Hunter 23 Lake Ontario Crossing

[grindz145]

Hunter 23 Lake Ontario Crossing - Any Pocket-Cruisers?

Hey guys,

So I've got it in my head that I want to make the Hunter 23 my "pocket cruiser". I have plans this summer to do a 300+ mile sail over the course of about 10 days.

I'm wondering: how well suited is the Hunter 23 for a lake crossing? It's a solid 60 miles or so directly across the lake. I'm experienced with my old Irwin (which was just too costly and arduous to run).

I love the reliability of having no thru-hulls (below water line), no keel mechanism, simple outboard. Only the basics to worry about reliability-wise. So in that regard, I'm fairly confident.

However, lake Ontario is essentially open water, so from a sailing characteristics point of view, what are people's opinions? The hunter is light on ballast from my point of view.
Has anyone else done similar cruising with small boats?

I'm looking forward to at least doing alot of coastal pocket-cruising if nothing else!

Thanks!
-Troy

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Sometimes major storms can come up in the Great Lakes. How about some advice for this fellow on Lake Ontario.

I am not familiar with the area but in Canadian waters, it is my understandaing that a standard porta poti is not allowed.

 

[grindz145]

Very good feedback Dave. It's true, a standard porta potti is not allowed in Canada, but I'm not actually going to be crossing directly to Canada (maybe somtime I will). This summer I'm planning to cross over to the thousand-island region.

I have two options, follow the coast, or cut straight through. I would like to cut straight though. Obviously I will have a better idea later in the summer once I'm comfortable with sailing the boat. Also, I would pay very close attention to the weather, and only attempt if conditions are near ideal.

 

[Kermit]

I love the reliability of having no thru-hulls, no keel mechanism, simple outboard. Only the basics to worry about reliability-wise. So in that regard, I'm fairly confident.

My 1986 H23 has 3 thru-hulls. One for the anchor locker drain, one for the cockpit drain and one for the bilge pump. I'm pretty sure a previous owner added the bilge pump drain but really think the cockpit drain and anchor locker drain are original.
I wish you fair winds and full sails. My First Mate and I have visited the 1000 Islands. Absolutely beautiful up there.

 

[grindz145]

Very good point Kermit! I should have clarified.

No through hulls below the water-line, and that's not even quite true.

My old boat had:
3 seacocks below the waterline
1 packing gland for the keel drop
1 packing gland for the output shaft seal

All of these always made me uneasy. I always had to double check them. It just gives me peice of mind that there's a solid piece of fiberglass in the water, with the exception of (at least on my boat) a speed pickup, which is no longer used. I'm going to epoxy over this just to be safe.

 

[grindz145]

Hey Kermit,

I'd like to see pictures of how your bildge pump is setup! The space in the bilge is so small, I have no idea how to actually get a pump in there.

Could you explain, or post pictures!?

Thanks!
-Troy

 

[Kermit]

I don't have pictures of it. The pump is in the storage area under the cockpit. It does not do anything to remove water from inside the cabin under the sole. I have to wipe that up as needed. It could be quite awhile before I could post pictures for you. Sorry.

 

[grindz145]

That's fine Kermit, no worries,

It makes perfect sense to me then, if you have a bilge pump in the "lazerette" bilge, so to speak.

However, that area drains down into the main bilge, so have you plugged the drain in the lazerette area?

 

[Kermit]

I haven't done any plugging. Never thought to check on that. I'm pretty sure it's solid down there.

 

[grindz145]

My boat has some make-shift valve stuck in there. I'm assuming it's attempting to limit the bilge to the upper area, and keep it out of the cabin. I'll have to rip it out and see what's actually going on.

 

[peptobysmol]

Mine doesn't have a valve between the lazarette and the cabin. But you guys are also forgetting about the sink drain through hole

 

[grindz145]

+1

Still no seacocks holding the water out of the boat though, which makes me happy. If those lines come loose or leak, your boat doesn't sink, not in short order anyway. I guess that's all I'm saying

So no long range Hunter 23 Microcruisers eh?

 

[walmsleyc]

Lake Ontario ...

It can get nasty on the Lake (or any Lake of similar size). Some things you can predict and avoid by monitoring the weather, and other things you can't, and never will. If you run with that assumption, then you need to be prepared to ride out 30+ knot winds and 10+' waves if things turn nasty. That gets uncomfortable even in bigger boats.

So, if you feel your boat is sound, and you are prepared and comfortable with nasty conditions, they enjoy. That would be a small boat for open lake conditions for my tastes, but many have done it with similar sized boats.

Seacocks are the least of your worry. Boats of all sizes have them, and they should be inspected, maintained, hoses double clamped, and you should be fine. But you should also assume that one will fail, and be prepared with plugs of various sizes and a plan for dealing with such a situation.

Cheers
Chris

 

[Kivalo]

I spent a month on Lake Ontario aboard my 2003 H-260. My crew was my Chocolate Lab. Started out of Little Sodus Bay, Fair Haven NY, and sailed west to Irondiquiot(sp?) Bay and then back to the Islands. I loved it. If I could I would do it again. As has been mentioned storms can come up quickly so watch out, although that seems to be true for most places. I thought about sailing straight across the lake but was hesitant because of the dog. I didn't want my buddy stuck without being able to go and the alternative was not overly appealing to me.

Brad
s/v KIVALO

 

[grindz145]

Thanks Chris,

That's more-or-less what I had in mind as well. We're used to motorcycle touring, so by comparison there is tons of space . I plan to put many many hours in before we attempt this, and if we aren't comfortable dealing with the unexpected, as you've mentioned, then we'll stick to the coast.

I'm a big fan of the less-is-more principle, but I realize this does not always carry so well into the sailing world

 

[grindz145]

That's awesome feedback Brad! We'll probably be sailing with our Lab/beagle too So maybe that's also a good idea, so there are stops for her along the way, though we're hoping to cockpit train her, as many have done as I understand. Possibly too ambitious in a matter of months. Thanks!

 

[sesmith]

We haven't hauled our 23.5 up to Ontario yet, and I'm not sure I really want to. The last Ontario experience my wife and I had was in a previous power boat we owned (a 20' Tompson). We left Henderson bay in the morning for the Thousand Island area. Waves were supposed to be 2-4' in the lake with the wind picking up later in the afternoon. When we noticed the waves were 2-4' just in the bay, the light should have turned on. We zig-zagged up the lake as the 3-5' waves were beam on. By the time we hit cape Vincent they were 8-10' coming directly behind us and had spray blowing off the tops. Never want to do that again. So in answer to your question, it all depends on the weather, which can be unpredictable up there. Hugging the coast really doesn't matter because if something happens, you're just closer to being washed up onto rocks. The waves were as high as they were that day by Cape Vincent because it gets shallower and the wavelength decreases and the height increases, making them more dangerous.

Not sure where you're located. but for the last 3 years we've hauled our boat up to Lake Champlain. It's big enough to have a Great Lakes feel about it, and can get plenty exciting. It also has a lot of interesting places to go, and lot's of opportunity to find sheltered anchorages for the night.

 

[grindz145]

Great to hear from another person with a similar boat in the area! Sounds like no matter what, you better be pretty comfortable with the boat in a variety of conditions to make any trip of any real distance.

I'm really looking forward to it though!

P.S. I'm from just east of Rochester, so I'm not far from you. I don't have any intention of trailering my boat, other than to dry sail it in order to save from costly docking fees. I'm a true believer in sailing your boat to the destination.

I think it comes from my motorcycling ethos, which is very anti-trailer. It defeats the purpose just the same in both scenarios. It would be a great experience to sail lake champlain though!

 

[Kivalo]

Sailing with the dog is fun. I found that getting him excersize was really easy. Slow the boat down to his swimming speed & toss his toy off the stern and he'd jump out after it and swim back to the boat. Considering the movement of the boat it would take a few minutes of hard swimming to get back. It doesn't take too long and you have an exhausted pup on your hands. The draw back is getting him back on board. Moriarty didn't have much of an issue, he was in his physical prime and damn near nothing but muscle, energy & a seemingly endless ability to swim for miles. Now... not so much. He's gray haired, old & spoiled rotten! LOL I also used a doggy life jacket at first because I wasn't sure how he'd react with trying to swim after the boat but it quickly became apparent he didn't need or want it but it helped in getting him back abord. Although the few times I encountered really rough weather I made him wear it, just to be safe. I tried to sail near enough to shore so that should I need to I could easily reach a safe swimming distance for him so he could perform any unexpected "pit stops." I didn't want to be 5 miles out and find out that he really had to go and then take, for him, forever getting to shore. Plus I tried making it so he would have to go every morning. A few extra snacks at night without the luxury of a before bed "pit stop" and he was, usually, raring to go in the mornings.

I am envious of your plans! I cannot wait for the day I rejoin the ranks of the cruising sailor. Enjoy you trip!

Brad
s/v KIVALO

 

[grindz145]

That sounds awesome. That's so funny, because I bought our pup a doggy lifejacket, thinking the same thing, that the handle would be the most useful feature, for getting her back on board.

I figure we'll warm her up to sailing slowly, keeping her biological needs in mind, but it's hard to keep her away from the water, so I imagine she won't be too disappointed