Aspiring Hunter owner - what to look for pre-survey

[MikeThorlin]

Good afternoon all, I am looking to buy my first boat, I am a relatively experienced sailor, but have never bought, owned, or maintained a boat of any kind.

As I look about the market (San Diego, Southern CA area) it appears to me that a Hunter 340 or 376 best fits my requirements: daysailor, overnight to1 week stayaboard, and coastal sailing with periodic sailing to Catalina.

My question to the community is: If I focus on a hunter (340 or 376) what are the problem areas to check and clear before paying for a survey?

I won't buy without a survey, but I would prefer to pay only once and have a high confidence going into the survey that all will be acceptable.

I assume that the key points include:

1. Look for soft spots on deck and anywhere else accessable
2. Identify susp[ect cracking, softspots, rust where the chainplates enter the deck
3. Look for wet bilge, rust in the water, rusty keel bolts
4. Prioritize recent (documented) standing rigging
5. Prioritize good records with verified work done on major systems
6. ???

What am I missing? Where do Hunters tend to fail? The year range of the boats I see is in the mid-late 1990's.

Pricing seems consistent - ~'95 340 for $39k, ~'95 376 for $59k. Are these asking prices a reasonable starting point?

Thanks in advanvce for any advice.

Best,

Mike

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

There are many owner reviews of these models on this forum. Search the tabs -owner resources

 

[PEBI]

I'll share some of my advice when purchasing a boat. Or anything at all.

Like Don said the usual search on any forums for reviews. That's a good starting point.

But if you really want to get a better indepth review and enjoy your purchase. I'd advise searching for say e.g. (e.g. = example). Hunter 340 problems, Hunter 376 problems). If the model your researching has a lot of problems it doesn't take much to see what the most "common" problems are. Repairs can accumilate and get costly right?

LOL.

Ha ha.

Before I did research like this I bought based off of reputation of reviewer and magazine/website. Then found something I did not like after purchase and found a lot of customers all experienced a similiar problem as mine.

For e.g: The furler is mentioned in page results 4 times.

 

[shemandr]

You're maybe overlooking the engine. Re-powering is expensive. Yeah, an engine on a sailboat is a governing factor. Go figure.

 

[Ralph Johnstone]

You're maybe overlooking the engine.

When I had my 20 year insurance survey done, the surveyor told me that most surveyors don't do engine checks as it's too specialized and out of their area of expertise. You may find the same thing in your neighbourhood.

It may be worth your while to bring in a "licensed" mechanic (not a grease monkey) and get his thoughts on yours.

have never bought, owned, or maintained a boat of any kind.

Learing how to maintain a diesel would be a huge investment now before you get the boat as they require endless fiddling (oil changes, Xmission fluid changes, new V-belts, battery replacement) which are extretely simple once you've seen how but will run about $150.00+/hr for a mechanic.

If you want the new boat to last for a good number of years, maintenance will be an ongoing occupation. Otherwise, forget the maintenance until you get hit with the really BIG bills.

 

[Indysailor]

At the age these boats are likely to be, it's probably more down to how well they've been maintained over the years than any particular design or construction issues (which are well documented in reviews and forums). Hunters are what they are; creatively designed to deliver cockpit and interior spaces that feel big for a boat's given size, production methods that kept costs down to make them competitive in the market, generally good for charters and coastal cruising. There are thousands of them still floating, so they did many things right for a long time. I'd probably try to eliminate problems in major systems by focusing on engine, electrical/electronics, sails and plumbing, all which probably have less to do with Hunter than they do the previous owners. Although not easy to quantify, you can spot a boat that's been cared for by focusing on the attention paid to keeping a vessel in proper working order.

 

[sailcapt340]

Check for detailed maintenance records from previous owners. It shows they cared.
Check the steering linkage under the deck of these (340/376) models. Often an ignored grease point.
And as detailed from others, read through the posts here. They tell a lot of stories regarding conditions.

 

[shemandr]

Another area that can create after purchase expense is the bottom. I would not buy a boat with a gnarly bottom. I'm not talking about blisters. I am talking about years of bottom paint buildup that is peeling or wasn't sanded smooth between coats. To pay a yard to strip that down, which may involve specialized abrasive blasting, and either apply a barrier coat(s) and then bottom is many man-hours of work. Now days few yards allow DIY bottom jobs.
I would pretty much assume that the batteries will need replacement. The surveyor will look at the installation for gross deficiencies. But the buyer should have general idea of how to replace. Upgrade to Li or stick with whatever exists? That plan depends a lot on how the boat is going to be used and what the buyer expects to use in power - refrigerator? AC? Starlink? WiFi? TV/Entertainment?
In general I think it's the accessories that create the most post purchase expenses.