hunter 26 or similar, island hopper?

[c2damofoj]

would a hunter 26 or a boat similar to it be safe and sturdy enough to travel from s. FL to the southern bahamas? ideal boat for me would be 26-30 ft, trailerable, and one i can launch/re-trailer with help from a few ppl. would prefer a steering wheel version and inboard diesel. anyone know of a boat that meets these criteria, or should i look at other options? thanks

[sailstoo]

Honestly...are we doing this (with a little twist) AGAIN!?!?!

[Bash]

regardless of their brand of manufacture, trailer boats are not suitable for offshore work. This is especially true of water ballasted boats.

[c2damofoj]

sorry, i am fairly new to sailing, if someone could point me in the direction of a previos debate id be most appreciative.

[nautical62]

I spent the last two winters cruising the Bahamas (as far south as Georgetown) in my Hunter 30. I took my Westerly 26 over to the Bahamas at least 6 times.

Personally, I'd prefer something either a bit bigger or a bit more ballasted than a Hunter 26, but I've seen people over there in water ballasted McGregors.

The Westerly 26 Centaur was a great small Bahamas boat in my opinion. Built for the north sea, several have circumnavigated. They have better standing head room than many 26-footers and their bilge keels mean less draft which is nice for the shallow waters of the Bahamas. Many are going very cheap right now, but may require re-powering.

[sailstoo]

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ats-72982.html

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...oat-67105.html

Or go to the "Search" button at top of page and type in "small boat cruising"

[Bash]

Originally Posted by sailstoo

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ats-72982.html

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...oat-67105.html

Or go to the "Search" button at top of page and type in "small boat cruising"

Those links are fairly irrelevant to a discussion to the OPs question. The Hunter 26 is a trailerable, water-ballasted centerboarder, similar to a MacGreggor 26. It's a niche boat that isn't designed either for liveaboard use or offshore sailing.

People should realize that Hunter Marine makes broad range of boats, from small open daysailors to large cruisers. Making sweeping generalizations about the entire line is somewhat naive.

[c2damofoj]

ok, answer me this one, anyone know if you can take a 30' boat from the cumberland river to the tom bigbee, and out to the gulf. if this would work it solves my trailerability problem. im assuming it would take 2 weeks or so, and id definatly want an inboard diesel for this journey. whatcha got?