456 Hunter Chainplate/Deck Water Absorbsion

[sailorskier]

I am looking at purchasing a 456 and have found several on the market. One boat has had extensive hull/deck repair in the chainplate area to the tune of $30,000.00 dollars. My broker is cautioning me that this is a known problem with these boats. Is this an Achilles Heel problem in the Hunter line. I would appreciate any information about similar repair and other owner concerns.
Respectfully submitted,
Bill Creadon.

 

[Ken Cross]

Our H 20 had some wet deck area but not from chainplates. I resealed the suspect areas and after a summer of warm dry weather the decks no longer show water using my moisture meter. In my case it was several other areas including removing the jib tracks. At first I was a bit concerned with buying a boat with known leaks. In our case it turned out okay.

 

[Ken Cross]

Sorry, typo that's Hunter 30.
Ken

 

[sailorskier]

Thanks Ken, I appreciate your response.

 

[dehler25]

That is the first time I have heard that particular problem for either the 456 or 450. Given the gravity of the problem it would seem that it would be a serious ongoing discussion and not simply from the broker. If that boat has had extensive repairs perhaps that is the result of some other injury.

 

[Rick D]

I am looking at purchasing a 456 and have found several on the market. One boat has had extensive hull/deck repair in the chainplate area to the tune of $30,000.00 dollars. My broker is cautioning me that this is a known problem with these boats. Is this an Achilles Heel problem in the Hunter line. I would appreciate any information about similar repair and other owner concerns.
Respectfully submitted,
Bill Creadon.

Bill, I have hung around this site for way over 15 years and I have not seen anything like the issue you describe. I certainly would believe something that dramatic would have been posted but I don't recall any. Having said that, it is of course possible there were some similar issues that didn't get recognized but it is hard to reconcile this being "a known problem... Achilles Heel..." with the sound of silence on these boards. Good luck!

 

[Bowedtoothdoc]

That is the first time I have heard anything about that with these models?

 

[Phil Herring]

I haven't heard of it, but if you Google "Hunter 450 chainplate" you should be able to dig up anything posted on the topic. If it were a widespread problem there would be many references to it. Your broker may be thinking of a voluntary manufacturer refit of the 410? 430? Not sure I remember which model it was but Hunter made a number of field repairs/replacements on the chainplates.

 

[Bowedtoothdoc]

You may want to read the following review:
http://www.boats.com/reviews/perry-design-review-hunter-450/
Having owned my 450 for almost 5 years I can give you some of my issues.
1. The anchor locker divider is prone to rotting. I repaired mine with some git-rot and reinforcing the top with wood members thru-bolted and epoxied.
2. Access to the impeller and anything else on the port side of the engine is a nightmare. I installed a waterproof hatch in the shower which allows easy access to that side of the engine. There is an article about this upgrade on this site.
3. Water can leak into the rear lazaretts and has no where to drain. I have not solved this one yet, but periodically especially if we have had allot of rain I will vacuum out the water with a wet/dry vac.
4. Some of these came with Fiberglass rudder posts. Apparently the company outsourced to had some QC issues.
Hunter offered to replace all of those boats with a new rudder with a stainless post. My boat was refitted before I purchased it, but that would be one thing to check. Probably not an issue with the 456 since they were newer.
That's all I can think of for now.

 

[sailorskier]

Thanks for your input, it's much appreciated.
Bill Creadon