The end of the MacGregor Line

[Anonymous]

The end of the MacGregor Line
Delphinus, Thu Jan 17 2013, 08:03PM

Hello all,

Roger MacGregor has retired and the factory is shutting down as we speak. We will no longer see production of the MacGregor 26 in any class. His daughter and husband have committed to producing a similar boat from their Florida location, however, when that actually shows up is anyone’s guess. They are saying in the next few months. Blue Water Yachts is getting 2 of the last 26m boats and that’s it for them. No more. They will be an exclusive parts dealer for the Mac.

This is strange but true news, though it comes suddenly. Hopefully we will get more info as time passes on.

I learned of it from Blue Water directly, from whom I bought my 26M.

Re: The end of the MacGregor Line
Delphinus, Thu Jan 17 2013, 08:06PM

As an addendum, here is the announcement.

MacG regor Factory News!​January 7, 2013

For 45 years Roger and Mary Lou MacGregor have been producing their wonderful MacGregor Sailboats. What began in the 60’s in their garage with the Venture line of sailboats grew to a large factory in Costa Mesa producing thousands of boats. They have made thousands of customers very happy and have changed many lives. The Blue Water Yachts team has always been proud to be a part of the MacGregor family of sailors. It has been a pleasure to watch smiles grow as families change when they get into boating. We have watched our children and our customers children grow up with the love of boating. In 1988 Blue Water Yachts began selling MacGregor sailboats and we purchased our first personal boat, a 26 Classic. We have enjoyed many years on the water with many different MacGregor sailboats. Sailing certainly changed our life!

Now after 45 years, Roger and Mary Lou MacGregor have decided to retire. The factory in California will no longer be producing the MacGregor 26M. There are two boats available that will be delivered to Blue Water Yachts by March, if you would like one of these boats please contact us now.

The MacGregor Factory will be in transition for the next few months. The MacGregor’s daughter Laura Sharp along with her husband Paul will soon be in production of a very similar boat. They plan to offer a 26’ water ballast boat that will look very similar to the 26M. Blue Water Yachts will be a dealer for these new boats in the Northwest. Laura and Paul Sharp have located to a boat-building factory in Florida. There will be a price increase, however at this time we do not yet know what the price will be, what changes if any will be made, or what additional options they will be offering. We also do not know when production will begin. They also have plans to produce a 22’ water ballast powersailor in the near future. We are very excited to be working with Laura and Paul!

Roger MacGregor plans to stay busy with a very limited production of the new MacGregor 70. This is a very fast cruising boat, with an estimated PHRF rating of –75! Epoxy and vacuum bag construction, water ballast, foam floatation, carbon masts (it’s a Ketch rig), and very cool! Blue Water Yachts will be representing this boat in the Northwest as well, if you are interested please contact us. This boat is not in production at this time, but is developing nicely.

Blue Water Yachts and the MacGregor factory will continue to support our customers and honor the 2-year warranty on boats sold until all warranties expire. Blue Water Yachts will continue to provide MacGregor parts for all years of boats. We will soon be producing our own rudders, centerboards and daggerboards using the original factory molds. Do not be concerned about the current or future support for your MacGregor!

We will also be trying to reach our customers by phone but if you have any questions about this transition please feel free to give us a call.

We are asking all our customers who have had their lives changed for the better by sailing a MacGregor boat to send Roger and Mary Lou a Thank-You card. Or, if you would like to stop by to sign our big group card please do, and bring a picture of you on your boat! Or, send me a note and a picture in an email, I will include your story with our card. We really think the MacGregors would love this! We wish Roger and Mary Lou all the best in their plans to travel and enjoy retirement.

​Sincerely, Cheryl and Todd McChesney and the Blue Water Yachts Team

Blue Water Yachts
2400 Westlake Ave N #L-1
Seattle, WA 98109
206 282-4261 line 1
​

Re: The end of the MacGregor Line
Gemini, Sat Jan 19 2013, 03:18PM

Thanks Delphinus for posting this information. It sure is a shock but when I checked out some of the discussions I guess it was almost inevitable given the restrictive production numbers they have had to deal with when so many people throughout the world want a Macgregor. As the largest Macgregor only club on the west coast we will continue to enjoy our boats and the “Macgregor Lifestyle”
Full Sails and Calm Seas

Re: The end of the MacGregor Line
Cassiopeia, Thu Jan 24 2013, 06:10PM

Letter from Laura Sharp (Daughter of Roger MacGregor):
——– ——————– ——————– —————-
Posted originally at

Re: MacG to cease product’n in CA. New boat to be made in FL
by LMSharp » Tue Jan 22, 2013 9:13 am

I hope there isn’t a length limit to posts

I have read with great interest the forum posts regarding the news that my parents are retiring from production of the MacGregor 26. They leave a huge legacy of tens of thousands of boats, and of making sailing accessible to a huge number of people.

As noted Paul and I are starting a new boatbuilding company in Florida. This has been in the works for some time and we have already built tooling for a 22’ power sailer.

This was rather a lucky decision, as Roger and Mary Lou’s retirement leaves a void in the trailer sailer market that we now hope to fill. We will be selling boats through many of our existing overseas dealers, as well as the major dealers in the US.

We have long appreciated the niche market of affordable trailer sailers. We intend to keep making boating affordable.

I have worked in and around boats since I was 13, when I did gel repair at the MacGregor factory. I built all the tooling for the MacGregor 65. Paul and I have been building boats together for 26 years, from International 14 racing skiffs to a 70’ cruising boat. We ran the MacGregor 65 factory, where we built and sold almost a hundred MacGregor 65s.

We have been the overseas distributors for MacGregor sailboats since 1990, and have exported thousands of MacGregor sailboats. We owned the UK dealership for almost 20 years, which was one of the highest volume MacGregor dealerships in the world.

On a personal note, we have three adult children of whom we are extremely proud. They have all worked since they were teens. The oldest owns his own, very successful, company. The middle one has left her career in commercial aircraft leasing to help us get the company up and running. The youngest is working towards her engineering degree. No Ferraris or tattoos in the bunch.

Speaking of tattoos… Tattoo Yachts is a nod to our British and Scottish heritage. The word ‘tattoo’ comes from the closing-time cry in the inns in the Low Countries during the 17th and 18th centuries – ‘Doe den tap toe’ (‘Turn off the taps’). It evolved into a tradition of evening music (like Taps in the US). Our logo reflects the drums of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, a world famous event with stirring pipe and drum music. If you have 6 minutes to spare there is an excellent clip at :

Paul and I are very pleased that you are happy with your boats. We agree that their value could increase as a result of the upcoming changes. It certainly happened with the MacGregor 36 and the MacGregor 65!

I am sure you can appreciate the scope of introducing two new boats in a new location. We will be updating our website as we finalize designs and specifications. If you are interested, follow us on and . There isn’t much posted yet but there will be soon.

In the mean time, enjoy your boats, and we wish you all smooth sailing.

Laura MacGregor SharpLMSharp

Re: The end of the MacGregor Line
Cassiopeia, Fri Jan 25 2013, 06:39AM

Since web page addresses are stripped out of the text in the forums, the above letter was originally posted on the MacGregorsailors forum. It also had a link to the new Tatoo Yachts website (although it is only a basic front page so far).

Re: The end of the MacGregor Line
Cenoté, Tue Mar 05 2013, 06:52PM

It will be interesting to follow the development of this new line. Tattoo has pictures on their site www dot tattooyachts dot com
26′ model is said to be available May 2013. 22′ in the fall

[Darry & Leisa Major]

Tattoo announces: No more 26 foot boats to be built and no 22 footers to be built until they find a new location.

Re: Tattoo 26 Production Suspended, factory relocating
Postby LMSharp » Thu Jul 16, 2015 10:53 am

I know there is a lot of curiosity about our plans for Tattoo Yachts.

As many of you know, we continued the family legacy of building trailerable boats, once Mary Lou and Roger MacGregor retired from production boat building.

Because California is no longer a viable place to build boats we looked farther afield. As the perfect location was hard to find we settled temporarily in Stuart, Florida in a building we planned to move on from in a year or so. Our short-term goal was to keep our dealers stocked with boats. Over two years later we had still not found an appropriate site, and at that point the molds for the Tattoo 26 were nearing the end of their useful life.

We faced two decisions- should we carry on in a building that was not adequate for our needs, and should we build a new set of molds or stop production of the Tattoo 26.

We decided not to build a new set of molds, as the current 26 has been in production for quite a long time now and every model eventually runs its course. We haven’t made a big announcement about it as that seems unfair to loyal dealers who have boats in stock.

We also made the decision not to carry on in the interim building. Starting a new production line from scratch, as we did with the Tattoo 26 in Florida, is an enormous undertaking, and it didn’t make sense to do it twice if we planned on moving soon.

As someone said a while back on the forum the process of relocating and setting up production is complicated, and may take a while. We don’t want to have to move twice.

And nope, we are not trying to build boats in a UPS store- the Palm Beach Gardens address is for mail only during the transition. Once we are back up and running we’ll use our physical address again and welcome visitors.

So here we are! Still actively looking for the right building to start the Tattoo 22, still supporting our current and prospective owners and dealers, but out of production for the near future.

Enjoy your boats!
Laura Sharpe (Roger MacGregor’s daughter)

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