Hi Folks, Hoping someone can answer a question I have about a boat I went to look at a Hunter 306. When looking at the boat on the hard I noticed a perfectly round hole in the keel almost dead center. The boat is not a water ballast so wondering what would be the reason as I have not seen a keel with a hole in it before. My thought was to allow drainage or to check for water in the keel after a hard grounding, but that is just a guess. Thank you in advance for any good feedback.
Hole in center of Keel - Hunter 306
- Thread starter PWH
- Start date
That’s not the keel. It’s the stub to which the keel is attached. For whatever reason, Hunter designed the stub to be hollow and fill/drain when in/out of the water.
The bottom of that boat needs all the paint removed. Perhaps a barrier coat, fairing and new smooth bottom paint. That's a significant expense. A lot of yards will not let you do it yourself. I'd be thinking of a pass on that boat for that reason.
Don't know the year of the boat but it was not a factory install for a 1998 H-310.
Maybe hit by a teeny, tiny torpedo from a similar submarine
.
I'd certainly want to know the full story behind it before possibly purchasing the biggest headache of all headaches. Just out of interest, search the archives on this site for "previous owner." You will be scared
-less at what these characters have done over the years.
Maybe hit by a teeny, tiny torpedo from a similar submarine
.I'd say it's sitting right on the intrerface of the stub and the lead keel. WHY ? ? ? ?
I'd certainly want to know the full story behind it before possibly purchasing the biggest headache of all headaches. Just out of interest, search the archives on this site for "previous owner." You will be scared
-less at what these characters have done over the years.
I think (not always a good thing) that Hunter designed that hollow keel stub so reduce weight (material) and lower the COG as far down the keel as practicable.Don't know the year of the boat but it was not a factory install for a 1998 H-310.
Maybe hit by a teeny, tiny torpedo from a similar submarine
I also think some yahoo probably painted over the original drain hole which should be lower on the stub than the one shown in the picture and some other yahoo decided the middle would be a good place to put a new one. Consequently, seeing a threaded hole wouldn’t necessarily indicate a bilge drain but only a misplaced stub drain.
@Don S/V ILLusion
as a hunter dealer who introduced the 306 and sold my fair share, I don’t remember any hole in the area of th stub keel/keel area. Where did you get your information from?
as a hunter dealer who introduced the 306 and sold my fair share, I don’t remember any hole in the area of th stub keel/keel area. Where did you get your information from?
I am not familiar with the 306 keel design. I owned two 40.5s over the years and our son had a 37.5. All had a drain hole in the keel stub.
ill look through my old pictures and send you one if I find it
