What Makes the Hunter a Coastal Cruiser ?

[zeehag]

from what i have seen , hunters, even new ones, do well in caribean and gulf of mexico. havent sailed one. havent watched any sail pacific or atlantic.
watch weather window and make sure you are not caught in a storm until you know what the boat will do to you and what you will do to boat.
i cant badmouth anyone--markj wont let me bag on bendytoys anymore as he sailed rtw in one, and i sail a formosa..LOL... so who am i to say what you CANNOT do. what is your skill level and where do you live and sail?????
i recommend sailing EVERYTHING before you buy.

[Joli]

Think of the hull deck flange as a web and beam. Realize a cored panel will be 10 ~20 times as stiff as a solid glass panel. A boat with higher scantlings will have stiffer hulls with robust hull/deck conections (ie substantial flanges where the hull/deck connection is glassed and through bolted mechanical conections.)

Many hulls have 1 inch hull/deck flange stuck together with 5200 and screwed. Some hulls have a 5 inch hull/flanges glassed together with through bolts every 4 inches?

Do boats with 1 inch flanges sail around the world? Yes

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

Yeah. But I still hadn't read where/what on that Bene broke as far as where the water coming in was from. Did the hull/deck fail?

Some recent insurance stuff I read about the older "solid" hull boats is that they aren't really stronger just because they are thicker. It comes domw more to the type of hull lay-up than the "solid thickness".

[sequitur]

Sitting here in Puerto Montt, Patagonia in our Hunter 49 and reading through this thread is rather amusing. Around me in the yard and in the marina preparing for yet another run down to Cape Horn or Antarctica, or popping back over for another season in South Georgia or heading back to New Zealand or carrying on to Easter Island and Polynesia, are Beneteaux, Catalinas and Hunters, along with a wonderfully eclectic collection of home-builds in wood, steel and glass and a smattering of little-known European brands. Absent are the classic US-centric concept of bluewater boats. We haven't seen a Halberg Rassy, a Pacific Seacraft or a Valiant since we left the protected waters of the Sea of Cortez nearly two years ago.

I think I'll just sit back and let the arm-chair sailors entertain us.

[Bash]

A lot of the Hunter bashing originates with dealers trying to sell boats that are not priced competitively. When I bought my first Hunter, everyone I spoke to in the boat industry said that I was going to lose too much in depreciation.

I lived aboard my first Hunter for eight years, and sailed it 10,000 nm, and then sold it for the base price at which I'd bought it. Clearly, I didn't get the money back I'd invested in new sails and other upgrades, but I was shocked by how much the boat was worth after eight years of liveaboard use.

I purchased my second Hunter five years ago, and just now refinanced it. The bank required an in-water survey, which was conducted last week. I was shocked when the surveyor appraised the boat for more than I originally paid for it. Once again, I've invested in significant upgrades such as solar panels, a wind generator, two additional sails, et cetera. But the boat is still worth more than my original investment.

There isn't a boat made that can match my Hunter in terms of value. It came standard with such features as freshwater macerating toilets, leather upholstery, a Bose entertainment system, a built-in oil changing pump, a force-air dish drying system, an automatic halon fire extinguisher in the engine compartment, four hard-wired carbon monoxide detectors, et cetera. Those were standard features, folks, not options.

Yes, I had to invest a good deal of money to get the boat ready for the type of cruising I plan to do. Everything from davits to an emergency rudder, and from an offshore dodger to a drogue system. And I had to purchase a couple anchors that were better than the one that came with the boat. A storm sail and a spinnaker. But there isn't a boat made that won't require a bit of tweaking to get it ready to cruise. Show me a boat that comes with an EPIRB or a life raft.

My boat is CE-A (ocean) certified. That's the highest offshore rating you can get. Next time one of these Hunter bashers suggests that Hunters are only coastal cruisers, ask the dude what kind of certification his boat has.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Bash

My boat is CE-A (ocean) certified. That's the highest offshore rating you can get. Next time one of these Hunter bashers suggests that Hunters are only coastal cruisers, ask the dude what kind of certification his boat has.

Lloyds 100A1

Ok, a little misleading , the design (and build specs) were to Lloyds 100A1 - however was only an option for an individual boat to be certificated as such and had to be built under supervision of a (Lloyds approved) Surveyor (obviously that added cost). I have no paperwork to suggest that happened for my vessel.......but nonetheless built like a tank and plenty of thought given to how some poor b#gger would access all over her (well, 95%+) in later years .........no wonder to me that they went broke


But on a general note, I take your point I don't actually need a boat like I have - but I simply wanted one . Plus being she got paid for the day of purchase - minus being that not left the dock for a few years (Life intervenes and I is a slow worker - but I actually enjoy her where she is, whether or not I achieve anything during a visit ).....from the sailing use angle I would have been better off with a Hunter or similar - but just don't float my boat.......and have never got comfortable with the cored hull thing, well not for anything with a PO or 2.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

Yeah. But I still hadn't read where/what on that Bene broke as far as where the water coming in was from. Did the hull/deck fail?

Some recent insurance stuff I read about the older "solid" hull boats is that they aren't really stronger just because they are thicker. It comes domw more to the type of hull lay-up than the "solid thickness".

Yeah, but depends also on how the hull is supported (bulkheads and frames / stringers). Flex is thy enemy

In "the good old days" they built a lot of sh#te boats (both from ignorance and by intention - nothing changes )......Time has either cured that by boats not surviving or My Google revealing plenty (at least for the more popular models / survivors)......Older does not always mean well built or "Classic".

On the recent Beneteau rescue (loss?), If the deck or hull became detached then it probably was not a design failure as such - simply that the use of the boat (especially the 3 knockdowns) exceeded the designed expectations (no point building every boat to survive a 1000 year storm - not when your market is floating between Marinas in the sun, and nuthin' wrong with that ).

Actually quite impressive that the rig stayed up and that she didn't roll over completely .

(My guess is that next year the design limitation will be touted as being a Safety Feature - when the deck detaches, it's an indicator that time to press the Big Red Button).

[Joli]

The OP asked why Hunters are considered coastal cruisers? Folks owning Hunters say they are better bargains then Hinckley, Oysters or Swans? Coastal cruiser is an unfair characterization and good enough is good enough. I'll go along with that, we won't talk scantlings.

[Blue Stocking]

Hunters CANT be offshore boats!!
None of my Hunter-owner friends have beards.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Joli

Simply put, scantlings.......

There are functional diferences in hull custruction and layup, hull to deck flanges, attachment methodology, rudders, gear, rigging, bulkhead attachments... those differences cost money. A Hunter 49 is not comparable to a Hinkly 52 in cost or quality. The scantlings of a Hinkley SW 52 are better then a Hunter 49.

Do people sail all manner of boats around the world? Sure but the recent news of Bene off Bermuda shows you the limits of a boat built to lighter scantlings.

Flame away..........

No "flame," but it would be mmore helpful to compare a Hunter to something inbetween a Hunter and a Hinckley. I didnd't buy my Hunter to sail around the world. Different strokes for different folks, but it would help to know -- with some specificity -- the differences between Hunters and boats considered more blue water worthy,

That would be useful knowledge even for Hunter owners who don't intend to sail blue waters.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Blue Stocking

Hunters CANT be offshore boats!!
None of my Hunter-owner friends have beards.

Finally a real answer that I can do something about!

Don't be changing the rules later by requiring one of those little black hats and a pipe or something!

[sj01]

We purchased our Hunter Vision 36 fairly recently, but so far I can tell you - she is awesome. We don't plan on crossing oceans, just ICW and island hopping. We're thrilled with it and think we got the best bang for our buck so far.

[sequitur]

Originally Posted by Blue Stocking

Hunters CANT be offshore boats!!
None of my Hunter-owner friends have beards.

Let me introduce myself; I have a beard and a Hunter that has a few offshore miles.

[Blue Stocking]

Originally Posted by sequitur

Let me introduce myself; I have a beard and a Hunter that has a few offshore miles.

You are the icing on my literary cake.

Some years back, the Rolex Gold Cup, world match racing series was sailed in fleet of Hunter 27s, IIRC, which sailed here to Bermuda, on their own bottoms. Thru some pretty dusty stuff.

[larryb]

I too am currently at liquidating toys and excess, albeit admittedly not too hard, with the hopes and plans on a late winter purchase or a sailboat capable of extended cruising.
I too am looking at the mass production line of boats. Why? Value. I can purchase one cash, cruise now, if I find myself unable to continue funding my cruising or for some unseen reason choose to return to terra firma, I should be able to sell for minimal loss, and if bought right, no loss at all, maybe even small profit. I am looking at late 80's catalina 36. If my budget allowed, I would be looking at mid to late 90's Hunters also. I simply prefer the Catalina. I have only heard, not substntiated, Hunter quality improved greatly with their Legend line and their line in the early 90's.
With what one can buy a respectably equiped and maintained slightly used Catalina or Hunter today, crossing our fingers that the economy begins to recover, we can sail for several years and sell if we choose for what we paid. Many if's here I know.
I want to go now, tomorrow is promised to no man. There is alot of great coastal cruising to be enjoyed in domestic, coastal waters. I may never choose to go across big oceans. If I do, my boat will be paid for, my schedule will be free to pick right weather windows. If I loose a $40k or $50k sailboat, and survive, it would not be nearly as devastaing as loosing a $250000 or more vessel.
I am a man of simple means, simply meaning to enjoy a sailboat.
Buy the Hunter, go sailing. You will be in company of many Benehuntalinas everywhere you go.
Best wishes, blue skies and following seas to you...
Larry

[MikeinLA]

Larry - You will like the Cat 36. I've had 2 of them and they are great sailing boats and very comfortable liveaboards. Around the dock, mine handles like a rather long automobile. FWIW, I purchased my '91 in 1999 for $ 75,000 and was recently offered $ 60,000 cash by an unsolicited buyer. Not that I'm selling, but if I can sail a boat for 12 years for only $15,000, that seems like a good deal to me. Of course, over the past 12 years my slip cost has been around $ 75,000.

Mike