What would you like to see in your owner's manual?

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Mar 21, 2004
343
Hunter 25.5 Carlyle, IL
Online

Put the manuals online. An archive section that contains earlier printings and discontinued models would also be important. Boat stay around a lot longer than their manuals. A third owner may never get to see the original manual. The archive section would contain the all of the manuals for a given model even though there might be annual updates.
 

Al9586

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May 23, 2004
55
Hunter 356 Orange Park, Fl
I like John's idea, but how about

a complete list of all regular maintenance recommendations for all installed equipment? (especially on easily completed engine tasks like valve adjustment, impeller replacement (maybe an engine service manual and parts manual?) include parts, materials, step by step instructions.
 
B

Bill O'Donovan

Job it out to an editor

Much anxiety and confusion can be saved by hiring a freelance editor to whip the book into readable shape. Whatever the cost, it will preclude hours of time wasted by people trying to puzzle out the directions by calling Hunter, not to mention asking HOW. Focus should be on accuracy, brevity, clarity.
 
Dec 2, 1997
8,709
- - LIttle Rock
Al, isn't all you ask for already included in the

manuals for each piece of equipment, including the engine manuals? If they don't already include the instructions you want, it's that equipment mfr you should be asking for them, not the boat builder. Whether the builder or dealer supplies it or not, the manual for every piece of equipment should be in some kind of file or binder and kept on the boat...and updated as equipment is added or replaced. If you or the PO tossed 'em (which most boat owners regrettably do), most are already available on equipment mfrs' websites...you can download, print and save to CD yourself...or get by calling that equipment mfr if the manual isn't available on the net. The owners manual for a boat should include everything the builder designs--wiring, fuel and plumbing schematics, rigging instructions etc...but many of y'all asking them to duplicate the manuals for equipment that the builder only buys and installs. The builder and/or dealer already supplies those manuals with each new boat. If the builder and/or dealer puts them in some kind of file or binder, MAYBE owners will actually keep 'em instead of just tossing 'em all out along with the plastic wrappers on the cushions, as most do now.
 
Jun 2, 2004
3,390
Hunter 23.5 Fort Walton Yacht Club, Florida
List of Mid Year and Model Changes and Loose Leaf

There are many changes as the model evolves. A couple of years later it seems nobody knows what year or what hull numbers started the changes. If it were a loose leaf manual we could download changes and replace the pages that are changes, additions or corrections.
 
Dec 2, 1997
8,709
- - LIttle Rock
That's something Hunter should do...

Which makes your suggestion of a loose leaf manual good one, 'cuz it allows them to supply the right manual for each boat instead of a "generic" manual that may or may not match. Otoh, if they give you TOO much accurate information, what would you have to talk about here? :)
 

Alan

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Jun 2, 2004
4,174
Hunter 35.5 LI, NY
*boxPolars, Polars, Polars*box

Polars, Polars, Polars......do I need to say it more. What the hell is wrong with giving vital information to sailors who NEED this stuff and have no real source for it!!! *box
 

JerryA

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Oct 17, 2004
549
Tanzer 29 Jeanneau Design Sandusky Bay, Lake Erie
New owner info

I'm new to sailing with a 2005 170. My owners manual was photo copied and stapled together. That wouldn't be so bad, but it didn't include explanation for some of the hardware on my boat. Specifically the hardware associated with the reefing points on the main. I figured it out after seeing another already rigged. An experienced sailor probably wouldn't need a manual for a 170. :) I think the manual for a 170 could also be a set of vinyl decals applied to the inside of the storage area for reference. Maybe not the whole thing, but how the rigging is run. Might seem stupid, but when you're assembling your 170 at the ramp you don't look too cool reading the manual.
 
Mar 20, 2004
1,729
Hunter 356 and 216 Portland, ME
Hunter Manuals

Peggy, with respect for your expertise and experience, maybe Hunter has slipped-a number of the "manuals" provided with my 2002 356 were really poor xeroxes and barely adequate to identify the maker/model. Yes, many of these are available from the mfrs, but why should I have to search? HUnter is buying the gear in quantity, the manuals should come with it.
 
Dec 2, 1997
8,709
- - LIttle Rock
I think we're saying the same thing, Chuck

If you reread my comments, I think you'll see that I agree with everything you said. "Yes, many of these are available from the mfrs, but why should I have to search? HUnter is buying the gear in quantity, the manuals should come with it." Absolutely! Every piece of equipment leaves the factory with a manual or literature of some kind. So there's no excuse for any builder or dealer to supply x-teenth generation photocopies of any literature, or fail to supply the literature for every piece of equipment with any NEW boat. But there's no way that any builder can keep a supply of replacement literature for every piece of equipment they've ever installed on any boat. So if the original owner didn't have enough sense to keep 'em--and most don't...in fact, most owners don't even keep the literature that comes with equipment they add or replace themselves--there's only one way to get 'em: search 'em out and get 'em from the mfrs yourself.
 

Al9586

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May 23, 2004
55
Hunter 356 Orange Park, Fl
Peggy, go back to the original question...

We were asked what we WANT, not what do we already do (hunt for it ourselves.) Hunter apparently has asked, and we are identifying information to feed their question. Our 356 owner's package was full of poorly xeroxed info, and lacked recommended maintenance suggestions from Hunter. I recognize that Hunter is building boats for buyers with a wide range of experiences and backgrounds, but if they would read these posts on a routine basis recurring threads abound, e.g. cooling problems, plumbing problems, electrical problems, etc. In my opinion, Hunter should take steps to address all these issues in their manual. We are working hard to deal with issues that come up, and we are resourceful people - and we alre already going to the mfrs ourselves. Additionally, we are very fortunate to have this forum to obtain information, but I for one expected more, a lot more, from my new boat's owner's manual. Al
 
F

Fred Krohn

Videos

I'd like to see some videos explaining the various systems in detail. How to make some emergency repairs to lets say changing an impeller and other important systems. Proper trim and handling of sails etc would be nice also
 
Dec 2, 1997
8,709
- - LIttle Rock
Iow, Al...

You want 'em to duplicate information in an owners manual that's already in all the manuals that mfrs supply with their equipment? The builder's owners manual should definitely include all the plumbing, wiring and fuel schematics, plus BASIC instructions for maintaining rigging and everything else specific to the boat itself, but wouldn't just putting all the equipment manuals in file or binder along with that owners manual accomplish just as much as reprinting all of it in a single book? What I hear some of you asking for is an owners manual that not only includes everything about the boat, but also everything in all the equipment manuals, most of Chapman's, all of Calder's books, Bowditch, and just about everything that's ever been written about sail trim and rigging. Every boat owner who takes owning a boat seriously has a fairly extensive library of books on just about every part of sailing and boat maintenance that (s)he's gradually acquired as he's needed to learn what's in various books...expecting the builder to supply that whole library of information to you in an owners manual is just not realistic. You have to make SOME effort to learn what you need to know to sail your boat, operate the equipment on your boat and maintain it yourself.
 
Mar 20, 2004
1,729
Hunter 356 and 216 Portland, ME
Peggy, I agree!

I'm not suggesting that that Hunter keep a supply of all manuals forever- Ithink they have an obligation to provide a good, or at least OEM, manual for everything they put on a boat. However, given today's technology, having equipment manuals in PDF format on the website should be easy, since they are all prepared electronically anyway. That way, if you do lose a manual, you could easily replace it. As an example, our 356 had no documentation on the snake river guages, which didn't work from day one. My dealer also had no docs, and didn't know how to calibrate or troubleshoot them, either. I found the snakeriver website, downloaded the manuals so I could put them on the boat-and my dealer took them so he had a set! Why couldn't Hunter centralize these docs, or at least provide links to the supplier websites? (for example, point to Raymarine's site and let them maintain their docs?
 
Jun 2, 2004
3,390
Hunter 23.5 Fort Walton Yacht Club, Florida
Along with the Manual

The text for a Coast Guard Auxiliary Boaters Safety Course along with a voucher to attend the class. Hunter is the only boat manufacturer I know of (I am guessing they still do)that provides all of the required safety gear with the boat. Shame on the dealer of a boat who does not make sure that all of the basic items are not part of the boat when the deal is made and sent out the door.
 
Sep 25, 2003
100
Beneteau Oceanis 48 Casco Bay, ME
For newer boaters

More detail (pics or video) on rigging and connections. More detail on rig tuning too would be great.
 
S

Sandi

Wow, go sailing

for a few days and miss a whole bunch! My 05 Hunter came with the loose leaf binder, booklets in the plastic wrap AND the copied pamphlets - often blurry. We had the walk thru - complete with 7 pages of typed notes afterword. My complaint was there wasn't enough of HOW something should work. For example, settings on the fridge, using the oven properly, spring commissioning notes, routine maintence. We did learn about the head - thanks to Peggy's book, read this forum and asked questions, but the questions I needed to know about installed equipment were difficult to find out. Bought a new car lately - remember when car manuals were only 45 pages and nobody read them? The more complicated and technologically advanced a piece equipment becomes the bigger and more encompasing the manual needs to be.
 
H

Hubee

Seeing is believing

I would like to see my my name and home port address on the owner's space of a new Hunter 54,owners manual,equipped and ready to go! Hubee,
 
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