, so not considering current. 24 Gallons take me about 180Miles, and I always have two extra 5 gallons cans for safety measure.

thanks for the video - keep up the good work. convinced me to buy a catalina 22. better boat and less money.... great workmanship.

Hi guys just found this i first see one of these at the southamton boat show in the uk i can honestly say i wasnt very impresed i personaly think this a great honest video of these boats they were built very cheaply the valve on the transom to let the water out the ballist is the same as i use on my pond fish filter what the hell lol

You are nothing but a bunch of haters.

How about a front hatch drop in a/c unit ?

Hello, thank you for the video. I do have the same boat and few days ago meanwhile we were sailing I just lost the centreboard.... I dont know what happened. The centreboard was still connected to the boat with the centreboard line. So I could at least save it. Now I do have to change the centreboard pivot pin I guess. Can you give please some tips how to do it? Thank you very very much

Really good stuff. Thanks for putting this up.

Nice video of all the below deck places. Very useful for those needing to see what's in there. Glad you got the ballast leak fixed and had the forethought to actually test it. That is EXTREMELY rare and as you surmised, probably a result of water freezing. Again, EXTREMELY rare and the ballast design is well tested with thousands of boats that don't leak. The ballast works much better, especially for a sailboat, than ballast bags wakeboard boats us. The fiberglass stuffs you observed is typical of most fiberglass boats. It's weird to see through a boat, but it is glass. Frankly, I've never put much faith in "safety foam" to keep my boat afloat. In fact, I've never heard of a single MacGregor (out of 25,000) that got a hole and needed it. But hey, it was only scraps of styrofoam. Easy to replace.

So MacGregor sucks because you got a bad example? Think again. If all Macs were this bad, they'd gone bankrupt. You got an early production 26X, which had it's flaws. Of which the rough glasswork on the inside isn't one by the way. You just can't expect smooth inner glasswork for a boat that was sold way under 15,000 USD back in the day. I have a '99 26X, which is a revision of the model with upgraded hardware and a different ballast tank design. Mine has neither the air bubbles nor the issue with the black gelcoat shining through. In the high area above the rear berth I mounted a Chinese Diesel heater on the starboard side and some fishing gear on the port side. Under the front berth area I fitted a water tank. Oh, and since you're starting from scratch anyway: why install more batteries in different places? A modest SLA starter battery and a LiFePO4 household battery will supply all the power you need.

Thank you

Thank You!!! 💪💪💪

I had a MacGregor 2001 26X. Mine looked 100 better than the one being shown in your vid. If you decide to leave out those safety foams, you’ll void the warranty of your boat. Have you check the Hull Number to make sure it’s not a Chinese Knock Off? The best group on MacGregor’s in The Venture Yacht Club out of San Diego, California. Blue Water Yachts out of Seattle, Washington is the best place to find up grades and old parts, should you need them. A couple of the best builders of the MacGregor Yachts now work for Tattoos Yachts out of Stuart, Florida. The MacGregor family moved over there. Well, actually it’s MacGregor’s Daughter who picked up the reigns. There’s another small used parts place in L.A., California that sells mostly used parts, but I can’t remember the name. You seemed to be missing a great deal of parts, FYI.

Can’t wait to see the finished product!

Well this will piss off every mcgregor owner bahaahahaa

Good to know

Your doing great guys!! - great insight - Are you going to reinforce the transom for a bigger engine (and what size) - I'm in the market, but having a problem choosing between the X or the M C YA

That boat was built at noon on Friday.

SO WELL DONE GUYS !!!!

Hi, where’s part 2?

Upvote for artworks