I have been looking at the new Hunters at the Dallas Winter Boat Show and would like to ask some questions of owners of the same rigs. I saw the 290, 380, and 410 with some things I am very curious about. Jib tracks: I realize having the jib sheet cars on the upper deck may create a tighter slot, but doesn't the really short track limit the amount of adjustments one can do and doesn't this arrangement interfere with people trying to get from the cockpit to the foredeck? Does it bother you? Does this setup interfere with Spinnaker handling? Jib Winch Locations: With the new "monster cockpit" (as I call it) the winches are either too far forward on the combing or on the upper deck making jib trim adjustments impossible from the helm. The operation now requires crew, autopilot or wheel lock. Anybody moved the winches for single-handing? Wheel Lock: don't remember which model now, but the wheel lock was directly underneath the cockpit table mounting bracket and was impossible to reach while standing up. For the show, the wheel was off, but with it on, I suspect the wheel lock is nearly impossible to reach at all. Is this a problem with anyone? Engine/Gear Control Lever: On the 290, the new lever is smaller and somewhat protected by the wheel, but on the 380 and 410, the lever sticks up right in the middle of "everything" and is not protected by anything else. It appears the lever could easily be mistaken for a support when a crewmember is looking for something to grab if they lose their balance. This the case, it could be easily snapped off and rendering the motoring capabilities useless. Related is someone's "accidental" reach for the control while motoring. This could be a problem if in a critical maneuver. Anybody had either of these problems? Leather Interior: Looks nice, can't imagine that it stays nice for very long. Doesn't salt water/air cause salt streaks on the leather? Does it show wear quickly? Or did I get faked out and it's not really leather? Seems it would not fair well if any gear adrift fell on it or if the slightest amount of petroleum product got on it (oil, diesel, etc.) for some reason. Anyone had problems with leather interiors? Salon Cabinets: The u-shaped dinette settee is so far into the cabin, the cabinets cannot be reached from standing on the sole. (I'm 6'0" tall.) One must climb onto the dinette to retrieve/place anything in the cabinets making them "long-term storage". IMHO, the salon is where I want all the "high use" items easily accessible. Anybody have problems with this? Shower Compartment: To me, the purpose of the separate shower compartment is to keep shower water from drenching the rest of the head, reducing maintenance and cleaning with every shower. The 410 has a separate compartment that is sized very nicely, but they left air vents on the bulkhead next to the overhead, and put a *&%!@#&^* plastic shower curtain up. I'm not sure how much a custom made shower door costs, but it is surely less than leather seating in the salon. I was totally shocked they would put up a $1.99 shower curtain in a $225K boat. Anybody have a solution to this yet? Galley Upper shelf: The shelf hanging from / mounted to the overhead is used for what? What can you place there that can stay on the shelf underway? Bimini included: None of the installed biminis had view panels. How does one take an occassional look at the sail shape without leaving the helm? On the Lighter Side: Most things are the typical things we love, such as plenty of room, real seacocks, relatively descent access to everything, tanks in decent places, etc. etc. I'm looking to move up soon, but not to one with a $1.99 shower curtain. Any input is appreciated.
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Always Trade Offs
Have a 340 which is configured much like the models you mentioned. My thoughts: Jib track: no problem. Although small it has not compromised performance. But then, I have just one furling head sail. Winch Locations: yep, but then I rarely am at the helm. My wife is there while I'm tending the sails to get the max out of them. They are fine with that arrangement. Wheel Lock: Tend to use my autopilot for a wheel lock while sailing. On the 340 it is available anyhow. Gear/Engine: Haven't seen the models you mentioned, but on the 340 it is quite available and handy. No problems with the crew. Leather: no experience, but have heard that it is great. Salon Cabinets: Interesting observation. I am 5'9" and the arrangement on the 340 provides no problems for me. I'll have to look at the 380 and 410. Shower: tend to use the deck shower to avoid stuff and smell in the head anyway. Where I sail there aren't others looking so it is no problem. But you have a point. Galley shelf. We leave all our dishes and glasses up there. Have been in some good blows, but they have not unseated. Haven't turtled yet, though. Bimini: need a sail window. Have one added. Otherwise lean way back, but I think a window is needed. You're right about that.
Have a 340 which is configured much like the models you mentioned. My thoughts: Jib track: no problem. Although small it has not compromised performance. But then, I have just one furling head sail. Winch Locations: yep, but then I rarely am at the helm. My wife is there while I'm tending the sails to get the max out of them. They are fine with that arrangement. Wheel Lock: Tend to use my autopilot for a wheel lock while sailing. On the 340 it is available anyhow. Gear/Engine: Haven't seen the models you mentioned, but on the 340 it is quite available and handy. No problems with the crew. Leather: no experience, but have heard that it is great. Salon Cabinets: Interesting observation. I am 5'9" and the arrangement on the 340 provides no problems for me. I'll have to look at the 380 and 410. Shower: tend to use the deck shower to avoid stuff and smell in the head anyway. Where I sail there aren't others looking so it is no problem. But you have a point. Galley shelf. We leave all our dishes and glasses up there. Have been in some good blows, but they have not unseated. Haven't turtled yet, though. Bimini: need a sail window. Have one added. Otherwise lean way back, but I think a window is needed. You're right about that.
leather is great
Other than the shower curtain, I Can't address some of your other observations but I've got leather in my P42 and love it. It wears extremely well and looks as good as new, just broken in abit like a leather sofa. Two P42 owners who are friends have leather. The appearance of their interiors is the reason I sought out leather. One, a 92, is still going strong despite over 20k miles of Caribbean cruising. I haven't figured out a better retro solution to the plastic curtain other than a better plastic curtain.
Other than the shower curtain, I Can't address some of your other observations but I've got leather in my P42 and love it. It wears extremely well and looks as good as new, just broken in abit like a leather sofa. Two P42 owners who are friends have leather. The appearance of their interiors is the reason I sought out leather. One, a 92, is still going strong despite over 20k miles of Caribbean cruising. I haven't figured out a better retro solution to the plastic curtain other than a better plastic curtain.
Good reason...
for an older boat. We'll only ever have to worry about one of those issues, our H37C has a shower curtain. We have no plans to put in a door. The winches are at hand, the jib can be sheeted anywhere(real toerails), and the helm controls are fine(including the wheel lock). Would we upgrade to a 380 if we had the money? In a heartbeat! :>) Can you get leather in the H380?
for an older boat. We'll only ever have to worry about one of those issues, our H37C has a shower curtain. We have no plans to put in a door. The winches are at hand, the jib can be sheeted anywhere(real toerails), and the helm controls are fine(including the wheel lock). Would we upgrade to a 380 if we had the money? In a heartbeat! :>) Can you get leather in the H380?
Not so serious
Jib winch - Not many 40 footers can be singlehanded effectively without an autopilot. even if the winches are closer, they still won't be close enough. I sailed a 430 with that kind of configuration, and it was nice to have them off the coaming and out of the way. Made access to and from the cockpit a lot easier. Wheel lock - I haven't seen this ; it does sound awkward. But would you use it for anything but securing the wheel at anchor? an autopilot it's not, no matter where it's located. Throttle location: I've seen people grab for it before, I there could be an "unintended acceleration" problem (with apologies to Audi). Hard to imagine anyone breaking it off. Maybe a sumo wrestler. Leather: it holds up fine. Must be chemically treated, or something. Storage: I think you're describing a symptom of any beamy cabin. Seems to me to be a tradeoff for seating capacity and table size. The biminis are usually made by local canvas-makers hired by the dealers. they're all custom anyway, a window is easy to add. Shower: I can't remember the 410 head. Is there room for the door to store someplace when open? Bly helped sea- trial a 410 once; she had some thoughts about that shower, too, and they weren't real positive. What's with the seacocks? Not sure I understand your comment on that. p.
Jib winch - Not many 40 footers can be singlehanded effectively without an autopilot. even if the winches are closer, they still won't be close enough. I sailed a 430 with that kind of configuration, and it was nice to have them off the coaming and out of the way. Made access to and from the cockpit a lot easier. Wheel lock - I haven't seen this ; it does sound awkward. But would you use it for anything but securing the wheel at anchor? an autopilot it's not, no matter where it's located. Throttle location: I've seen people grab for it before, I there could be an "unintended acceleration" problem (with apologies to Audi). Hard to imagine anyone breaking it off. Maybe a sumo wrestler. Leather: it holds up fine. Must be chemically treated, or something. Storage: I think you're describing a symptom of any beamy cabin. Seems to me to be a tradeoff for seating capacity and table size. The biminis are usually made by local canvas-makers hired by the dealers. they're all custom anyway, a window is easy to add. Shower: I can't remember the 410 head. Is there room for the door to store someplace when open? Bly helped sea- trial a 410 once; she had some thoughts about that shower, too, and they weren't real positive. What's with the seacocks? Not sure I understand your comment on that. p.
Great Input
Thanks for the answers/input all. Phil: Shower door: What I would do is NOT have a second door for the shower but use the back side of the head door. If the corner of the shower compartment was the same corner as the door facing, the back side of the door could be covered with a single piece of 1/4" "plastic stuff" (can't remember the name of the white stuff used for stern seats and cockpit accessories) and fit directly into/onto a gasket on the shower entry. (This would also have to be built. I've tried to think of a disadvantage to this and can't. HOW many people can be in the head at the same time anyway? Two? If two people were in the same head at the same time, I'd think they were married or significant others and wouldn't mind using the head with the door open to the cabin but closed to the shower. Of course, if more people are on board, one could always use the forward head for privacy. Any comments? Seacock comment: Just commenting that Hunter does use real hardware versus the ol' thru-hull, valve separate setup. Glad to hear the leather holds up; it does look really good.
Thanks for the answers/input all. Phil: Shower door: What I would do is NOT have a second door for the shower but use the back side of the head door. If the corner of the shower compartment was the same corner as the door facing, the back side of the door could be covered with a single piece of 1/4" "plastic stuff" (can't remember the name of the white stuff used for stern seats and cockpit accessories) and fit directly into/onto a gasket on the shower entry. (This would also have to be built. I've tried to think of a disadvantage to this and can't. HOW many people can be in the head at the same time anyway? Two? If two people were in the same head at the same time, I'd think they were married or significant others and wouldn't mind using the head with the door open to the cabin but closed to the shower. Of course, if more people are on board, one could always use the forward head for privacy. Any comments? Seacock comment: Just commenting that Hunter does use real hardware versus the ol' thru-hull, valve separate setup. Glad to hear the leather holds up; it does look really good.
My thoughts on leather...
are that I won't have it on my boat! It's bad enough sticking to it in the car in the summer with shorts and no shirt, but on the boat too...I think not! Besides...it was a $4000.00 option on my boat. My wife and I agree..fabric is the way to go. Mark Johnson
are that I won't have it on my boat! It's bad enough sticking to it in the car in the summer with shorts and no shirt, but on the boat too...I think not! Besides...it was a $4000.00 option on my boat. My wife and I agree..fabric is the way to go. Mark Johnson
View panels
Jay Just got back from the show. I loved all the boats but agree with all your observations. What about the bimini view panels? All the biminis I saw up had one (albeit small). They all had the velcro cover on it but it was there. Tom/Keller
Jay Just got back from the show. I loved all the boats but agree with all your observations. What about the bimini view panels? All the biminis I saw up had one (albeit small). They all had the velcro cover on it but it was there. Tom/Keller
That's what I get...
...for being in a hurry; I didn't see the view panels with covers. Then again, after realizing not a single winch could be reached from the helm on any of the boats, I quit looking for detail. So, I hope everybody goes and buys a new bigger boat; that will leave lots of used Hunters out there for me to choose from!!
...for being in a hurry; I didn't see the view panels with covers. Then again, after realizing not a single winch could be reached from the helm on any of the boats, I quit looking for detail. So, I hope everybody goes and buys a new bigger boat; that will leave lots of used Hunters out there for me to choose from!!
Galley Upper shelf
Our H40.5 has the shelf mounted to the overhead. We LOVE it. Hunter supplied a complete set of dishes like those expensive ones at the marine stores that are anti-skid. NEVER had any problem with dishes falling off. In fact we added a teak wine glass rack to the port underside of the shelf to store glasses. We went through a full gale in the Pacific off Catalina (>45 knots) and didn't lose anything including our lunch! ;-)
Our H40.5 has the shelf mounted to the overhead. We LOVE it. Hunter supplied a complete set of dishes like those expensive ones at the marine stores that are anti-skid. NEVER had any problem with dishes falling off. In fact we added a teak wine glass rack to the port underside of the shelf to store glasses. We went through a full gale in the Pacific off Catalina (>45 knots) and didn't lose anything including our lunch! ;-)
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