This is the first time Davaris2112 has posted — let’s welcome them to our community!
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McGregor Venture 17
In 1980, I bought my 1974 Venture 17 in Houston keeping her at Port Arthur..sailing frequently across Sabine Lake to the Louisiana coast. Made for a great daysail.
She came with me to Corpus Christi in a move in 1985. We sailed the Corpus Christi Bay almost daily. Keeping her in the T-head at Corpus. She handled well in the 2-3 ft choppy swells much better than the larger waves of the Sabine lake.
Mainsail, Jib. With basic nautical lines, her handling was easy and second nature. Manual loaded mast. It took a bit of an effort to hoist her on dark mornings..but easy enough to learn how to make it a one man job.
450 lb. Swing keel crank with 4’6″ max draft and 1’6″ min draft..this made it so fun to sail the shallows in the Laguna Madre and the skirts of the intercoastal waterway (canal) in Corpus Christi Laguna Madre at Padre Island.. this was a short distance from the Naval Air Station at Corpus Christi Bay.
She had a smooth sliding hatch that revealed a cabin which would sleep two easily. Her fiberglass Hull with a internal foam ballast made her easy to right if capsized..I was fortunate to never lose her this way.
Like to hear anyone else with the McGregor Adventure line.
Thank you
Davaris2112 in San Antonio, Texas now
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It’s awesome to see a fellow Venture 17 owner!
I purchased mine around a year and a half ago from a gentleman from Lake Havasu, AZ. I’m currently in central CA, and planning on sailing mine on Lake Isabella and possibly San Diego Bay. I’ve additionally been researching sailing her to Catalina Island from Long Beach.
I was rather surprised by her decent build quality, being aware of the stigma surrounding the brand. Simple, decently balanced, and she seemed able to handle the winds of Lake Havasu fairly well when the previous owner and I took her on a test sail. Despite some deteriorated rubber gasket leaks, which have since been replaced, she handled it well.
Since my purchase, I’ve since had West Marine replace the standing rigging with cable around double the diameter of the original. She’s still running the original sails, which I plan to use for the time being. The trailer is a little worse for wear, but manageable. Unfortunately she’s long been missing the hatch, according to the previous owner, so I’ll have to construct a new one eventually.
Do you have any advice or knowledge worth sharing from the years owning yours? I’ve been hard pressed to find much information on the Venture 17 other than the data from this website, and even less from owners of them.
Thanks!
I purchased a Venture 17 (my first boat) from a guy who piece’s together old boats and resales them. The boat appeared sailable, but I had not done my research on trailers. I spent 2 years restoring and registering the the trailer, relacing nearly everything, but the frame and fighting with the DMV to get a replacement VIN. Only work I did on the boat was to replace a broken cheek block (main halyard) and buy a battery for the electric trolling motor that came with the boat.
Finally got her in the water last summer and to my relief, she floats. Sailed her 6 times to get the feel for her and I’m ready to put in some more work. I’ve had a hard time finding information and I’m hoping someone can help me with some questions.
1. The hull is in good shape, but the running mast, boom, and running rigging has obviously been improvised back together or stripped (maybe for racing). The there is a jib halyard, main halyard, down hall cleat and jib and main sheet. That’s it. The main sail is held out by an eyebolt held in pace in boom groove by a few nuts and washers. Can anyone share pictures, a drawing or description of original rigging?
2. There is a slow leak in the hull that manifests as about 2 inches of water in the cabin after a day of sailing. I plan to repaint the bottom and I’m hoping that will resolve it, but I’m wondering if there are any common issues with leaking in the keel box, or the shaft that houses the keel cable, or any other joint.
3. Can I just use a 2 part primer on the bottom, as the boat stays on the trailer 90% of the time?
4. My ultimate goal is to sail to Catalina Island for an overnight, but I’ve only sailed it on an inland lake so far. How should I expect her to handle the harbor, and costal waters. Is it feasible to sail her to an island 23 miles off the coast?
5. What kind of wind should I look for when I plan the first harbor launch? How much wind is too much for a comfortable sail? How much is too much for a safe sail?
6. Any other info or tips would be greatly appreciated. I learned to sail on a 14 foot Catalina Capri decades ago in collage so I’m still pretty green and my applicable boat repair experience is fiberglass surfboard patching and basic home improvement.
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