Seasic:
Welcome to the harsh world of yotting :-)!
But take heart – what you are faced with is absolutely minor, the sort of thing experienced sailors shrug off while carrying on to important things. Others have already expressed opinions about the deportment of brokers and surveyors as well as about the actual “deficiencies” of your boat. So let's leave the “downers” at that :-)
Here is the good stuff: The
Hunter 34 is a good boat (for its size) for a
novice, which you seem to be. In light airs, say up to 10 or 12 knots of
wind, it'll give you pleasure because the design is so markedly a
racing design rather than a cruising design. She's meant to move in light airs. She was designed essentially to compete in Pacific Handicap
Racing Formula races. For the most part these races were “around the cans on Wednesday night after work” club races. Tho' there are more serious races as well. Your boat is just fine for local sailing and gentle coastwise cruising, which is all that you, until you are no longer a
novice, should undertake. So you chose the right kinda boat :-)
But here is some stuff to think about. I offer it to you not to turn you off the boat, but rather in the hope that it will prepare you for some of the realities of the Hunters that are not normally immediately obvious to novices, and that, knowing this, you may be able to get maximum pleasure from the boat. For serious long time cruising she's neither
fish nor fowl. She is NOT a serious cruising design despite being a “tri-cabin” job. She is simply too small to be so drastically sub-divided. To try to conceal that reality from the novices, which was the market to which she was originally pitched, she was given a
hull shape (“lines”) that once the
wind get to 15 knots and upwards will make her a handful for a novice. Best to go home when the wind approaches 20 knots. In her “as delivered” configuration she carries, by cruising standards, MUCH too much sail, and that too high up at that! To keep her tractable between 15 and 20 knots of wind you'll need a much smaller headsail than the 150% genny that is standard, and you'll need to reef the main to the second reef. If you over-press her, she will pull her
rudder out of the water and you'll be in for a nasty and quite terrifying broach. I have personal knowledge of two people drowning as a direct result of such a broach that they didn't know how to handle. You CAN do serious cruising in a Hunter 34, but you need to come to terms with the traits of the boat. It is not as simple as driving a pick-up truck. Or even a five tonner :-)
You also need to come to terms with the fact that these boats were “built down to a price” and that, in consequence, a lot of “beefing up” and “upgrading” might be required. But again, since you are a novice, this is not required at the present time. Cosmetics, yes, since that is a matter of taste rather than safety. Structural modifications, no – probably not.
What you see on you
cabin floor is strictly cosmetic. Fix it if you feel compelled, or simply leave the carpet there, at least for now. The “teak and holly” surface you see is fake. It is a plastic applique. Pricey by the square foot, but you don't need much. Underneath – the “substrate” - will be 3/4“
marine plywood which you local
lumber yard will get in for you. It wouldn't be a stock item, but it's easily available. The stickum for the applique is extra strength contact cement also available at
lumber yards. Time estimate for an amatoor with no experience in such matters: 3 hours. Tools required:
Electric jigsaw and
electric drill. With blades and bits, of course :-).
You say the floor (the “sole” to sailors) is spongey. There is a
hatch immediately adjacent to the area of concern. That implies that there is structure below the edges of the
hatch. If you
lift that hatch and send us a picture of the structure underneath, we can give you pointers on how to replace the holed, and possibly spongey part of the sole.
So be happy that you have a boat that will give a novice an excellent
introduction to sailing – which is merely one aspect of cruising. Roll up your sleeves and start learning to be a cruising man. Which means having not only the skills of the sailorman, but also those of the shipwright :-)!
All the best
TrentePIeds
Linear Mode
Recent Discussions