Hello everyone. I am thinking about buying a Hunter 27 1980 from a distant vendor. Of course I will have a survey completed. Is there anything that I should watch for that are recurring problems with the boat? Can anyone recommend a suveyor from Portalnd, Maine? Steve Horswill
- Status
- Not open for further replies.
T
Tim McCarty
I loved my "old 27"
I just traded up to a 29.5, but, I believe the h27 is an excellent value for the money. What to watch for...water in the rudder/delamination, the terminal wet bilge (mine was NEVER dry), leaky toe rail, moisture in and around the mast-step.
I just traded up to a 29.5, but, I believe the h27 is an excellent value for the money. What to watch for...water in the rudder/delamination, the terminal wet bilge (mine was NEVER dry), leaky toe rail, moisture in and around the mast-step.
W
Warren Renninger
Few things to check
The mast step area on the cabin top can have rot problems due to water intrusion at the step. Bigger problem is the rib under the cabin sole at the compression post. The wood rib is covered by fiberglass but can rot. When it does, you see a depression in the sole at the base of the compression post. If so, you have to jack or remove the mast, cut open the sole, replace the rib and put it all back together. And you probably also caused a leak at the mast step on the cabin at the same time. If it has the old Renault engine, parts are getting more difficult to get but replacing it isn't to hard, just expensive. I replaced all my port lights and reseated the hatches to stop leaks running down the cabin liner. A great shoal draft boat. Lots of weather helm but lots of room. If you are over 5'10" the bunks are too short. Not a blue water boat as constructed but has kept me out of trouble many a time.
The mast step area on the cabin top can have rot problems due to water intrusion at the step. Bigger problem is the rib under the cabin sole at the compression post. The wood rib is covered by fiberglass but can rot. When it does, you see a depression in the sole at the base of the compression post. If so, you have to jack or remove the mast, cut open the sole, replace the rib and put it all back together. And you probably also caused a leak at the mast step on the cabin at the same time. If it has the old Renault engine, parts are getting more difficult to get but replacing it isn't to hard, just expensive. I replaced all my port lights and reseated the hatches to stop leaks running down the cabin liner. A great shoal draft boat. Lots of weather helm but lots of room. If you are over 5'10" the bunks are too short. Not a blue water boat as constructed but has kept me out of trouble many a time.
D
David Foster
More time qualifying your surveyor
Warren's list is a good one. But on "classic plastic" boats like our '77 h27, the issues of time, weather, and use patterns of previous owners mean that problems can arise with low frequency almost anywhere. I think one of the most important tools for the survey is the moisture guage, since the most common problem is water getting into the wood core of the cabin top or deck, and rotting the wood meaning that the cabin/deck sags, and must be fixed. Our surveyor said to keep an eye on the mast step, and last summer, it clearly collapsed - the interior liner wrapped around the compression post, and all of the shrouds had to be tightened as far as they would go to tension the rig. We replace the rotted wood with aluminum and glass last spring - the cost was around $1,200. Also, check the hardware on the overhead hatch(es) ours wore out and broke, causing leakage into the v-berth. We replaced it while we were doing the mast step so we could just refinish the cabin top once. Finally, the portlights (windows) almost always leak unless they have been carefully replaced. I don't know how to spot this in a survey. The leak ends up between the cabin top, and the liner, and could show up anywher in the cabin. But these are absolutely great cruising boats! They ride the waves and wind very well for their length, and show good speed when reaching - our most common cruising point of sail. And the simple systems are a most positive advantage. There are too many things to break on some of the newer boats. We enjoy a camping lifestyle, and find it very comfortable for 2 on the 20 nights we spend on her each summer. I spent a week with my Dad and two brothers, and the issue was storage - the sleeping on the two benches, quarterberth, and v-berth was fine. And it was a good thing we were family! Finally, 27 feet is a good size for one or two to sail. Moving up in length means rapid increases in boat weight, and stress on the running rigging with resulting handling issues. Handling the boat and the sails on Lady Lillie is easy for my wife. Good luck, David Lady Lillie
Warren's list is a good one. But on "classic plastic" boats like our '77 h27, the issues of time, weather, and use patterns of previous owners mean that problems can arise with low frequency almost anywhere. I think one of the most important tools for the survey is the moisture guage, since the most common problem is water getting into the wood core of the cabin top or deck, and rotting the wood meaning that the cabin/deck sags, and must be fixed. Our surveyor said to keep an eye on the mast step, and last summer, it clearly collapsed - the interior liner wrapped around the compression post, and all of the shrouds had to be tightened as far as they would go to tension the rig. We replace the rotted wood with aluminum and glass last spring - the cost was around $1,200. Also, check the hardware on the overhead hatch(es) ours wore out and broke, causing leakage into the v-berth. We replaced it while we were doing the mast step so we could just refinish the cabin top once. Finally, the portlights (windows) almost always leak unless they have been carefully replaced. I don't know how to spot this in a survey. The leak ends up between the cabin top, and the liner, and could show up anywher in the cabin. But these are absolutely great cruising boats! They ride the waves and wind very well for their length, and show good speed when reaching - our most common cruising point of sail. And the simple systems are a most positive advantage. There are too many things to break on some of the newer boats. We enjoy a camping lifestyle, and find it very comfortable for 2 on the 20 nights we spend on her each summer. I spent a week with my Dad and two brothers, and the issue was storage - the sleeping on the two benches, quarterberth, and v-berth was fine. And it was a good thing we were family! Finally, 27 feet is a good size for one or two to sail. Moving up in length means rapid increases in boat weight, and stress on the running rigging with resulting handling issues. Handling the boat and the sails on Lady Lillie is easy for my wife. Good luck, David Lady Lillie
R
Ron Vanderveer/Tom Hrkach
Our two cents....
Steve My buddy Tom and I (and our families) co-own a 1982 27 and we have just clocked our first full year of sailing her here in Florida. So here's a couple things to be aware of... - We haven't had any mast step problems, so I guess we're lucky. But, we ended up having to replace both hatches and all the portlights due to leaks. The whole job was about $1500 for parts and a lot of sweat by us. So, I would say to check the hatches and portlights and just work any replacement cost into the purchase price. It is not a deal killer, just a factor. - As mentioned by the others, the "bilge" is really kind of a joke on that boat, so make sure there is an adequate pump system for it. I ended up installing a check valve in the line and a manual switch so that we could empty it prior to the days sail, preventing water slosh when heeling. For some reason the ice box drains into the bilge, by original design. - We also replaced all the hoses and related stuff in the holding tank/head system. A hassle, but the smell went away. If that stuff is original equipment, you may want to factor that in to the purchase price as well. - One thing that I remember the surveyor mentioning on the H27's was the keel to hull joint. Ours had a small crack where the hull and keel join on the bottom (saw it on haul-out). He was aware of this, and felt it was not a huge problem for us since it was common and ours was very small. Apparently it is simply due to flexion of the keel against the hull and is a design thing. But, you might want the surveyor to take a good hard look at that joint on haul-out. Thats all I can think of for the moment. Good luck. Ron Vanderveer & Tom Hrkach "Dolphin Dancer"
Steve My buddy Tom and I (and our families) co-own a 1982 27 and we have just clocked our first full year of sailing her here in Florida. So here's a couple things to be aware of... - We haven't had any mast step problems, so I guess we're lucky. But, we ended up having to replace both hatches and all the portlights due to leaks. The whole job was about $1500 for parts and a lot of sweat by us. So, I would say to check the hatches and portlights and just work any replacement cost into the purchase price. It is not a deal killer, just a factor. - As mentioned by the others, the "bilge" is really kind of a joke on that boat, so make sure there is an adequate pump system for it. I ended up installing a check valve in the line and a manual switch so that we could empty it prior to the days sail, preventing water slosh when heeling. For some reason the ice box drains into the bilge, by original design. - We also replaced all the hoses and related stuff in the holding tank/head system. A hassle, but the smell went away. If that stuff is original equipment, you may want to factor that in to the purchase price as well. - One thing that I remember the surveyor mentioning on the H27's was the keel to hull joint. Ours had a small crack where the hull and keel join on the bottom (saw it on haul-out). He was aware of this, and felt it was not a huge problem for us since it was common and ours was very small. Apparently it is simply due to flexion of the keel against the hull and is a design thing. But, you might want the surveyor to take a good hard look at that joint on haul-out. Thats all I can think of for the moment. Good luck. Ron Vanderveer & Tom Hrkach "Dolphin Dancer"
- Status
- Not open for further replies.