Hunter 40.5

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

G'Day Dennis,

Mate, that is really a bummer. I've never heard of a moored boat being struck by a whale, but all things are possible. Actually sounds more like a submarine!!

Not hit by a whale in the mooring field, but hit by a submerged submarine in the mooring field?

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Don Lucas

Not hit by a whale in the mooring field, but hit by a submerged submarine in the mooring field?

Good grief, Don, where has your sense of humour gone?

Please don't tell me that you thought I was serious...

Jim

[dennisail]

Anyway. After a week of some pretty awkward work, is fixed for now. Working on the bow of a yacht from a moving tender in an open ocean anchorage is not fun.

knottyladypacific.blogspot.com



































No repair for this though.

[Jim Cate]

G'Day Dennis,

All I can say is "bloody well done, mate" I am really impressed, and I can imagine how hard it was to accomplish there on the mooring at Niue.

We just escaped the Clarence, and in that short passage we saw LOTS of Humpbacks... made me worry a bit during the night sailing parts!

Now, go on and have a good time... better times ahead!

Cheers,

Jim

[dennisail]

Thanks Jim. All is well the incident behind us. We are in Tonga now drinking a beer at the Aquarium cafe in Niafu. We kind of miss the code zero, but the winds has been a lot stronger now anyway.

[islandplanet]

Dennis,

I'm sorry to hear the cruising code zero we supplied failed the whale impact test but glad to hear repairs have otherwise gone well.

[dennisail]

Thanks Dave. The code zero was great. I planned to do a vid showing boat speed VS wind speed but I only just got the "true wind" indication working. We could do amazing speeds in light air. Something like 7 knots in 9 knots of wind or 6 knots in 6-7 knots of wind. But literally everything pertaining to the code zero is destroyed. The furler is mangled as is the bale on the anchor roller, the halyard broke ripping the sheaves and shafts from the top of the mast, and the pics of the code zero show it needs some decent repairs. The however at one point the sail was our only connection to the mooring. It got ripped on so hard once it was under water that the luff rope melted into the sail and the sheets wound around it cut into it.

[islandplanet]

Dennis,

Given the circumstances, I may be able to work something out between us and our suppliers to get a replacement at a very steep discount. When something like this happens we just want to see our customers sailing again so we pass things along at our cost. If there's a chance the sail can be repaired, which I don't think is the case given the loads it was subjected to, we can line something up for you along the way or back home in Oz.

[dennisail]

Thats awesome Dave. Island Planet has always been 10/10 on service.

[dennisail]

Can anyone recommend a yard near Brisbane to quote on the whale damage for insurance?

We are now in Bundaberg. We sailed through or first gale from Noumea to Bundy (broad reach). Nothing too bad 33-35 sustained for 2 days up to 47k. We just went under the smallest reef on the main doing 8K under autopilot and watched movies. The deck hardly even got wet.

[islandplanet]

Dennis,

We're glad to hear you made it to Bundy. Congrats on a great passage. Seems like just yesterday you were leaving Long Beach.

[dennisail]

Thanks Dave. It does seem like almost yesterday. Too bad it is coming to an end. We hope to be back out again in 3 or 4 years longer term to either go all the way around or back out into the Pacific. Between then is just going to be coastal and weekend cruising around QLD with our boat which unlike most people, we are not going to sell.

I tell you we really missed our code zero. Cant wait to get a new one made.

[u4ea32]

Wow! What a trip!

My wife and I did 2500 miles on a 15 year old 45' Hunter Passage center cockpit in the Pacific a few months ago. Built like a brick sh!t house, with very high quality systems that were reliable, well installed, well documented, and easy to fix when things went wrong.

We are looking for a boat for the two of us to do extended voyages, living aboard most of the time, continuously for many months at a time, all oceans.

The 40.5 is currently at the top of our list, but we are still looking.

Dennis, the rig you selected (main, 110, code zero to end of anchor roller) is exactly what we hoped would work, and it sounds like it works very well.

Sorry to hear about the whale, but not surprised the damage was as minor as it was. Those boats are thick laminates with apparently (demonstrated yet again) good quality.

Who knows, might cross tacks with you when you get back out there!

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by dennisail

Can anyone recommend a yard near Brisbane to quote on the whale damage for insurance?

We are now in Bundaberg. We sailed through or first gale from Noumea to Bundy (broad reach). Nothing too bad 33-35 sustained for 2 days up to 47k. We just went under the smallest reef on the main doing 8K under autopilot and watched movies. The deck hardly even got wet.

G'DAy Dennis,

Well, glad that you have made it in!

Exactly what sort of work are you wanting to contract for? Makes a difference in who might be recommended...

We're still in Manly, so if you get down to Moreton Bay, give us a hoy and we'll try to have an eyeball.

Cheers,

Jim

[dennisail]

u4ea32. I would be glad to chat with you about our boat. It is a great boat and more solidly built than newer hunters or french prod boats and possibly buyable for under 60 grand! The kitchen has a great setup for at sea and at anchor. It looks nice unlike most other hunters (IMO). People are shocked when we tell them its 20 years old. Most thinking its no older than 10.

The rig is very tall with huge main. Taller than many other prod boats under 48 foot! Awesome for light airs. The standard 2 reef points would leave much more sail than required for offshore work. The sail combo was a very good choice and I can tell you minor differences (and re-enforcements) I would make next time. I recommend Island Planet sails to do your sails. Our much more aggressive reefs (still 2 only) work well since when reefed to our first reef we still have about the same main sail area as a something like a 393. With the second aggressive reef we done ok in sustained 30-35k on a broad reach. But when the wind got up to over 45 it was too much. It would be difficult to put a 3rd reefing system in but worth it IMO.

We have never had any noticeable hull or deck flex in any conditions unlike what is reported on many newer boats of this style. If you want more info feel free to PM me. I would be glad to talk.