Recommendations for a 34-40 ft monohull?

[SV Siren]

If the Hunter 37 you looked at is the Cherubini designed one, those are a different breed of Hunter, and are very good boats. In my neck of the woods, Hunter 37C's go for around $20K or so, when they rarely pop up. They have a cult following for good reason.

I would recommend doing research, and lots of reading..checking out boats for sale in your area. Don't buy a project, those can turn into deep rabbit holes..

[marshmat]

While I agree with most of what Waterman46 said, this one deserves comment:

Originally Posted by waterman46

I like the Pearson's rudder hung on a skeg. Many production boats in this size and age just have spade rudders. The skeg gives protection and strength to the rudder.

As an engineer with considerable knowledge of such structures, I wish this myth would die. Skeg-hung rudders are *not* inherently stronger than spade rudders; indeed, they're usually the opposite.

A spade rudder's structure can be analyzed as a simple cylindrical (or tubular) cantilever with two point supports and a distributed load; that's a trivially easy first-year engineering calculation. It's simple to design and hard to screw up.

A skeg-hung rudder's structure is two parallel coupled cantilevers, of different section modulus and different stiffness, connected at several points that may not behave as either true point supports or true rigid supports. It is much more difficult to analyze. A disturbing number of designers just treat the skeg part as truly rigid / fixed, which is not true, and results in a significantly underbuilt structure. A skeg breaking and taking part of the hull with it is way, way worse than a spade rudder getting smashed up at the tip.

The balanced spade rudder is also hydrodynamically superior, with better performance and better helm feel.

That's not to say a well-designed, well-built skeg is bad, but a skeg does not inherently improve rudder strength, and - unless it is truly massive with significant structural bracing inside the hull - is often a net negative to ultimate strength in an emergency situation.

[nortonscove]

Originally Posted by TrentePieds

Chovy:

Before you begin to pay rapt attention to MY sermon, go back and read LittleWing's comments. VERY apropos!

And now: Small boat hulls are commodities. When you seen one you seen 'em all. So don't get excited about intrinsic quality just now at your state of development as a seafaring man. One hull is as good as another. What's hung ON the hull is a kettle of fish of a different colour, but anything that is hung on must be considered a consumable, or even a disposable! That includes sails, standing and running rigging and the engine.

Do NOT think that boats are like cars in ANY RESPECT. They are not!

The age of the hull is of little consequence because "frozen snot" (fibreglass) hulls have to be destroyed with a chainsaw if you want to get rid of them! As long as there is no impact damage to the basic hull moulding, you can stop worrying about it. All minor dings and blemishes are repairable, and it is work that you can, and should, do yourself. Many a 50 year old hull is still keeping the ocean out.

Factory built boats, such as the Hunter 37, are all much of a muchness, although there are a few exceptions to that. The basic numbers of the Hunter 37 are just fine, right in the middle of the range for seagoing Winnebagos. The boat will sail and generally handle so similarly to all the other factory built cruisers that you are not likely to be able to tell the difference twixt one make and another.

The layout is also absolutely conventional, and that's probably good because "custom" layouts may work fine for dyed-in-the-wool cruising men, but they do make boats more difficult to sell if that becomes an actuality, as it necessarily must sooner or later.

As for budget, I'm afraid you may be falling between chairs. Forty grand isn't much when you are talking boats. Go to $120K and be satisfied with what you get, or go to 10 grand and spend another 50 on doing what needs doing.

Natively the Hunter 37 has a 20 HP engine, I see. On the boat's displacement of 8 1/2 tons (call it 10 tons in cruising trim) modern thinking would look for an engine of 35 or even 40 HP. There is plenty of room to argue about this particular topic. Nevertheless, to replace a worn out 20 horse Yanmar, you should budget $13K to buy the machine ex dealer, and another 6K or 8K for installation.

And speaking of budget: Anyone can find the bux to BUY a boat. Far fewer can find the bux to KEEP a boat. All in, Moorage in a marina, Insurance, Annual maintenance of hull including hauling for anti-fouling renewal and replacement of zincs, Annual maintenance of below decks systems including electrics, Sinking fund for replacement of sails and running rigging, Sinking fund for replacement of standing rigging, Sinking fund for replacement of engine, may be expected to require $2K per month. I deal with it on my 30 footer by maintaining a "boat a/c" alongside my normal operating account and transferring into it $1,000 per month. Somehow, that seems to be only just enuff :-)!

Now, the beast you are contemplating lists for $40K, or so, you say. Buy her, and over the first two years of ownership you'll have to find 12 x 2 x 2,000 bux to keep her. That's 48K! That is TWENTY PERCENT MORE than her purchase price. No reason you shouldn't pick up that burden if it turns your crank. Just be aware that that is the essence of owning a yacht!

TrentePieds

Holy crap. These numbers just scared the poop out of me. I've owned my 40 footer for nearly a decade and can't relate. You must pay to have all of your work done and pay out to a very overpriced marina. My 1994 production boat has never come even close to this in cost so apparently I'm doing something wrong.

[flyingfin]

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

Hunters are production boats in a similar vein to Beneteau/Jeanneau, Catalina. I'm not a fan, but they are a sort of Toyota-ish.

Based on my experience repairing vessels, there is a world of difference between Hunter, Benny & Catalinas. Glass thickness, SS grades, wiring, plumbing, deck fitting backplates, mast/boom thickness, etc,etc. Climb around enough of them and you will find out why there is huge price variations. And I would never consider any of them near Toyota quality and durability!

[NormanMartin]

Matt:
I understand your skeg comments very well and don't disagree. Yes, they had best be well engineered.

One thing I like about skegs is their debris shedding feature. Up this way lobster trap warps are a problem. Of course, it only works with folding props, too!

The WEB "Bill" Crealock video about design and skegs on YouTube is informative. So to is Bob Perry's remark some years ago that many skegs are held on by rudders. Perhaps tongue in cheek or even miss-credited, but still notable.