Buying a new 33

JoeWhite · Mar 22, 2011

definitely check the engine yourself. Do not let anyone rush you. Get surveyors as your insurance company will ask for it. Then have fun.

Kermit · Mar 23, 2011

Juice6576 said:
Any good - bad -ugly things to watch out for in the delivery process. Anybody interested in a 96 Hunter 26?

I would *definitely* watch out for this. Something about a $25 turnbuckle that broke. Look carefully and you can see the "Proud New Owner" in the boat as it's falling.

Kermit

Ed Schenck · Mar 23, 2011

My marina is also a Hunter dealer. So I have witnessed a number of new boat commissionings. I do not think that I have seen one surveyed. But given the after sale problems I have seen it might be a good idea. I found this on the subject:
http://www.sailboatsurveys.com/marine-survey-questions.html . Whatever, great boat. Congratulations!

Scott B · Mar 23, 2011

Juice6576 said:
Well after looking at some older boats, we've decided to take the big jump and buy a new Hunter 33. I signed the contract today and now its time to get financing.

Any good - bad -ugly things to watch out for in the delivery process. Anybody interested in a 96 Hunter 26?

Nice boat .....

How new, brand new out of the box??

Les · Mar 23, 2011

I've bought ten new sailboats over the years. It is an interesting process. Much will depend upon the shipyard that will unload the boat off the truck and then put it together--commissioning. If it is a good yard, they will have specialist in rigging, engines, bottom paint and then checking out the all the systems (fuel, propane, refrig, etc.)

The supervision of the yard should be done by the dealer although I have found that I have had to keep tabs on things as well. My last boat was painted with the wrong bottom paint, although in the ordering list, we specified certain types of paint. We caught that in time.

But no matter how good the shipyard and how good the dealer some problems will slip through the cracks. It took me three years to solve a problem on my present (new) Hunter 27. The main sail was incorrectly cut and no one could figure out the problem. It's fixed now but somethings take time.

Some of the problems were of my own making. This time I order a radio that was too big for the navigation locker panel. We had to send that back and get a smaller VHF radio. My point being that there will be some slippage here and there. Don't loose your cool. And be prepared to wait. Shipyards will do something on your boat and then move their workers to another project. On our last commissioning it took the shipyard one week to install the wheel, not the pedestal, just the wheel. They probably won't work steadily on your boat which will drive you crazy as it did me.

But the end result I have found is that your systems (wiring, electronics, tankage, cooking, etc.) will be up to date and meet the latest codes. I've had a certified marine electrician say that Hunter does the best wiring of all boats.

Some suggestions: buy a three blade Max prop. I've had them on the last three boats. Standard gear for Swans and Oyster boats. You'll love it. Get companionway doors from this site from Creative Concepts. And if your wife likes to sail, up size the winches. She love you.

By the way, if you decide to sell the boat sometime in the future, you'll find you will probably get much of your money back. I bought a new Hunter 380 for $129.000 in 1999 and sold it in 2008 for $121,000. I wish you well. Enjoy.

duality · Mar 23, 2011

you may want to contact this guy. http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?p=663177&highlight=hunterblows

Scott B · Mar 23, 2011

duality said:
you may want to contact this guy. http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?p=663177&highlight=hunterblows

I would put that one down to a very isolated experience. Product of a dealer trying to commision a boat from too far away and with the wrong people on site. Not to say it can't be done, as I know of the local dealer in my area commisioning a new H39 in FLA.

duality · Mar 23, 2011

scott, i would disagree. the original post was;

"Any good - bad -ugly things to watch out for in the delivery process"

and since this was the same model and most likely the same dealer i would recommend this buyer get in contact with this former customer to see how it worked out.

in the older post there was plenty of issues with the fit and finish of the new hunter 33 that was sent to florida. it would be nice to know that hunter fixed all the factory defects.

it would also be nice to know if the dealer ever contacted the customer again to respond to their issues. it would seem unfailr to the factory and dealer if they took care of the posted problems and the original author didnt update the board.

anyway, the post told a story of the same model that this poster wanted to know if there were any known problems of boat that he must of spent well over 100k.

mike

Scott B · Mar 23, 2011

Except that most of those items were from commisioning not from Hunter. I believe the dealer hired someone local, that backfired on them, so is not normal even for the dealer commisioning the boat at their docks..... huge difference.

seadaddler · Mar 23, 2011

Hunters are Great

Some times thing get missed at the factory and at the dealer because people make mistakes but it is the dealers job to make things right,when my new 2007 H-36 was being commissioned at the dealer in Ct.I know for sure they needed to correct some things on my boat and only because hearing some complaints here on this forum about Hunters and Catalina's and Benn also other boat manufactors that I stay around the yard and checking my boat myself making sure every thing was done really well,I got to sleep on my boat while in the slip checking things out when the workers went home and everything was perfect and I am sure I drove them crazy asking so many questions every day until it was ready for me to sail away.
My dealer spent about 8 hours over 2 days going over all the small and big things on my boat which is all documented and Hunter and the dealer and the owner gets a copy.
So just make sure every thing is perfect before taking your boat home and ask questions just like buying a car or House and congrs and have fun with your new sailboat,I have owned 2 brand new Hunters and would buy a new Hunter again.
Nick

Ken13559 · Mar 25, 2011

Juice, if you do a search for Sonny, a H33 owner on this site, you'll find he has quite afew problem with his brand new H33. Agree that ocassionally someone gets a lemon or a Monday boat. Another friend's H33 was relatively problem free. You should set aside enough time each weekend to go through your new boat with a fine comb to identify as much manuf issue so that your dealer could get it fix asap.

Scott B · Mar 25, 2011

Ken, you mean this post .... Built Quality We didn't get the entire story behind this one, but Hunter did come through for him and seemed to be satified in the end.

Juice, I think the key thing is to be present as much as possible and communicate with your dealer. There will be issues. Usually with good communication they will be resolved.

BillyK · Mar 25, 2011

Les said:
By the way, if you decide to sell the boat sometime in the future, you'll find you will probably get much of your money back. I bought a new Hunter 380 for $129.000 in 1999 and sold it in 2008 for $121,000. I wish you well. Enjoy.

Really?? I've found that boat depreciate as bad as cars.. Sometimes worse.

Alex Dare · Apr 7, 2011

Juice,
If Hunter had to start an order boat from scratch and hadn't even started to lay up a hull yet, I doubt you'd be talking two weeks. Much depends on the estimated demand for the model, time of year..ect Hunter sometimes has boats running on the production line that are not assigned yet to a dealer for stock or to a customer. Boats for customers, especially this time of year when everyone is anxious, tend to take precedent.
As for delivery, if you can, don't make your first big shakedown sail the trip to your home marina. A good dealer will seatrial the boat and correct defects that they find before you take possession but that's not the same as using the boat as an owner. They won't be cooking in the kitchen, using the head and shower, anchoring out, spending the night..ect so there will be things that they will miss. See if they'll let you use the boat out of there facility for at least a long weekend before you take it away. Go for a couple sails, anchor out, spend the night onboard, take it in and out of the slip and above all try everything out. Unless your home port is close to the dealer, it's much easier for you to ask questions and for the dealer to resolve small issues while it's at their facility. Sometimes this is difficult or inconvenient due to distance from the dealer, their availability of open slips ect...but it is worth it if you can do it.

FastOlson · Apr 7, 2011

Interesting to see how strongly most forum participants will urge a buyer to get a survey on any used boat at any price, even "free"....
In this thread, very few seem to urge a full survey on a $100K Plus purchase from a builder that caters to the "affordable" end of the sailing market.

Savvy buyers of high-end boats, sail and power, routinely have a survey done during construction and upon delivery. So, when buying at the bargain end, getting a survey should be a no-brainer.

As other satisfied Hunter owners have pointed out, the factory does many things well and usually meets all published standards. Your survey will not only address ABYC boilerplate, but also fitness for use and general industry construction standards.

This is pennies on your purchase price. Don't stint.
Your insurance company will like it too.

It's very easy to be dazzled by the shine of a new boat and the odor of styrene inside...
(I have been there...)

That's just the time when you need a dispassionate report of someone with no financial interest and someone not in love with the boat!

Now do your Due Diligence and then go for a sail!

L

Scott B · Apr 7, 2011

Juice6576 said:
Picked out fabrics today. Hunter said the boat should be shipping on April 11. That's just barely two weeks from when the order was made and financing approved. Is that a normal turnaround for getting a new boat built. The dealer thought that things are slow so they had a boat mostly complete waiting for an order.

Either Hunter had one sitting in inventory, just to keep the line going or the dealer had put in a previous order for a stock boat for their inventory and it came ready as you were ordering. Cushions are easy to swap out to suit choice of fabric.

Either way makes no difference except you get your boat faster.

Suggestion above for a survey, is also a consideration, especially if you're uncomfortable with all the systems of the boat. Difference between buying used and buying new, with a new boat you have a warranty, used there is no warranty after purchase.

Buying a new 33

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