Sudden Attraction to Hunters

[Kenomac]

We owned a Hunter 450 passage for two years, lived on it for one year and had lot's of great times. Except for our keel falling off, Hunter's exclusive non-existent customer service, the stinky inaccessable head hoses, horrible creaking and loud explosive banging noises at anchor along with a multitude of electrical issues which we weren't able to resolve, we loved the boat... Just small problems really.

My wife still misses the massive master cabin shower.

[ArtM]

Wow sounds like you had a wonderful time!

I asked the broker why he thinks they get a bad rap, and in the process got an interesting "definition" of a blue water boat.

A blue water boat has a solid hull that goes from the outside to the inside. The interior of the boat is built right on that hull, and thus everything is accessible - including any leaks that might occur.

A "production" boat has an interior hull that is "dropped" into a thin exterior hull which (a) is more susceptible to damage, and (b) more difficult to access in the event of a leak (or electrical or plumbing issues). Hunters are strongly in this second group.

I suppose there's a distinction between that and a blue-water capable boat.

These guys are super-smart sailors. If anyone needs a broker in Washington area, PM me and I'll dig up their card. They are in Silshol Marina (spelling?)

[Navicula]

Originally Posted by ArtM

Please post your source. I want one.

Lol yes....that's my bride of 28 years.....she is the auto helm, the laptop. The bank and she is also the fun police....so I have to be good

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Navicula

Lol yes....that's my bride of 28 years.....she is the auto helm, the laptop. The bank and she is also the fun police....so I have to be good

Wow all that, you had me at laptop!

If I were you I would keep a better secret!

[jkangas]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

We owned a Hunter 450 passage for two years, lived on it for one year and had lot's of great times. Except for our keel falling off, Hunter's exclusive non-existent customer service, the stinky inaccessable head hoses, horrible creaking and loud explosive banging noises at anchor along with a multitude of electrical issues which we weren't able to resolve, we loved the boat... Just small problems really.

My wife still misses the massive master cabin shower.

Loud explosive noises while anchored? LOL, the only time I've heard anything like that was when the anchor chain shifted on the roller while under load. Were you using a snubber when you heard it? What kind of electrical issues?

[Kenomac]

Originally Posted by jkangas

Loud explosive noises while anchored? LOL, the only time I've heard anything like that was when the anchor chain shifted on the roller while under load. Were you using a snubber when you heard it? What kind of electrical issues?

Loud explosive noises=The Hunters inner liner and interior wood panels and bulkheads rubbing as the stern portion of the hull flexed while the boat is tossed side to side at anchor. I'm not going to explain all the many electrical problems we had, such as not being able to turn on half the ships electronics (water heater, microwave, etc) while in our slip and plugged into shore power without blowing the main breaker. Our friend's identical boat has all the same issues, so it wasn't just us. And yes Mr. LOL armchair smartie pants, we use a snubber on a daily basis.

'Nuff said about Hunters. Enjoyed the 450 while we had it, glad now to have moved on.

[jkangas]

Just askin. Not trying to be a smarty pants. Sorry if I came across that way.

[sailorboy1]

Well I spend 2 days last year "trapped" on my Hunter 410 out on my mooring during a gail while the boat bounced all over the place. I didn't have any bangs or flexing etc and all the doors worked fine during it.

So it isn't a "Hunter" problem and probably is a specific boat's problem (just like one can buy a bad top of the line model of BMW). I seem to have read about the 450 now a few times, but don't know if it is from the same person of whether there is a model issue.

[jkangas]

Me too which is why I was trying to understand the source of the noise...

[Kenomac]

Don,

It's just a build quality issue with regards to all the interior noises. In life, you get what you pay for.

Regarding our keel falling off due to corroded keel bolts.... I really don't know how to make any excuses on Hunters behalf for that one. It was clearly a design problem; the lower portion of the keel was a honey comb grid that failed because of lack of enough bonding surface.

Other brands also have issues, I'm not trying to bash Hunters, but how much confidence would you have in the Hunter brand if your keel fell off? And nobody at Hunter would return your phone calls.

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

And nobody at Hunter would return your phone calls.

Musta been during one of their gone bust again family take overs...

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Don,

It's just a build quality issue with regards to all the interior noises. In life, you get what you pay for.

I'm not trying to say none of your comments were true. I think you just plain got a lemon.

All I'm saying it that it doesn't make all the Hunters trash as mine hasn't had any of the issue you had and mine is probably a little older.

I think the 450 was just the center cockpit model built on the same hull as the 460. But I've never heard of any issue with the 460. Since the 450 was a scaled up 420 I wonder if the extra few feet just pushed the design a little too far. But there there have been posts here from 450 owners that have pounded their boats hard with no problems.

I've had my 410 now for 2 years and haven't had any problems beyond the normal stuff. But all this means is I have a good boat.

[Secondwind410]

Hey Don I too have a 1998 410. We have had her for five seasons now and have logged over 6000 miles on her in Georgian Bay. She has been a great boat for us. Very comfortable and loads of room for a 41.

[rtbates]

A brand new Hunter 45 was launched at our marina and it immediately began to sink. It leaked profusely all around the keel joint. Not my kind of builder thank you very much.

[robert sailor]

I'm not crazy about sailboats that depend on glued in liners for structural integrity. Hunters are not alone in this regard as most of the production builders are building this way these days. It makes it tough to get at things and if you have a failure in the bonding then you have big issues. I much prefer the tried and true method of building without liners. Of course you'll have to pay more for this type of construction. I've attached comments from a very experienced surveyor:

Sail boats utilize grid/liners more frequently. Fortunately, a sailboat hull is considerable more amenable to this design, both by its shape and the fact that they are not subjected to the forces of high speed. Even so, one of the largest boats built with a full grid/liner was a Hunter 60 that experienced total liner disbonding and failure. Yet even their smaller models were widely known for liner failures