H33 buying ifo

Paul F · Feb 14, 2010

Great boat. Have an '80 for seven years. With a three blade prop the small 2 cylinder Yanmar powers the boat well. Read up on the boat info section here and you will find a number of owners who really like this boat.

Chuck Creel · Feb 14, 2010

The Hunter 33's built prior to 1983 were cherubini 's. After that they had changes made to the mast standing rigging and the interior layout as well. they are very seaworthy boats if taken care of and will last many years. they sail very well and are pretty comfortable. Mine is a 1979 H-30 and she is in great shape for her age. Wife and I stay gone 2-4 days with no problem.

Re; engine,
The yanmar will push her sufficiently. As you will know, Yanmars are almost b ullet proof..

Best of luck but i think you'll enjoy the room in the salon on the H-33.

Paul F · Feb 14, 2010

Really haven't had any age related problems. Wear items excepted: sails, running and standing rigging. When you look for 33's on this site the term used is 33_77_83. On my boat and likely the one you are looking at the rudder is the same depth as the shoal keel. I had 7" taken off the bottom of the rudder and added 7" to the trailing edge. If you stay to deep water this is not a problem. We have very thin water down here and I leaned the hard way to stay in deeper water. That is the only major design flaw that I have found in the boat.

Sylvain · Feb 15, 2010

I bought a 33 (1980) in September and find the engine, once started, good enough to get the boat moving. I have the original 2 blade prop and it works ok.

The issues I'm working on:
a) The engine is hard to start. I have to check the valve clearance and then, check the compression.
b) Relocating the breaker panel above the chart table. The ice box compressor pipes are running right beside the panel. With condensation, it was sitting in water.
c) Rewiring. Pretty bad scene. Solid copper household wiring.
d) New mast to deck connectors.
e) Removing and sealing all chain plates and stanchions with all new back plates. Lots of leaks.
f) Install "some" new ports. I have some broken plastic tabs.
g) Remove the original cabin foam/carpet and replace with wood strips.

Otherwise, so far, it was a good choice for the price.

Sylvain

Rod10027 · Feb 15, 2010

h33 / 80

fiestaMojo said:
thanks for the quick reply. . . I looked in the info section, but it seems to be newer 33s. . . I 'm wondering about any problems specific to these boats - I know any boat of this age will have age-related issues. . .

if the hull is solid buy it and don't look back... I run my h33 /82 on the Tennessee river and KY Lake... owned her 3 years... no big issues just general service... replaced a few items ... like port lights and filters... no rigging problems other then the fw furler which can be a pain... knew nothing about sailing or sailboats still know very little... I have original parts / engine / service manuals ... for the Yanmar model 2QM15 engine... and have found the Iron maiden to perform very well... pushes the 33 ... 5 knots at about 3/4 throttle with 3 blade prop ... rpm was busted never felt a need to replace it... enjoy!!!

Rod

David in Sandusky · Feb 15, 2010

"Queen of the Fleet"

I believe that his son, JC II told us that John Cherubini called his 33 footer the "Queen of the Fleet" of boats he designed for Hunter.

Ed Schenck · Feb 15, 2010

Single-handing depends upon winch and mainsheet proximity for me. For years I sailed my H37C solo. Even when my wife was aboard, she was reading and I was sailing. My primary jib winches are right next to the helm. My mainsheet is on the bridgedeck without a winch. But I can run it to the lazy winch if the wind is really howling. All my halyards and the vang are at the mast. The main goes up and down easily, maybe takes me one minute while the autohelm steers. Yankee(jib) is on a furler and is managed from the cockpit. I believe your H33 will be rigged and will sail similarly.

sandpiper10471 · Feb 15, 2010

Very easy to single hand. Mine was the deeper draft model and was dynamite to windward but a bit tricky steering downwind with larger waves. Extremely seaworthy vessel and takes the waves very well. Strong, well built boat.
Problem areas - wet core in deck (very common in this vintage)
- leaky chainplates, toe rail
- cracking, crazed, broken original hatches
- minimal wiring, antiquated panel

I would buy another in a heartbeat.

SamLust · Feb 16, 2010

My 1983 Hunter 33 (C) , serial number 591 appears to be the last one made under that name. Any Boat from the later 1980's referred to as a Hunter 33 was a Hunter 33 QUEST. These were kit boats in that the buyer completed the interior. Witrh these boats what you see is what you get. BEWARE.

There should be a wealth of information on this on the site as this question has been asked and answered at least 3 times that I remember. The 33, having been designed by a boat designer is less prone to the weaknesses of the committee designed Hunters. ("Hunter Design Group").

The 33 will leak at the mast step if the dealer was negligent in commissioning. The wiring needed to be sealed when the mast went up and sometimes wasn't. The only cases of residential solid wiring I have seen were by misguided owners or dealers, not Hunter. "Dealer" and "Hunter" are two entirely different things.

The shoal draft 33 tends to be much more prone to early weather helm but that is the trade-off for being able to sail over and nose into shallower water. I feequently sail mine with 2 feet of water below the keel on the sparse waters of barnegat Bay. The other side of this is that I frequently touch down. No big deal, the biat takes it in stride. Innumerable groundings, no hull damage. The hulll is STRONG. The rudder design needs work. Sawz-all and epoxy good.

33's after 1980 or 81 have the 2GM20 raw water cooled engine. Lighter but less power. I solved that with a 3GM30F.

I have no leaks from my toe rails, but even so, I can get to all of that for repairs if needed, where on the newer boats it is impossible.

I have had mine for about 13 years and am overalll very pleased with it. I have worked on every inch of mine. If you need help I'm happy to oblige.

Rick D · Feb 19, 2010

Now, you do understand we love spending your money, right?

Don't rely on the surveyor for the engine. You should get it checked separately by a competent marine engine mechanic. It won't cost much. Lots of marine surveyors don't have real marine diesel dirty-hands experience.

rardiH36 · Feb 19, 2010

Rick D's advice about having a diesel mechanic inspect the engine is sound. When I bought my boat (1980 Cherubini H36), the general surveyor also did the engine inspection. Ultimately, but after some doubtful moments, the engine turned out to be in fine condition. However, as time progressed and I got into the engine's maintenance and repair, I found that the surveyor missed a lot and got a much wrong in his engine analysis and recommendation section of the survey report.

As to checking the engine on the hard, the raw water intake can be connected to a hose which is inserted into a bucket of water that is situated at a level at or below the what-would-be the waterline. The engine then can be run without overheating or causing damage to the soft rubber pump impellers. Fresh water from the faucet hose constantly fills the bucket. It is the engine's raw water pump which sucks the water from the bucket through the engine and then back out through the exhaust elbow. (I've read that some instead mistakenly connect the high pressure faucet hose directly to the raw water intake side of the sytem. However, this method can be DANGEROUS to the engine and is not recommended because hose water pressure can force water back through the exhaust manifold and into the cylinders under certain conditions.)

I've seen several threads on this forum about methods for running the engine on the hard. A search should reveal more detail.

dwgifford · Feb 23, 2010

My first boat, a 1978 H33, was aquired in May 2009. I had never sailed before and with some proper instruction I am getting better. The shoal draft is necessary down in the Keys and so far, so good.
So far I have removed the old refer units and compressor, restored the aft quarter-berth, removed the stove/oven and am replacing with a Norcold refer unit. Worst feature on this boat is the wiring, but that was the previous owners fault.
A new head, cushions, replumbing the entire fresh-water system have rounded out the repairs so far.
Diesel runs good, starts easy. Replaced the raw water pump and now will keep it flushed w/fresh water after we are out.
I think it is prudent on a boat this old that when you tackel a system you try to replace as many components with new as possible, or at least as necessary.
I have learned a lot about this boat and I have no regrets what-so-ever.
Wish you the best of luck with yours. OPUS is a great vessel.

Ed Schenck · Feb 26, 2010

That's way too much to pay for a surveyor IMHO. And engines are separate?! Did you shop for a surveyor? Maybe that's the rate in Mass, I will defer to others who live up there.