MacGregor 25 Buyer's Guide
The MacGregor 25 you find on the used market is a 1973-origin Roger MacGregor design that ran for 14 years with 7,000 built, so examples are not scarce in the United States. It is a trailerable cruising sloop drawn for two but able to sleep four, and its appeal to a second owner is the same as to the first: a complete small cruiser that launches from a trailer and self-rights if flipped. Shopping one means weighing original innovations against four decades of owner care.
Layouts on the Used Market
Every MacGregor 25 shares the same core plan: a forward V-berth master cabin, a long port settee running into the main salon, a dining table with bench seats opposite, and a small galley at the foot of the companionway to port. Quarter-berth storage sits beneath the cockpit, and an enclosed head compartment is standard. On deck the boat carries a spacious cockpit that seats six, a large foredeck, narrow lifeline-ringed side decks, and a bow pulpit. The pop-up cabin top gives standing headroom below without breaking the trailering envelope, and the retracting keel with pop-up rudder defines the shoal-draft layout — keel up draws 1 foot 10 inches, keel down 5 feet 8 inches.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Original equipment centers on tiller steering, led-aft sail-trimming lines, and an easy mast-stepping system; a genoa and spinnaker were offered for advanced sailing. Among owner upgrades, a short-handed setup is a frequent theme, letting a single sailor manage without crew. A bimini appears as a comfort addition for cockpit shade, and a chartplotter is sometimes fitted to replace paper navigation. Power and energy are where used boats diverge most: solar panels and an inverter are sometimes seen as owner upgrades, meaning a given boat may or may not have off-grid electricity for instruments and small loads.
What to Inspect
Two points deserve a look. The 625-pound retracting keel is cranked by a handle in the cabin, so confirm the crank, pivot, and trunk are free of impact damage from grounding — owners report the swing keel simply cranks up after a bump, but a bent trunk defeats that. The all-fiberglass hull and foam flotation are sound by design; verify the foam is intact and the self-righting behavior uncompromised by added ballast or tankage changes. Check the pop-up rudder pivot and the pop-up cabin top seals for wear from repeated trailering.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
The MacGregor 25 is a United States market boat, reflecting its Costa Mesa production and domestic trailer-sailing culture. For a buyer the checklist is short: confirm the keel crank and trunk, test the pop-up rudder and cabin top, verify the outboard (up to 10 hp) and trailer, and decide whether the sometimes-fitted solar, inverter, bimini, chartplotter, or short-handed setup matter to your sailing. A clean original with working innovations is the prize; added electronics are a bonus, not a substitute.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the MacGregor 25. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 9 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 25 | 1 | $2,000 | — |
| Apr 25 | 1 | $5,200 | +160.0% |
| Aug 25 | 2 | $1,998 | -61.6% |
| Sep 25 | 2 | $3,675 | +83.9% |
| Apr 26 | 1 | $1,750 | -52.4% |
| May 26 | 3 | $4,600 | +162.9% |
| Jun 26 | 3 | $4,750 | +3.3% |
| Jul 26 | 2 | $2,475 | -47.9% |
| Aug 26 | 2 | $4,000 | +61.6% |
Where they're listed
MacGregor 25 listings appear across 1 country. United States has the most listings with 14.
Country view
14 listings · 1 country| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $4,250 | 14 | 8 | 100.0% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
4 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catalina 22 | 23.83' | $ 6,500 | 83 | 30 |
| Dehlya 25 | 24.77' | $ 9,751 | 21 | 7 |
| MacGregor 25You are here | — | $ 4,000 | 15 | 9 |
| Beneteau First 25 | 24.61' | $ 8,776 | 10 | 2 |