Production Boats

[Delancey]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Yeah that kind of sucks. Because if the marketing people have input to the design you end up getting stuff that people like!

Well, yeah. For me it does suck.

I can think of a very long list of so-so production Racer/Cruisers. Most of those boats are neither great racers or great cruisers. Pretty sure that list is a lot longer than the list of great production racing-only boats and great production cruising-only boats combined? Why?

Because the Racer/Cruiser is what most people want? Or because the Racer/Cruiser is the type of boat that appeals to the largest demographic?

My boat has a typical-of-the-time pinched stern, thank you International Offshore Rule. I am a cruiser, does that pinched stern do me any good going downwind in a blow with the spinnaker up?

Maybe most people want to be able to sleep nine people, do they also want to pump out daily? Cuz I am pretty sure those nine people are going to fill up 20 gallons of holding tank pretty quick.

This is probably fine since, if they like to sail, they are probably not putting 450lbs of chain in that anchor locker up in the bow and will likely stay in a marina every night.

As I mentioned, speaking for myself, I would gladly give up three of my nine berths and one of my heads for a decent shower, proper stowage for my anchor chain, and a larger holding tank. But that's just me.

But hey, what do I know? I never said I was most people.

[Delancey]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I come form a power boating back ground and my Father in Law once designed for Hatteras and for Century.
I assume the production boats all use chop guns to lay fiberglass? I thought I read that Catalina at least hand laid their glass?

I'm only looking for a five year boat, not the boat I hope to die in, and Coastal cruise only during that time as until I retire, I won't have time for anything else.

Oh, and the hull to deck joint concerns me, but as I haven't heard of any separations, maybe it's adequate?

Quality and technique varies by builder. Also, build techniques evolve over time so vintage is a factor as well. Something specific you have your eye on? If you are not planning on sailing to Patagonia there are many to chose from that will suit your needs.

[sailpower]

If you board a Hunter at a boat show be sure to wear a PFD as it could go down at any moment.

To be extra safe you should inflate it as soon as you step onto the deck.

The salesman won't mind at all.

[Delancey]

Dashews, Besteaver, my kind of marketing people. Maybe someday I will win the lottery, in the meantime I will rely on my very affordable mid-eights production boat to get me where I am going and except it's shortcomings without complaint.

I am not complaining BTW, just sayin what I think are some issues with production boats in general as well as my boat specifically, that's all.

[carstenb]

I have a production boat. it is great. why two heads? well if you are sailing blue water for several days on one tack and the seawater inlet is out of the water - guess what? you can't flush.

having said that, a lot of production boats are designed for the charter crowd, maximum comfort.

go ahead a get one. lot's of production boats have circumnavigated.

I've installed a fresh water flush - just incase the seawater inlet is out of the water

[Pete7]

A small number of folk on CF seem to be resident on a little island out to the West. You know the one, discovered by the Viking who gave Columbus the nod. Anyway these folk are somewhat conservative in their choice of boats.

Meanwhile those of us who live on the other side of the pond have no such reservations about fin keels, spade rudders which standard production boats come fitted with.

They sail well and are nicely fitted out below which which wins over wives and gfs. A nice French, German or Swedish yacht will meet you needs very well and be a delight to own.

Pete

[carstenb]

Originally Posted by Pete7

A small number of folk on CF seem to be resident on a little island out to the West. You know the one, discovered by the Viking who gave Columbus the nod. Anyway these folk are somewhat conservative in their choice of boats.

Meanwhile those of us who live on the other side of the pond have no such reservations about fin keels, spade rudders which standard production boats come fitted with.

They sail well and are nicely fitted out below which which wins over wives and gfs. A nice French, German or Swedish yacht will meet you needs very well and be a delight to own.

Pete

not to mention unattached sweet young nubile ladies who also like their creature comforts

[sailorboy1]

I find it sad when people buy the wrong boat "for them" and then blame the builder or the marketing guys

[Hudson Force]

If someone were to make their first read about sailboats here they might be led to believe that production boats are those with two heads and a fiberglass inner liner. I would have previously thought that production boats were those that are manufactured in quantity and not custom designed "one-offs". I suppose neither of these are good answers and I don't think that there is a shared operational definition of a "production boat". If you define a production boat as one that is poorly built, then all production boats are inferior. If you define production boats as those that are produced in quantity, then they come in all qualities. I think the varied connotations of the term has rendered the word worthless.

[J Clark H356]

I have a 2003 Hunter 356 I bought new and have had 11 seasons. I just completed taking it from Kentucky Lake to Punta Gorda, Florida, a distance of 1266 miles. Made three off-shore passages of 9, 9 and 36 hours. Our max distance offshore was 75 miles and it didn't disintegrate or show any signs of weakness. I have also sailed off shore in southwest Florida on Island Packets, a Cabo Rico and a Tahiti Ketch. I will put my Hunter up against all of them. The boat sailed well in 6 foot waves and 25 knot winds. It handled better than the Cabo Rico 38 I sailed for 4 days from Pensacola to Punta Gorda which wallowed in following seas. Similar conditions were more comfortable in my Hunter. It was about the same as the IP 40 and 38 (twice).

My wife is my only crew and she will sail back with me to Kentucky Lake in March. She is not a sailor and was very comfortable on our crossing from Panama City to Clearwater. We were mostly in a broad to beam reach with 1 to 3 foot seas with max winds of 20 knots. The boat was solid as a rock.

By the way, it is a very comfortable boat with all the amenities below that make a wife want to come along. We have a generator, which means we run the HVAC during our times when we are cruising. The salon and living areas are a constant temperature and that beats having to wear weather gear">foul weather gear as I have done on other crossings. We have a KVH antenna and Dish network and she can watch her favorite shows while offshore. We have a full complement of electronics; radar, sonar, autopilot, AIS, Chartplotter, sat phone with XGate and while inland and in range of Verizon, a myfi that acts as a router with LTE Internet available.

We also have a full enclosure and that made this trip very pleasant. At night, I was very comfortable In slacks and a fleece pullover. In my previous crossings, I have dressed in insulated underwear and foul weather pants and jacket. Didn't need them on these off shore trips.

You should look hard at the Hunters. The bad rap came from early boats that weren't designed to the standard they are today. I remember the first Honda cars. They were also laughed at, but not anymore. Hunter is the same way. Anyone that thinks Hunters aren't seaworthy just doesn't know the boat or the brand. There are equally good production boats from other brands like Beneteau, Catalina, Island Packet and others. You don't have to have a one off boat to cruise the sea and Hunters have been round the world. You also don't have to be uncomfortable either. Most of your time is not crossing but spent anchored or at a marina. In this department, they are all first class. Give them a good look. You and your wife will be glad you did.

[a64pilot]

J Clark,
We are looking at Hunters, going to look at a 40.5 day after Christmas, and a 380 and 386 later in the week. I have to have the wife liking sailing, or it isn't going to work, so I'm really involving her to pick our first sailboat. I intend for her if she wants to, to take some sailing classes, quite probably without me, whatever makes her more comfortable. (advice I got here). Thanks Ann, I see your point
I like the Catalina's as well, but the wife likes a Hunter better, less "boat like" I'm sure, but she hasn't put it that way. I want a Gen. as the time we will most be able to use the boat will be in the middle of Summer, in Florida, and when it's 95+, a cabin is a sweat box without AC. At least it is in a Sport Fisherman, I can't see why a sailboat will be different. I had been contemplating using a Honda to power the AC. What kind of Gen do you have, and where did you put it?

[J Clark H356]

I have a Northern Lights 5 kw. It is In the port lazerette to the rear, I had a custom sound enclosure made and it is very quiet. It runs at 1800 rpm, three cylinders and I have about 2250 hours on it. Exhaust is underwater, so it is barely audible 10 feet from the boat. It emits about 65 decibels in the cockpit and aft queen size berth, and you get so used to the background you don't pay attention to it being there. It runs all our loads without a sweat. My fuel consumption is between .25 and .4 gallons per hour for the generator. The consumption on my trip above has been .905 gallons per hour for both generator and engine running at cruise. The 356 has 38 gallons and I carry 25 more in plastic jerry cans on deck. The Northern Lights can run continuous and I ran it for 4 days without stopping from Demopolis to Mobile. I have run it 3 days continuous many times without any problems.

Be careful when you choose a generator. The Northern Lights is the Cadillac, but you get what you pay for. I have been on boats with other brands that have single cylinders and run at 3600 rpm and they are very noisy and maintenance intensive. Some also will tell you NOT to run it continuous as I do the Northern Lights. In Kentucky in the summer it is hot and humid and you need HVAC day and night. I burn almost zero oil between changes at 250 hours - maybe a quart in 250 hours. I change impellers at the same 250 mark. I have had one belt wear out. Zero other maintenance In 2250 hours.

We spend about 75 days a year while on Kentucky Lake and consider it a floating condo. We were able to secure everything well when cruising. I even have a printer on board and can function well as a floating office.

[SV THIRD DAY]

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