Hunter 23.5 VANTAGE

Feb 6, 2019
3
Hunter 23.5 Lake Martin, AL
Great Pix! Welcome to the forum. We bought a 23.5 as our first boat and promptly joined a sailing club full of Catalina 22's. They look at our Hunter and sadly shake their heads and mutter about water ballast and centerboards and sailing performance. Meanwhile we trailer everywhere and pull up on the beach and enjoy ourselves....
 
Sep 30, 2016
339
Island Packet IP 44 Ventura, CA
If there is a problem with the T balls rotating and kinking the stays it may be with the keepers that hold them in place. At this age of the boats, the original rubber keepers are probably missing or hard and loose. That would allow the fitting to rotate and get kinked. The new keepers (in the forum store), are a different design, made of plastic, and need to be pop-riveted on. But they hold the T-ball firmly in place.
 
Sep 17, 2018
90
Hunter 23.5 Charleston, SC
Hello, congrats on the (new to you boat). I'm confused though. You said it was as Hunter 23.5 #102 VANTAGE but it says Hunter 240 on the side.
Weird, huh? I did a double take when I got the pictures from the seller. Apparently the Previous Owner got the graphics replaced at a dealer and the dealer didn't have 23.5 stickers so they used 240 stickers. 'Cause they're the same thing right?? :doh:

Needless to say I scraped the 240 stickers off during my initial cleanup. Someday I'll have a vinyl shop print me a knockoff of the original swoosh but that's a tomorrow project. :)
 
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Sep 25, 2018
258
Catalina Capri 22 Capri EXPO 14.2 1282 Stony Point
Had a Hunter 23.5 for 12 years. Loved and hated that boat. Loved the room but never used it as I only day sail. Hated to lack of sail controls that had me heading up violently whenever the wind puffed. Remember to reef. Remember to reef!
The boat was solid. The water ballast worked as it was intended and the keel never had a problem, never banged about and always deployed and retracted easily. She survived being thrown onto the dock in a near tornado with only surface dents and a few scratches. No soggy deck.
The lack of sail control made the boat more tender than anything I sailed over the last 30 years. New sails and rig tuning made the handling marginally better than the loose rigging blown out sails I began with.
Replaced the Hunter with a Capri 22. Sail control and a lead keel should make this boat less tippy and capable of balancing the boat. The weather helm on the Hunter got to the point that I could not hold the tiller with my 72 yr old arms and hang on were going to broach. Hopefully this will be a thing of the past as the arms are getting weaker every day.
The Hunter sits in my yard waiting for me to find the time to sell it to someone who has stronger arms than I and the wisdom to reef very early.
 
Sep 19, 2016
172
Caliber 33 Sebastian, FL
Is it possible that your rudder was not always fully deployed? With my 23.5, I found that the factory jam cleat that is supposed to keep the rudder down is not effective (probably just worn out). If I don't lock the rudder down with the regular cleat on the tiller, the rudder would eventually creep up a little and the tiller gets really heavy. With the rudder locked down hard, she still wants to round up in a blow but the forces on the tiller are much reduced. The down side of course is that I've effectively disabled the kick up feature of the rudder...
 
Sep 25, 2018
258
Catalina Capri 22 Capri EXPO 14.2 1282 Stony Point
The rudder would creep up before I got out of the marina if I didn't tie it down to the tiller cleat. No problem on the Hudson as there is deep water everywhere but my marina in Stony Point. Worked on the Hudson for many years doing environmental studies for power plants. I know where not to tread from Nyack to West Point.
 
Sep 17, 2018
90
Hunter 23.5 Charleston, SC
Can you provide a close up of the forward trailer roller as that was modified from the original trailer. I did note the location of the tire secured to the trailer just behind it. I suspect that the line or web strap is holding that roller so it will not bend back. I will comment further when there is a close up of that roller with the base too.
Anything for you, Dave :)
20190424_071232(1).jpg 20190424_071247.jpg
It looks like there was an old weld attaching it somewhere but now it is held in place by the tension of the strap against the roller and the bolt. It is quite solid. I balanced the whole bow of the boat on that roller when I did the bottom paint.

Bottom paint, what a horrible job. Next time I'm paying someone!
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-Z
 
Sep 17, 2018
90
Hunter 23.5 Charleston, SC
Looks like front side rigging is loose Also added this to furler forestay ,take a lot of strain off t-ball and lets forestay move in multiple anglesView attachment 163873
I love this idea!

Congrats on a great boat and a beautiful family! On the rigging, not seeing your furler line, but maybe its on the starboard side?
Oops, I forgot that one but you're right! I took the furling line off because it was nasty and falling apart. Forgot to put a new one on before casting off. Ok, so TWO rigging mistakes...

Regarding the T-ball at the top of your furler. I step my mast 3-4 times a season, doing it for six yrs and never bent mine. I leave the headsail furler attached to the mast while trailering and only remove it for winter storage. When stepping the mast, You need to make sure the T-bolt is in the right position (Pointing straight down the mast and not pointing out to the side) before you start to raise the mast. I would recommend getting your hands on an owners manual and verify the stepping process for your model. Step is slowly and when you get to 90% up, check your 4 turnbuckles for the shrouds to make sure they are straight up and not binding on the "U" bolts. The stepping instructions suggest pushing the white boots down onto the "U" bolts that will hold the cable straight up but it don't work to well for me so I watch them very closely that last 10%. I attached the mast stepping instructions for my H240, hopefully they will help.
If there is a problem with the T balls rotating and kinking the stays it may be with the keepers that hold them in place. At this age of the boats, the original rubber keepers are probably missing or hard and loose. That would allow the fitting to rotate and get kinked. The new keepers (in the forum store), are a different design, made of plastic, and need to be pop-riveted on. But they hold the T-ball firmly in place.
90% of my rigging issues were with the T Balls. My mast is new so it has the updated keepers. They keep the tballs from falling out, and that's about it. They don't do anything to keep them from fouling at 45° and getting stuck.

So I pulled the wires down in line with the mast and wrapped a small bungee to keep them there. Once the mast is raised, the bungee just stretches as the lines tension. Genius! Well, I discovered the flaw in this plan after I cast off and tried to raise the mainsail. There was a bungee in the way of the sail track! 20ft up above my head! :doh:

Ok, what if we reef the mainsail, then we don't have to raise it all the way. Oh no, the reefing lines are missing! No problem, I know how to tie a reefing knot. Here's some spare rope...

Ok, Mainsail is set, but underpowered. Unfurl the jib! ...Where are the jibsheets?? Under the cockpit seat.

... Several lessons were learned that day.

I decided to order new jibsheets, mainsheet and main halyard. Found some Marlow XLS on clearance and ended up ordering new everything!
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I cleaned and lubricated the mainsheet fiddles. This made a huge difference in stepping the mast.
20190322_141926.jpg

The boom was new and had a half dozen bails in it--only one was actually riveted in. It was closest to the mast so I assume it is the vang. I measured from the mast to the mainsheet U-Bolt in the cockpit floor and riveted a bail on the boom so it would be straight above. Then I measured the sail from the leech to the reefing eye in the luff and riveted a bail slightly forward of there. I used this diagram I found from a H240 and fished new lines thru the boom for the outhaul and reef.
20190322_153220.jpg 20190322_153739.jpg Boom Rigging.jpg
They work ok. I wish I could get more leverage so I am thinking of adding some blocks to the mast base so I can run the lines to a winch.

-Z
 
Sep 17, 2018
90
Hunter 23.5 Charleston, SC
Had a Hunter 23.5 for 12 years. Loved and hated that boat. Loved the room but never used it as I only day sail. Hated to lack of sail controls that had me heading up violently whenever the wind puffed. Remember to reef. Remember to reef!
The boat was solid. The water ballast worked as it was intended and the keel never had a problem, never banged about and always deployed and retracted easily. She survived being thrown onto the dock in a near tornado with only surface dents and a few scratches. No soggy deck.
The lack of sail control made the boat more tender than anything I sailed over the last 30 years. New sails and rig tuning made the handling marginally better than the loose rigging blown out sails I began with.
Replaced the Hunter with a Capri 22. Sail control and a lead keel should make this boat less tippy and capable of balancing the boat. The weather helm on the Hunter got to the point that I could not hold the tiller with my 72 yr old arms and hang on were going to broach. Hopefully this will be a thing of the past as the arms are getting weaker every day.
The Hunter sits in my yard waiting for me to find the time to sell it to someone who has stronger arms than I and the wisdom to reef very early.
I went for a sail this weekend in a blow. The forecast was for 8kt and sunny skies. Ha. Maybe on land. In the harbor it was blowing 12-15, gusting to 20. Made for a pretty tippy ride. I reefed the main tight (only 1 reef on my main), and hauled the vang as hard as I could, but we were still pretty overpowered. I don't think I experienced the same weather helm that you speak of, however. I found the rudder quite balanced and the boat never rounded up on me unexpectedly. Overall she felt quite safe. Once we got into the shadow of the peninsula I was able to sail a close reach without touching the rudder at all. If it blew hard the boat would turn gently into the wind until the jib luffed and then it would pivot out and continue on course. That was fun to witness.

Here's a video I took with my potato. The boat is sailing itself. My mom was a good sport about all the heeling. Spring sailing! :biggrin:

I learned to sail on a Catalina 250, and THAT boat had heavy heavy weather helm. At the end of the day my arm would be tired from fighting the rudder.

My rudder downhaul is tied securely to the tiller so I have no kickup capability. An auto-release clam cleat is on my wishlist.

-Z
 
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Apr 27, 2010
1,236
Hunter 23 Lake Wallenpaupack
I sometimes wrap paper masking tape around the shrouds and mast just below the tball fittings to hold the shrouds pointing down. I cut the tape away where the slot is so I can raise the main. The shrouds rip through the tape as they get tight. I had hoped sun and weather would dissolve the paper but it tends to last. Depending on how robust your bungee is, would hauling it the sail pop it off?
What line do you want more leverage for - the reef? Not sure why you need more, as on mine I can pull it by hand as long as the main has been lowered some.
 
Sep 19, 2016
172
Caliber 33 Sebastian, FL
I like your boat cradle. Can you share more about that and the procedure you used to load the boat onto the cradle?
 
Sep 17, 2018
90
Hunter 23.5 Charleston, SC
I sometimes wrap paper masking tape around the shrouds and mast just below the tball fittings to hold the shrouds pointing down. I cut the tape away where the slot is so I can raise the main. The shrouds rip through the tape as they get tight. I had hoped sun and weather would dissolve the paper but it tends to last. Depending on how robust your bungee is, would hauling it the sail pop it off?
I tried the masking tape also but hated seeing the tape aloft. Last time I used a bungee on each side wrapped around the loose shrouds and hooked to the lifelines to keep the shrouds taught while raising. This worked pretty well.

What line do you want more leverage for - the reef? Not sure why you need more, as on mine I can pull it by hand as long as the main has been lowered some.
I was going to say both, but you're right, you don't need much leverage if you tension the reef BEFORE hauling the main halyard. I will do that in the future. I suppose the same could be true for the outhaul, but I would like to be able to adjust that while underway. Future project.

-Z
 
Sep 17, 2018
90
Hunter 23.5 Charleston, SC
I like your boat cradle. Can you share more about that and the procedure you used to load the boat onto the cradle?
Sure! With boat secured to the trailer, I used floor jacks and jack stands to lift the TRAILER as high as I could get it.
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Then with the trailer in the air, I built the cradle under the stern. It is assembled with SPAX lag screws, very strong.
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The stern has a bit of a curve to it so I built the cradle to match but this 2x4 didn't flex enough and split. It looks ugly but held up fine.
20190315_190340.jpg
I wanted to build a cradle under the bow as well and bought some 2x10's to span the width, but there just wasn't enough clearance between the hull and the trailer. So I secured the rear cradle with some straps. Moved the jackstands to the front crossmember of the trailer, and gently lowered the rear of the trailer down so the boat was balanced securely on the rear cradle and front bow roller.
20190316_143600(1).jpg

Sanding was the worst. My shopvac and sander are now permanently blue. As well as my driveway. And my eyeballs.
20190316_142309(0)(2).jpg
Paint was pretty easy. I used West Marine CPP because I'm cheap and it was on sale. I found that I wasn't quite able to get the keel trunk properly scraped and painted. I wish I had read the writeup in this forum about dropping the keel. Next time I will.
20190317_170526(1).jpg
Recovery is the same, in reverse. Jack the trailer up until it lifts the boat off the cradle. Strap the boat down tight, lower the trailer to the ground. Paint the stern :)

-Z
 
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Sep 19, 2016
172
Caliber 33 Sebastian, FL
Nice! I googled for tips for painting boats on trailers but never cam across the idea of jacking the trailer first. That makes allot of sense.
 

MrEd

.
Jun 5, 2004
70
Hunter 240 Louisville, KY/ Patoka Lake,IN
Congrats, but it looks like you have a 240.
 
Sep 19, 2016
172
Caliber 33 Sebastian, FL
This is definitely a 23.5. Hunter made some significant changes to the stern on the 240. Sugar scoop profile and modified rudder as seen here:

 
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Jun 8, 2004
10,024
-na -NA Anywhere USA
@PropellerHead
Your photo of the boat is a 240 which I recognize the Boarding ladder and the step platform which the 23.5 did not have. The hull number will definetly tell along with the forward hatch if you can post a photo of that. Look @SkookumZac boat to the stern boarding ladder as it is different that of a 23.5. I was not clear on your post.

Anyone with a 23.5 Hunter, will you take a photo of your trailer with reference to any roller on an upright support behind the trailer winch stand. I want to comment on SkookumZac's trailer as a weld broke and the strap should not be there. To be blunt, I was against that as the roller impeded the loading of the 23.5 onto the trailer. I went for a lowered roller. @Kermit do you have a picture of your 260 trailer that you can share. I think you have what I am talking about.