On January 20, 2000, the MacGregor 25 was
one of two boats inducted into the Sail America Hall of Fame
The award was presented at the Atlantic City Sail Expo
Roger MacGregor with the MacGregor 25 model that will be displayed at the American
Sailboat Hall of Fame Museum in Newport, Rhode Island
Two boats each year are inducted into the Hall of Fame. The standard by which they are
selected is as follows:
A boat that has earned lasting
recognition by fostering new enjoyment and growth in the sport of sailing through
excellent design
Guided by this standard, Sail America has selected 18 boats for induction into the
American Sailboat Hall of Fame since its founding in 1994. These Hall of Fame boats are
true American classics, exemplars of the extraordinary skill and ingenuity of American
boat builders. They range in size from 8 to 41 feet. Several date to the dawn of the
fiberglass era and are considered collector’s items, others are still in production,
selling briskly. All have profoundly influenced the sport of sailing. By their sheer
excellence, they have made sailing better.
Selections for the Hall of Fame were made by a committee of magazine editors comprised of
Bill Schanen, Sailing Magazine chairman; John Burnham, Sailing World Magazine and Patience
Wales, Sail Magazine. Half-models of Hall of Fame boats are displayed each year at Sail
Expo, and are on permanent display at the Museum of Yachting in Newport, Rhode Island.
The MacGregor 25
Henry Ford is often credited with bringing the automobile to the common man. Roger
MacGregor, a one-time Ford employee, may well be credited with doing the same thing for
the cruising sailboat. The popular MacGregor 25 was the flagship of his line for 14 years.
With a swinging keel - a MacGregor invention - that made transporting and launching the
boat a snap, and a price that hovered around the cost of a new car, the MacGregor 25
opened up coastal and inland sailing to countless thousands of people who might have
otherwise remained ashore.
MacGregor started the company while earning his MBA at Stanford Business School. He and
his wife, MaryLou, later ran the company out of their garage while Roger was working for
Ford. Soon, though, the business outgrew the garage, and MacGregor quit his job, bought
some property in Costa Mesa, and started building a plant that now encompasses 65,000
square feet. While the company now has over 100 employees, and sells its boats in 15
countries, the business is still family run. It’s one of the U.S.’s most
successful boatbuilding outfits.
The 25 wasn’t the first boat MacGregor build-that honor belongs to the Venture 21.
But it’s the one that seemed to do the best job serving the growing pocket cruiser
market. It had enough space to house a couple or small family for a weekend, yet could
easily be towed behind most cars.
Before the 25 debuted, many boat designers didn’t think it was feasible to squeeze a
serviceable cruising interior into a boat of that size. While its functional lines,
lightweight design and minimal use of wood both above and below decks may not have won the
approval of some sailing purists when it debuted in 1973, the flexible, go-anywhere boat
proved to be extremely successful. It was easy to rig-one person could step the mast-and
sail and was especially popular with first-time sailboat owners.
When the 25’s production run ended in 1987, 7,000 had been sold.
-Stuart Streuli, Sailing World
Note: The other boat inducted into the Hall
of Fame was the Freedom 40.
 We ship
everywhere in North America. For International Shipments,
please call Sharp Industries at (949) 642-9491.
MacGregor Sailboats
Mike Inmon
949-642-6830
1631 Placentia Ave.
Costa Mesa, California 92627
949-642-6830
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