Best buy in a solid cruising boat (go anywhere, $30k or less)

[jimsavenir]

Older Pearson 35, we love our boat, great comfort ratio, enlarge the cockpit drains. Great for shoal draft also. If your handy they are great, we are opening up the head, installng a fridge and the head room is great. Also they have a great following and people will help you!

[sully75]

On 2nd thought with the bcc paying dockage and storage for that bowsprit just doesn't seem worth it.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Very helpful.

For the record, how did hunters get such a bad rep? I think they are plenty ugly but are they crappy in general?


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[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by sully75

...

For the record, how did hunters get such a bad rep? I think they are plenty ugly but are they crappy in general?

....

Poor build quality for many years. Many of the Hunters look like a Clorox bottle w a mast stuck in it to me, but not the 37 Cutter. Mine below.

[Terra Nova]

Originally Posted by sully75

...hunters...I think they are plenty ugly but are they crappy in general?...

PM sent.

As with other entry level boats, shall we say they are built to a price point?

[sully75]

No pm recieved.

[sanibel sailor]

Originally Posted by sully75

On 2nd thought with the bcc paying dockage and storage for that bowsprit just doesn't seem worth it.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Very helpful.




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Depending upon the person and marina, some charged for the BCC sprit and others did not. It is (not easily) retracted for storage. If you are on a tight budget and in "go anywhere" locations, anchoring will be your primary concern and there are some big advantages for it then.


For the record, how did hunters get such a bad rep? I think they are plenty ugly but are they crappy in general?

Major structural failures (rudders falling off) on fairly new Hunters have been reported. They are fine for the majority of people who have enough sense to sail only in decent weather.

[ctl411]

Sully see what I'm saying about the Hunter crap.
You will have to do your own research and decide who to believe, people who have owned and or sailed them or the forum "experts". Check Hunter owners.com search "midnight sun" the owner has raced a 37 cutter for decades in the Atlantic. You can also do a search here and see what "boatman" has to say.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by sanibel sailor

...

For the record, how did hunters get such a bad rep? I think they are plenty ugly but are they crappy in general?

Major structural failures (rudders falling off) on fairly new Hunters have been reported. They are fine for the majority of people who have enough sense to sail only in decent weather.

Many Hunters did indeed have quality of build issues and were not good heavy weather boats, but the 37 Cutter is an excellent heavy weather boat. Very well behaved in bad conditions and heaves-to beautifully (full draft version anyway, haven't sailed the shoal). I did lots of heavy weather sailing on mine. It was the boat of choice for a heavy weather seminar at a school where I used to teach (thus one reason I did lots of heavy weather on her). I sailed it in up to Cat 1 hurricane conditions (forecast went horribly wrong) during which the boat remained very well behaved both underway and hove-to.

[sully75]

Originally Posted by ctl411

Sully see what I'm saying about the Hunter crap.
You will have to do your own research and decide who to believe, people who have owned and or sailed them or the forum "experts". Check Hunter owners.com search "midnight sun" the owner has raced a 37 cutter for decades in the Atlantic. You can also do a search here and see what "boatman" has to say.

Just to be clear you're not disparaging the 37 cutter?



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[Yukon Cornelius]

Sully, If you are trying to get away from old CCA designs, how about a Scandinavian cruiser-racer? I have been on this one (in some nasty weather off of Cape Breton no less) A tough little boat, and a really nice interior for liveaboard:
1977 Sweden Yachts Comfort 34 Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

I know the seller and he is MOTIVATED -I bet you could get pretty close to your budget.

[ctl411]

Originally Posted by sully75

Just to be clear you're not disparaging the 37 cutter?



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I have owned two and if I were going to move down in size I may own a third. Only reason I sold was we decided to go bigger. If Hunter made a bigger Cherubini design we would have looked at it. I've owned three of his hunter designs a 25' two 30' and two 37' cutters.
So, not disparaging.

[sanibel sailor]

Nor was I trying to be negative about the brand, just trying to answer a specific question as to why the poor reputation developed. I know nothing specific to the Hunter 37 Cutter.

[sully75]

Ok cool just checking. I find the newer hunters pretty repulsive. But don't really like the looks of many new boats.


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[sully75]

How do end up owning two of the same boat btw? Sellers regret? Seems like you'd lose a lot of money invested each time you sell?


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[sully75]

Originally Posted by Yukon Cornelius

Sully, If you are trying to get away from old CCA designs, how about a Scandinavian cruiser-racer? I have been on this one (in some nasty weather off of Cape Breton no less) A tough little boat, and a really nice interior for liveaboard:
1977 Sweden Yachts Comfort 34 Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

I know the seller and he is MOTIVATED -I bet you could get pretty close to your budget.

That looks like a cool boat. The budget is my future budget. Right now I could trade him a fixed up triton and $200.


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