Venture 21
{{Short description|Sailboat class}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox sailboat specifications
|name = Venture 21
|insignia =
V
|insignia size = 150px
|insignia alt =
|insignia caption =
|line drawing =
|line size =
|line alt =
|line caption =
|image boat =
|image size =
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|image caption =
|designer = Roger MacGregor
|architect =
|location = United States
|year = 1966
|no built =
|design =
|class =
|brand =
|builder = MacGregor Yacht Corporation
|boats =
|crew =
|trapeze =
|draft = {{convert|5.50|ft|m|abbr=on}} with keel down
|air draft =
|displacement = {{convert|1500|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}}
|hulls =
|hull type = monohull
|construction = fiberglass
|loa = {{convert|21.00|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|loh =
|lwl = {{convert|18.50|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|beam = {{convert|6.83|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|hull draft =
|hull weight =
|engine = outboard motor
|appendages =
|keel type = swing keel
|ballast = {{convert|400|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}}
|rudder type = transom-mounted rudder
|rigs =
|rig type = Cutter rig
|I = {{convert|24.08|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|J = {{convert|7.67|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|P = {{convert|21.83|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|E = {{convert|9.75|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|mast length =
|rig other =
|sails =
|sailplan = cutter rigged sloop
|sailarea main = {{convert|106.42|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}
|sailarea headsail = {{convert|92.35|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}
|sailarea spin =
|sailarea gen =
|sails other =
|sailarea upwind =
|sailarea downwind =
|sailarea total = {{convert|198.77|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}
|rating =
|d-pn =
|rya-pn =
|phrf = 252
|status =
|previous =
|successor = MacGregor 21
}}
The Venture 21 is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by Roger MacGregor as a racer-cruiser and first built in 1966.{{cite web|url= https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/venture-21|title= Venture 21 sailboat |access-date= 7 March 2022|last= McArthur| first= Bruce |work= sailboatdata.com|year= 2022|archive-url= https://archive.today/20220307184907/https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/venture-21|archive-date= 7 March 2022|url-status= live}}{{cite web|url= https://sailboatdata.com/designer/macgregor-roger|title= Roger MacGregor|access-date = 7 March 2022|last= McArthur| first = Bruce |work = sailboatdata.com|year = 2022|archive-url= https://archive.today/20210628143537/https://sailboatdata.com/designer/macgregor-roger|archive-date= 28 June 2021|url-status= live}}Henkel, Steve: The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats, page 145. International Marine/McGraw-Hill, 2010. {{ISBN|978-0-07-163652-0}}
Boat reviewer Darrell Nicholson noted, "capitalizing on the fiberglass revolution in boatbuilding, MacGregor’s business-school project sparked a pivotal marketing shift that helped bring recreational sailing to mainstream America".{{cite web|url= https://www.practical-sailor.com/sailboat-reviews/used_sailboats/venture-21-used-boat-review|title= Venture 21 Used-boat Review|access-date= 7 March 2022| last= Nicholson|first= Darrell|work= Practical Sailor|date= 25 March 2011|archive-url= https://archive.today/20220307191707/https://www.practical-sailor.com/sailboat-reviews/used_sailboats/venture-21-used-boat-review|archive-date= 7 March 2022|url-status= live}}
The design was developed into the MacGregor 21 in 1980.{{cite web|url= https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/macgregor-21|title= MacGregor 21|access-date = 7 March 2022|last= McArthur| first = Bruce |work = sailboatdata.com|year = 2022|archive-url= https://archive.today/20220307184930/https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/macgregor-21|archive-date= 7 March 2022|url-status= live}}
Production
The design was built by MacGregor Yacht Corporation in the United States, from 1966 to 1979, but it is now out of production. It was the first monohull boat produced by the company.{{cite web|url = https://sailboatdata.com/builder/macgregor-yacht-corp|title = MacGregor Yacht Corporation|access-date = 7 March 2022|last= McArthur| first = Bruce |work = sailboatdata.com|year = 2022|archive-url= https://archive.today/20210628143652/https://sailboatdata.com/builder/macgregor-yacht-corp|archive-date= 28 June 2021|url-status= live}}
Design
The boat was designed by MacGregor as part of his Stanford University Master of Business Administration degree program, with a prototype built in 1965 and then put into production.
The Venture 21 is a recreational keelboat, built predominantly of fiberglass, with wood trim. Early production boats had a plywood-cored deck, while later ones were balsa-cored. It has a cutter rig, a spooned raked stem, a slightly angled transom, a transom-hung rudder controlled by a tiller and a swing keel. It displaces {{convert|1500|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}} and carries {{convert|400|lb|kg|0|abbr=on}} of iron ballast.
The boat has a draft of {{convert|5.50|ft|m|abbr=on}} with the keel extended and {{convert|1.50|ft|m|abbr=on}} with it retracted, allowing operation in shallow water or ground transportation on a trailer.
The boat is normally fitted with a small {{convert|3|to|6|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}} outboard motor for docking and maneuvering.
The design has sleeping accommodation for four people, with a double "V"-berth in the bow cabin and two straight settee berths in the main cabin. Cabin headroom is {{convert|48|in|cm|0|abbr=on}}.
For sailing downwind the design may be equipped with a symmetrical spinnaker.
The design has a PHRF racing average handicap of 252 and a hull speed of {{convert|5.8|kn|km/h|abbr=on}}.
Operational history
In a 2010 review Steve Henkel wrote, "best features: Price (on the used market, of course, since this design is no longer made) is below her comp[etitor]s, reflecting an ultra-low price when she was new—and perhaps some perceptions of the level of construction quality. Worst features: Headroom is lowest of the group of comp[etitor]s. Motion Index is worst of the group (though all her comp[etitor]s are so low it doesn't make much difference). Her Space Index is also at the bottom of the list. Her cast iron keel, like that on her comp[etitor]s, is a maintenance chore, since it eventually begins to need frequent attention to keep rust at bay. Hardware is not as high quality as her comps."
In a 2011 used boat review in Practical Sailor, Darrell Nicholson wrote, "with two quarter berths and a V-berth, the Venture 21 technically could sleep four, but this sort of arrangement probably would be brief and acrimonious. Although you could pack a lot of gear under the cockpit, actual locker storage is limited. Some ambitious owners have added sinks, small galleys, 12-volt systems, and port-a-potties below, but the boat’s cramped headroom restricts its suitability for more than a few days of cruising. For the 20-something adventurer with aspirations of camp-cruising on one of America’s many inland lakes, it will do just fine, but more than a couple of days aboard a boat this size will be a sure test of any marriage."
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
{{MacGregor Yacht Corporation}}
{{Trailer sailers and Trailer yachts worldwide}}
Category:1960s sailboat type designs
Category:Sailboat type designs by Roger MacGregor
Category:Sailboat types built by the MacGregor Yacht Corporation