Two guys just quit the cubicle life and bought a 1984 34!

[TheFriendlyPirates]

Hello all you Hunter owners out there. Just wanted to introduce ourselves to the community as I'm quite sure we'll be spending as much time on here as we will working on this vessel.

Litte backstory on us...
We're two computer engineer buddies from Colorado and moved to NW Florida a little over a month ago to find our first boat. Turns out we found an H34 in Mobile, AL and decided to pull the trigger on her. Well, we just took possession of her a few days ago and have no shortage of issues to sort through. Most importantly right now is that we're trying to figure out why about 36 hours after we took possession of her, we noticed she started listing fairly heavy to the starboard side while in our wet slip. It sure as hell wasn't like this when we did our sea trial or for the first 36 hours we were on her (didn't leave the slip at all). We ended up taking her out yesterday anyway to get an assessment of the rigging and condition of the sails and see if it was possible she was listing due to the keel hitting the muddy bottom in our slip. Well, she still lists fairly hard to the starboard side even under motor.

The center "false" bilge seems to be turning on 3-4 times an hour as water runs from a small hole that I assume was intentional by Hunter. If we rock the boat side to side or front to back, we see more water than normal pour out of this oval shaped hole (I assume this is moving water from the liner space into the false bilge area?).

We went over to west marine and were picking the brains of those guys and they made it sound like this water in the bilge constantly is just another day at the office for a sailboat. Sounds crazy to me but hey, this our first boat so I'm listening to anyone and everyone.

So far, we've checked the port water tank for leaks and found nothing. Can't identify any leaks from the AC or the cooler either (Cooler is a Dometic I believe). Visual inspection of the head and holding tank seems fine as well. Pretty dry in there.

Anyway, we're still researching right now but I have the most concern about the listing at the moment. It hasn't gotten worse since we noticed it but as I said, it's extremely noticeable and Sure doesn't seem by design. Even with heavier equipment on the starboard side like batteries, cooler and whatnot, it's really concerning.

We think we're going to try cutting out the false bilge anyway because the smell in this boat is wretched. The bilge seems like it's been wet for some time and after all we've read, this seems to be a no brainer mod to do anyway. Maybe it will put us closer to finding the listing issue?

This is more of an introduction of us to the community but if anyone has any insight or comments, we are all ears and soaking up knowledge on this boat.

So, Hello Hunter friends and we'll be seeing you a ton on here for sure.

Cheers!
Richard & Trevor

 

[SFS]

If you had it surveyed, did the surveyor find anything out of the ordinary? Was it hauled out of the water to inspect the hull, keel, rudder, and through hulls? I would want to make sure the boat is not holed somewhere, to eliminate incoming water as a reason for the list.

I also sent you a private message. To find and read it, click on the envelope icon at the top right of your screen, just to the right of your name.

 

[Brian D]

Richard & Trevor, welcome to SBO.

Like SFS said, I hope you guys had it surveyed and pulled for the survey. If not, you might want to hire a surveyor now and see if he/she can find anything wrong. I realize you already took pocession of the boat so that is a moot issue. But, if the surveyor finds something wrong that was not disclosed prior to the sale, you might have a case. I am not a lawyer (that goodness).

Anyway, you either have a leak that is filling a void on the starboard side, or there has been some kind of weight shift during your last sail.

Good luck and hope some other Hunter owners can help you guys.

 

[TheFriendlyPirates]

Looks like we found the right spot to say hello, thanks for the replies do far guys! We did our due diligence on the surveyor research and found a highly recommended guy that has been doing survey work for longer than us young bucks have been on the hard! He did find plenty of smaller issues that we brought to the table in negotiations, but nothing that threw off any serious alarms. The boat was sound and fair during haul out and test sail, almost seems like the listing and bilge issue popped up as soon as the ink was dry on the papers heh I don't feel as if there was any funny business going on with the broker and survey, they both seemed to be top notch stand out guys and had great reviews from the community. Can't wait to dive into the shit (so to speak) and see how the false bilge removal project goes, I think it will lead us in the right direction for further troubleshooting if nothing else

 

[SFS]

There is a thread somewhere here about removing that false bilge, and how to do it without putting a hole in the boat. You should search for it, it is fairly specific and really helpful, and I think it was about a 34, rather than a 31.

 

[HMT2]

I would contact the surveyor and have him come out under the premise is this something that got missed. Not to accuse him but given his experience level may be able to diagnose the issue very quickly.

 

[pateco]

Did you fill the fuel or fresh water tanks after you put her in the water? On my H31 the fuel tank is to starboard, and water tank is under the port 1/4 berth. We don't use much diesel, and I try to keep the tank nearly full, but I can always tell when we are running low on fresh water as we start to list to starboard.

I don't know where the waste tank is on a 34 but ours is centerline in the bow so it doesn't cause a list. If yours is located port or starboard, a full waste tank could cause a list as well.

 

[SFS]

What kind of list are we talking about, 2 or 3 degrees, or 10, or what?

 

[Brian D]

Start here...
http://forums.sailboatowners.com/index.php?threads/bilge-mount-after-false-bilge-alteration.167736/

 

[SFS]

And this is the thread I was thinking of:

http://forums.sailboatowners.com/index.php?threads/h34-false-bilge-depth.169331/&highlight=false bilge

In it, post #10 lists another related thread.

 

[BigEasy]

Had a 1988 Hunter 33.5 that followed the 34 design. Had a bad leak under the mast where the wiring entered thru the deck. Noted the discoloration of the teak covering and water in the bilge every time it rained. The 2x4 compression post had totally rotted and required replacement. Just saying that with all of the rain that we had last week that this might be a source of leakage, also check the stuffing box, all thru hull fittings& hoses, head, speed & depth transducers, and engine muffler and exhaust riser, raw water hoses. My 33.5 had a 20 gallon fuel tank in the starboard cockpit lazerette and the holding tank was also offset to starboard; if both were filled after purchase that may also contribute to a starboard list. Good idea to have your surveyor take another look.

 

[TheFriendlyPirates]

I would contact the surveyor and have him come out under the premise is this something that got missed. Not to accuse him but given his experience level may be able to diagnose the issue very quickly.

I have seen him in the yard a few times since the sale surveying some other sales so I think that I will for sure hit him up. I agree with your statement, he comes from a family of boat builders so I would assume this is a no brainer for him.

 

[TheFriendlyPirates]

Did you fill the fuel or fresh water tanks after you put her in the water? On my H31 the fuel tank is to starboard, and water tank is under the port 1/4 berth. We don't use much diesel, and I try to keep the tank nearly full, but I can always tell when we are running low on fresh water as we start to list to starboard.

I don't know where the waste tank is on a 34 but ours is centerline in the bow so it doesn't cause a list. If yours is located port or starboard, a full waste tank could cause a list as well.

We have a 30 gal amidships to port that we drained this morning to eventually re-fill with some food coloring to start tracking down the source of the thirsty bilge. Have read in various threads that it does make quite a difference with that one empty. The aft tank is 35 I believe and has also been drained in preparation for the same test tomorrow. I think our fuel is to starboard but unsure of the status of it as every gauge on this baby is non operational.
Holding tank is slightly starboard of centerline right at the base of the mast compression post area. Not sure on its status either, but the plan is to get that pumped out soon and cleaned. It is without a doubt the source of some foul stenches, no doubt about that from what I went through today working on the false bilge. Dont think I have ever smelled anything so foul today once I reached the (what I believe) was a severely rotted ply core.

 

[TheFriendlyPirates]

What kind of list are we talking about, 2 or 3 degrees, or 10, or what?

Im feeling like its well over the standard 2 we have heard about. Ill snag a picture of my glass of bilge juice sitting on the table in the galley to shed some light on it after a bit of work tomorrow. My little bubble level next to it is pretty upset as well

 

[TheFriendlyPirates]

Had a 1988 Hunter 33.5 that followed the 34 design. Had a bad leak under the mast where the wiring entered thru the deck. Noted the discoloration of the teak covering and water in the bilge every time it rained. The 2x4 compression post had totally rotted and required replacement. Just saying that with all of the rain that we had last week that this might be a source of leakage, also check the stuffing box, all thru hull fittings& hoses, head, speed & depth transducers, and engine muffler and exhaust riser, raw water hoses. My 33.5 had a 20 gallon fuel tank in the starboard cockpit lazerette and the holding tank was also offset to starboard; if both were filled after purchase that may also contribute to a starboard list. Good idea to have your surveyor take another look.

Thank you sir, so far everything aft looks pretty dry, we had some issues closing from a slew of last minute engine issues, so we got a new muffler as one of the fixes, and I was back under the birth pulling cushions and looking around for anything wet and it was looking solid back there. We did have her pulled out and based on the extensive survey I am trusting that all thru hull fittings and seacocks were sound, but I am also pretty new to all this and still learning as I go, so in the realm of trusting the survey results. If I need to get it pulled again to inspect I have no problems with that - just have to build up the chore list to make sure I can make use of funds spent on the hard. Tomorrow is going to be a big hose inspection day for sure I think. I mean all the hoes on the boat, not the ones walking around the dock hahaha

 

[jssailem]

Careful how you talk about the gentel ladies in the south. You being a Union boy from Colorado and all. There just maybe a lady or two on this site, who might take offense to such talk comin from a yankee.

 

[HMT2]

If you have some holding tank odors, Peggy Hall's book "Getting Rid of Boat Odors" is handy to keep around. You can get it from this site or Amazon.

 

[TheFriendlyPirates]

Just purchased Peggys book last night as I have heard great things about it! Sponged out about 15 gallons or so of yucky water working on the false bilge project and I feel like it's already starting to smell better so hopefully I am on the right track. Still have to finish that one up today, the constant water coming in during dremel surgery really slowed the progress

 

[SFS]

So you've successfully cut out the false bilge? Pictures man, pictures!

 

[HMT2]

A shop vac beats a sponge for anything but damp spaces!