Just joined the forum after being an active reader. We have an offer to purchase a 1989 Hunter 30, conditional on a survey that we expect will happen in late May, once things thaw out here on the North Channel of Lake Huron. The boat is on the hard and has not been in the water for at least 2 years, as the current owner has moved away from sailing. The boat looks good but has a bit of a history. Was hit my lightening in 2009 and had a fairly substantial insurance repair. All the electronics have been replaced and there was some work done on the hull to repair pin-holes forward, port side above the water line. All done professionally in the marina. The boat hit a shoal hard once about 10 years ago, and there is some evidence of the fiberglass stress cracks, slightly aft of the keel below the sole / floor boards. The biggest concern is the hull is pushed in slightly on the pad, on the cradle. The ground may have shifted slightly and the boat is leaning a little to port. I have seen this before, but never to this degree. It is the right cradle for the boat and there is structure were the pad supports the boat with a bulkhead between the head and the nav station. I have attached and image of the keel repair and the hull, showing signs of a crack. I am sure the survey will address both these issues, but am interested in feedback from others who have has similar issues. Overall the boat appears to be in very good condition and the purchase price is very attractive. Thanks in advance for the feedback.
1989 Hunter 30 advise
- Thread starter North Channel sailor
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We have the same boat. The patch that appears on the keel is in the same location where we have a sacrificial zinc. There should not be any fiberglass behind the patch. I would grind it down to the metal and repaint. I would not think a grounding would cause any damage that high on the keel. Check out the wings on the bottom of the keel to see if they indicate any kind of impact. Also, fill the bildge with water and see if there are any leaks... Enjoy the boat, we find it to be a splendid home on the water. We also had similar damage caused by the cradle. The crack was caused when the boat was on a launch trailer. The keel was supported by a nylon sling which streached when it got wet. The results were two cracks in the jelcoat. The marina did the repairs at their expense and it seems to be holding fast. Every boat has a history, you just have the blessing or burden of knowing what that history is... Good Luck.
Thank you very much for your reply. I will ask the current owner about the patch on the keel. I have been told it is a cast iron keel and grounding may not have done any damage to the wings, but wold have transferred the energy from the impact upwards into the pan. Be interesting to see if any other Hunter owners have had a similar issue with the indent from the cradle on the hull.
Re: Indentation at pad. - Just because this is the right cradle for the H-30 doesn't mean it has been adjusted properly. The boat is being supported too much by the pad and not enough by the keel pad.
This is common on ballasted centerboard trailered boats when owner forgets to drop centerboard down on trailer supports for travel or lay-up. Fin (wing) keel boats such as yours can experience the same thing if not enough weight is supported by keel pad. It usually doesn't show up right away, but after a long (Winter) lay-up.
The good news is that the hull usually regains its normal shape when launched or the problem corrected - BUT NOT ALWAYS. The longer it has been in this position the more likely it is to "take a set." Your boat has been supported this way for two years. The important thing is to correct this NOW. You have adjustable pads on this cradle. The one in question needs to be dropped and reset. Not difficult except that the adjusting screws are often corroded, and your's appear to be, somewhat.
My only concern in doing this is the fact that the boat is "leaning" in that direction, I guess from your description, so I would want to take care in dropping the pad. Either use a poppet (pad on independent adjustable stand) or even a 2x4 from ground to just under the toe-rail as support while you drop pad. Normally, you can drop a pad and the others provide adequate support, but in this "leaning" situation, I would opt for extra support. With the screw support, it will only go down in fractions of an inch, so you can see what's happening. Not much chance of a problem.
This is common on ballasted centerboard trailered boats when owner forgets to drop centerboard down on trailer supports for travel or lay-up. Fin (wing) keel boats such as yours can experience the same thing if not enough weight is supported by keel pad. It usually doesn't show up right away, but after a long (Winter) lay-up.
The good news is that the hull usually regains its normal shape when launched or the problem corrected - BUT NOT ALWAYS. The longer it has been in this position the more likely it is to "take a set." Your boat has been supported this way for two years. The important thing is to correct this NOW. You have adjustable pads on this cradle. The one in question needs to be dropped and reset. Not difficult except that the adjusting screws are often corroded, and your's appear to be, somewhat.
My only concern in doing this is the fact that the boat is "leaning" in that direction, I guess from your description, so I would want to take care in dropping the pad. Either use a poppet (pad on independent adjustable stand) or even a 2x4 from ground to just under the toe-rail as support while you drop pad. Normally, you can drop a pad and the others provide adequate support, but in this "leaning" situation, I would opt for extra support. With the screw support, it will only go down in fractions of an inch, so you can see what's happening. Not much chance of a problem.
By the way, this particular Hunter 30 is a pretty nice boat. I sold several of them. Their lines are still very nice and up-to-date today.
Thanks TWL. I agree with your comments about the boat sitting poorly on the cradle. IN fairness to the yard, things may have settled with the boat not moving in 2 years, especially here with freeze and thaw. I have never seen a crack in the glass before and this boat has that. The boat already has two poppets, one on port and one on starboard. Unfortunately I cant do much about how the boat sits in terms of adjustments until the deal firms, still a couple months away after the survey. Agree with your comments, the Hunter 30 that year is a great design, with the walk thru transom, etc. We are not planning to race her but she also has a very favorable mid 170's Great Lakes prf.
Can you say RUN AWAY? Unless you are getting this for almost nothing I wouldn't want anything to do with a boat that has this many issues. You say the electronics have been replaced. Sometimes other issues show up some time after a lightening strike. There are inherently many things that go wrong with boats; we all live with this. But I would not want to start out with a boat that I know alreadys has significant issues. You might want to check around and see what you might pay for a similiar boat in good condition.
I agree with Sailgunner. The H30 is a very nice boat but that boat has a poor history. The keel crack and the tracks of water that has run out indicates that there are problems here.
The support pad problem is probably not permanent and should return to form after some use. The real problem is the lightening hit. Damage at the water line is usually the result of a higher strength hit and can really wreck a boat. There will be damage to the fiberglass that did not blow completely through the hull and thus was not repaired at that time. Flexing while sailing can cause these to appear later. Conversly, it might be just fine. Do you want to assume that risk and the risk of the keel being OK?
I would keep looking for a boat that has no bad history as a place to start from.
I have owned quite a few boats up to a 38 foot boat that we spent 2 1/2 years crusing on and in that time we met 3 people with boats that had been hit by lightening. 2 were total losses and 1 of the remaining should have been.
It is my experence that most surveys really do not look at anything of importance in any in-depth way. There is not much that will be found in the 2 to 3 hours that most spend walking around. Now if your guy will inspect the top of the mast and the motor in a complete way then I will have spoken poorly, but I doubt it.
Find a boat that you will have no worries about and get on the water.
Good Luck,
Ray
The support pad problem is probably not permanent and should return to form after some use. The real problem is the lightening hit. Damage at the water line is usually the result of a higher strength hit and can really wreck a boat. There will be damage to the fiberglass that did not blow completely through the hull and thus was not repaired at that time. Flexing while sailing can cause these to appear later. Conversly, it might be just fine. Do you want to assume that risk and the risk of the keel being OK?
I would keep looking for a boat that has no bad history as a place to start from.
I have owned quite a few boats up to a 38 foot boat that we spent 2 1/2 years crusing on and in that time we met 3 people with boats that had been hit by lightening. 2 were total losses and 1 of the remaining should have been.
It is my experence that most surveys really do not look at anything of importance in any in-depth way. There is not much that will be found in the 2 to 3 hours that most spend walking around. Now if your guy will inspect the top of the mast and the motor in a complete way then I will have spoken poorly, but I doubt it.
Find a boat that you will have no worries about and get on the water.
Good Luck,
Ray
Why would this boat be of interest? Are there no "healthy" boats for sale ? I don't understand why this forum so often has these posts describing boats with so many issues as if there are no good choices. We looked for about a year, Then found a fantastic 19 year old cat 30 and knew it was a great deal and lovely boat. Seven years later we are still in love and don't understand buying someone else's nightmare. We have made tons of changes but most are upgrades not fixes.
What is the draw? Is it free or close to? Do you just prefer projects?
What is the draw? Is it free or close to? Do you just prefer projects?
Thank you for the advise gents. The accepted purchase price is favorable to the point that there is signifigant budget remaining to correct any issues and still have the boat ship shape for about half of what comparable 30 footers are currently selling for. I do enjoy a project and have owned 4 previous boats, all that needed some work. All the electrocics on the boat have been replaced and the hull dmamage repaired in the yard. The insurance claim paid out in repairs was more than twice what we are paying for the boat. We are cautious however and will have a survey and sea trial before completing the purchase. Excellent advise however and it is much appreciated.
, but no offense taken - Status