Hunters WB Demise

Jun 8, 2004
10,027
-na -NA Anywhere USA
First for a comment on my dealership when in business. I stocked the entire Hunter line and Precison line. Included I stocked every Catalina up thru the 38 as well as a couple of other lines. My inventory of new sailboats at the time was the largest display of new boats in the country if not worldwide until I started to wind down and retire. Even sold Beneteau but when going to North Carolina I was not permitted to be a dealer anymore as the Charleston SC dealer representing NC had no dealerships in NC but that changed quickly.

Speaking with other former dealers and manufacturers, sailing in smaller sailboats has waned in recent years and with new trailerables costing over $50 K, that is a lot for any middleclass family as their 401K and other financials have gone down with a very shrunken middle class in the country in the past 10 years. Who knows what the future will hold as the economy starts to pick up with tax cuts for the manufacturers with increase in pay and jobs coming back.

As for the 260, if you ever splashed one, the deck and hull would have to be changed out so not to infringe on rights and call it something else. The cost of planning, designing and building new molds is expensive as it would take about 200 boats to sell to make it work for any new model but for a splashed hull that is changed, the numbers needed to break even would be a lot lower. However, I do not have the funds and with age, I do not have the desire to do that.
 
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Bosman

.
Oct 24, 2010
346
Solina 27 Wabamun, Alberta
Dave - out of curiosity, what was the sail away price for well equipped 260 when new?
 
Nov 10, 2017
258
Hunter Legend 260 Epidavros
Dave - out of curiosity, what was the sail away price for well equipped 260 when new?
Taking inflation and consumer prices since the cease of production of the H260 is a good question to ask. At the moment with not knowing all the figures it is a difficult equation. I do still believe there is a market for a WB, swing keel, trailerable sailboat. My only reservation is the legal towable beam which does limit somewhat.
 
Sep 10, 2012
220
Hunter 450 Gulfport, Florida
Having owned an H240 I found it to be fun fast but initial tenderness was alarming sailing in the variable winds of Colorado, I lost the boat in a divorce and my hunt was not going to consider WB as an option. I stumbled on the Dehler and decided to go with it and never looked back, I have never been able to put the rail under. It has about 800 lbs of WB and about the same in a vertical lifting steel fin. It is now my 25' little boat and time to sell. Dehler also stopped building the WB 22 and 25 but it is in my opinion hands down a faster and more capable pocket cruiser even the spade rudder assembly can be drawn completely out of the boat. PM me if you are looking at options.
 
Aug 22, 2017
1,609
Hunter 26.5 West Palm Beach
...
3. I carry a low pressure air mattress pump and a custom fitting that allows me to blow the ballast out of the water tank. It takes about 10 minutes to do this and a long time ago someone had calculated it only takes about 0.8 psi (which I believe is correct but cant prove it). Those air mattress pumps are around 1 psi or a little higher and work just fine for this. ...
Water is roughly 1/2 psi per foot of head height, so 0.8psi would be able to push water uphill a little over a foot, but not nearly 2 feet.
 

walt

.
Jun 1, 2007
3,511
Macgregor 26S Hobie TI Ridgway Colorado
I tried finding the thread where someone "figured out" what the pressure needed is to empty the ballast tank and just cant find it. Whatever it was, it seemed like everything made sense at the time.. But I sure dont remember the details.. LOL.. What I can tell you for sure is that the air mattress pump in the picture (I think bought at Walmart) will empty the water ballast on the Mac 26S in between 10 to 15 minutes. I think this one had about a 1.1 or 1.2 psi spec. The Mac 26S is lighter than the H26 or H260 so maybe you would need slightly higher pressure. My bet is that the same air mattress pump would work just fine. Someone must have tried this already as it can make getting the boat back on the trailer easier.?? When I would do this for getting the boat off the water, I would turn on the air pump and get the truck and trailer. When I came back, I would see bubbles coming up from under the boat and it would be sitting 2 to 4 (cant remember exactly) inches higher than when the ballast tank is full. The risk.. If you forget to open the valve at the bottom of the boat, all that pressure builds up in the water tank. It was my understanding (which could be wrong) that the manufactures would test the water ballast tank to significantly higher pressure than than the air mattress pump can produce.

 
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Jun 8, 2004
10,027
-na -NA Anywhere USA
It is up to the individual boat owner but pressurizing the tank is not recommended getting rid of water ballast from boat while in the water. I have seen too much pressure applied to various mfg. boats breaking the seal and then you have real problems
 
Nov 10, 2017
258
Hunter Legend 260 Epidavros
First for a comment on my dealership when in business. I stocked the entire Hunter line and Precison line. Included I stocked every Catalina up thru the 38 as well as a couple of other lines. My inventory of new sailboats at the time was the largest display of new boats in the country if not worldwide until I started to wind down and retire. Even sold Beneteau but when going to North Carolina I was not permitted to be a dealer anymore as the Charleston SC dealer representing NC had no dealerships in NC but that changed quick
Only a small dealership then ;):biggrin:

As for the 260, if you ever splashed one, the deck and hull would have to be changed out so not to infringe on rights and call it something else. The cost of planning, designing and building new molds is expensive as it would take about 200 boats to sell to make it work for any new model but for a splashed hull that is changed, the numbers needed to break even would be a lot lower.
Could the moulds not be bought at a very modest price if the WB boats are deemed by the powers at be to have had their day?

However, I do not have the funds and with age, I do not have the desire to do that.
Only a small dealership then ;):biggrin:
Could the moulds not be bought at a very modest price if the WB boats are deemed by the powers at be to have had their day?

It's a proper B'd when one drifts into the twilight years. I won't mention about funds:wahwah: . . . :D
 
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Kermit

.
Jul 31, 2010
5,657
AquaCat 12.5 17342 Wateree Lake, SC
Somehow I sorta halfway maybe possibly recall seeing that someone used an aquarium pump to empty the ballast tank. (It probably helped keep the fish alive, too.)
 
Jun 8, 2004
10,027
-na -NA Anywhere USA
After years of sittting on the elements have deteriorated the molds plus you would run the risk of copy right laws which is why a few suggested changes. Enough on this
 
Nov 10, 2017
258
Hunter Legend 260 Epidavros
After years of sittting on the elements have deteriorated the molds plus you would run the risk of copy right laws
Not if you bought the rights . . . how many years are we talking about? The yachts are holding together very well so why not the moulds?
 
Nov 8, 2010
11,386
Beneteau First 36.7 & 260 Minneapolis MN & Bayfield WI
Only a small dealership then ;):biggrin:
Could the moulds not be bought at a very modest price if the WB boats are deemed by the powers at be to have had their day?
It's a proper B'd when one drifts into the twilight years. I won't mention about funds
:wahwah: . . . :D
You know the joke about how to make a small fortune in the boat business, right??
 
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Aug 22, 2017
1,609
Hunter 26.5 West Palm Beach
Years ago I years ago I heard a criticism of heavy weighted centerboards, such as Catalina? But I was never sure if it was true.

The comment was that if the boat is knocked down the centerboard can swing up into the hull but then when it rights again the heavy centerboard goes flying down and can rip out the bottom of the boat. It sounds plausible but is there any truth to it?
I like the way that Tripp handles the option of a retractable keel.
 
Aug 22, 2017
1,609
Hunter 26.5 West Palm Beach
Sailboatdata lists ballast for the 240 & 260 at 1,300# & 2,000#. With water weighing something like 8 pounds per gallon, that would mean that we would be talking about 160ish & 250ish gallons of water. I would think that a 1,000gph bilge pump might be a nice option for emptying those tanks.
 
Nov 10, 2017
258
Hunter Legend 260 Epidavros
Now I feel soooooooooo depressed . . . . . lighten up folks, Spring is coming.