Sudden Attraction to Hunters

[riversandbar]

Guess I hear sooo much about Hunters (Catalina's, Bene's and others) about the fact that they are not Water boats">blue water boats, yes, I know this is an old argument, however, the gulf can be a bit tricky from my understanding.

And yes, I am new, not only to sailing but to the forum as well... I have had a number of boat, just never a sailboat.

Me and the SO are on a 2 year plan, to learn to sail, purchase a boat and sail the islands for a year or more. Taking off from Houston and running to the Dry Tortugas.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by riversandbar

Guess I hear sooo much about Hunters (Catalina's, Bene's and others) about the fact that they are not blue water boats, yes, I know this is an old argument, however, the gulf can be a bit tricky from my understanding.

There's no FACT to this! Lots of Hunter's are blue water boats by design, even though the old school sailors may never accept this!

If you know your ability and your boat, then you know where you can take it. But in the end as for most boats, the boat it will go places way beyound most sailors ability and courage.

[riversandbar]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

There's no FACT to this! Lots of Hunter's are blue water boats by design, even though the old school sailors may never accept this!

If you know your ability and your boat, then you know where you can take it. But in the end as for most boats, the boat it will go places way beyound most sailors ability and courage.

Thanks.... Just hope my stupidity doesn't over rule my ability and courage.

Time to get on the water and get some water under my feet.

[sailorboy1]

There's no cure for stupid! Lets hope most sailor's courage gives out before the stupid level takes over!

[nautical62]

Just finished my second 2-month cruise in the Bahamas on my Hunter 30. I have a hard time finding fault with a $25K boat that allows me to do that.

[scook1]

Good point Nautical,
It is encouraging to hear that it can be done without hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Spencer

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by nautical62

Just finished my second 2-month cruise in the Bahamas on my Hunter 30. I have a hard time finding fault with a $25K boat that allows me to do that.

Time to update your stuff.

Or do you have two boats?

[nautical62]

Originally Posted by Therapy

Time to update your stuff.

Or do you have two boats?

Both are true. I have two boats, but need to update. My Beneteau is finishing it's charter contract, so I'm putting it on the market. I bought my Hunter 30 about a year and a half ago and plan to hang onto it.

[capn_billl]

One problem I've heard of from A guy that owned a Hunter (mid 30's I think), was the chainplates were afixed to the deck instead of the Hull. Is that fixable if it was a concern? Longer bolts, or weld an extension??

[S/V Illusion]

Usually similar stories begin with "I overheard somebody say they heard someone he didn't know repeat a story he thinks he once heard...".
There are many boat designs including Pearson, Oday, Catalina and Hunter to name a few which have chainplates fixed through the deck on some models and years. In and of itself, that isn't a bad thing if the deck support is designed to accommodate that stress. Of course there are exceptions - One of my not-so-bright dock neighbors actually tried driving under a 30 ft bridge with a 49 ft mast and ripped the deck off his Beneteau.

There is a Hunter web site on which there are probably 1000 owner reviews, most of which are completely objective evidenced by the inclusion of some criticisms along with the praise. None mention anything about anything more insidious than leaking chain plates.

I'm wondering if the guy you heard this story from is one of the internet experts so abundant here.

[wahoo40]

Actually we're pretty excited about leaving our homeport of New Orleans aboard our Hunter Passage 42 for an extended cruise along Western Florida, through the Keys then over for a month or so in the Bahamas. We've had Hunters for years, this is our second. The other was a mid 80s Hunter Legend 40 and we cruised it a lot along the Gulf Coast. I can't imagine a better boat for the money. This will be our 2nd trip to the Bahamas in the Passage 42 but by far our longest cruise. Never could understand the Hunter bashing on this forum.

[capn_billl]

Actually he is an experienced delivery captain that is well repected around here. I was going to buy a Hunter myself, (still may), but I can see that as a concern. He also pointed out the hull flexing that occurs in the larger HUnters, but stated that would not be a concern in the model I was looking at. If a boat only has one flaw and that flaw is addressable, (by reinforcement, modification, etc...), then that is a viable purchase. Every boat has design flaws, compromises, you just have to be aware of them, and prepaired to fix them.

I'm reminded of an old engineering story of a man who set out to design and build the "perfect" carriage. He spent years studying every flaw, and point of failure of every carriage ever made, and added reinforcement at every part that had failed on any carriage ever made. After several decades of work he finally finished his carriage. It didn't look very attractive, (soft seat cusions tend to wear out), and it had some what of a bumpy ride, (so do springs and shocks). Also it cost more to make than any other carriage, but he was satisfied that he had done the impossible, He had built the "perfect" carriage. For years his carriage worked well, and he smugly rode by others in the ditch with a broken wheel or spring. And people were beggining to think maybe he had accomplished something. Then one day it happened...He was riding along when he heard a loud noise. Stepping out to investigate he watched in horror as EVERY part on his carriage failed at exactly the same time! Both wheels crumbled and fell off, the axle busted into pieces, the roof collapsed, and the seats fell apart, bangs and crashes continued until he was looking a a small heap of rubble.

I guess the moral of the story is I would rather the chainplate pull out than have the entire deck ripped off. Thanks.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by capn_billl

He also pointed out the hull flexing that occurs in the larger HUnters, but stated that would not be a concern in the model I was looking at.

Hull flexing? Hunters? I second S/V Illusion's question regarding the reliability of your source. I'm not saying that Hunter manufactures the perfect yacht, but oilcanning has never been a complaint among owners to the best of my knowledge.

I lived aboard an h410 for eight years and sailed it more than 10,000 nm without the hull ever flexing. Since then I've moved up to an h46le, which I've been sailing actively for almost five years. Again, absolutely zero oilcanning.

[jackdale]

I have sailed a Hunter - one; a 45CC. The trip was around the top of Vancouver Island, Comox to Ucluelet.

Concerns

1) The stove. It was a RV stove according to the manual. The pot holders were flush with the cooking surface, useless. The stove racks had no lip to prevent trays from sliding off. The stove handle hit the the grab bar preventing it from gimballing properly, making cooking underway while heeled impossible.

2) Sleeping accommodations were impossible underway. No lee clothes. The queen island aft was unusable when heeled. The one piece mattress was not conducive to adding lee clothes. (The owner slept on the passageway sole.)

3) The floorboards were loose. One came out and just missed the owner's head while he slept on the on the sole.

Most everything else has been covered.

There are probably OK coastal cruising boats, when you can stop each night for cooking and sleeping.

[meyermm]

1) The stove. It was a RV stove according to the manual. The pot holders were flush with the cooking surface, useless. The stove racks had no lip to prevent trays from sliding off. The stove handle hit the the grab bar preventing it from gimballing properly, making cooking underway while heeled impossible

Amazing how some have lots of problems others do not the above interested me as Hunter do not build stoves do they? So this problem was more of a stove manufacture problem yes Hunter fitted it or did they?