We are looking at a 33 Hunter 1979 model located in Georgian Bay. There appears to have been some sort of repair to the port side toerail joint and now oozing the cement out on the hull. It probably just needs cleanup but would toerail repairs be common on this model. The hull appears to have had several coats of antifouling paint and so it is difficult to see if there is any osmosis or hull repair. I believe these are solid fibreglass hull not balsa core. We will be having a survery done but any information in advance would be useful. It has the 2qm diesel motor and we have read in this forum that this may be somewhat underpowered but could be greatly improved with a 3 blade prop. Also someone appears to have painted the deck with we presume awlgrip. Would this have been done to solve a blistering problem. Has anyone had much deck problem with this model. We have heard these boats perform very well especially to windward. Any comments or information would be greatly appreciated. Our email address is brian.andeson3@sympatico.ca appreciatederrd
- Status
- Not open for further replies.
K
Ken Palmer
Many questions.
I purchased my Hunter 33 4-years ago. It is a 1981 model, but I think that they were about the same as the year you are inquiring about. I'll try to help out with your questions, and I'm sure you will get many answers besides mine. 1.I have had no toerail problems, and haven't read about any on the HOW. 2. If there is blistering, you will see them even with anti-fouling paint applied. My H33 has had, and continues to have some small blisters about the diameter of a pencil eraser. I have not drilled and filled, and they seem to remain the same. I believe you are correct in saying the hull is solid fiberglass. It is the deck that has a bulsa core. 3. My engine is the same as yours, with a 2-blade prop. It is fine for the Great Lakes area. If you need more power because of current, there have been good reports about going to a 3-blade prop. 4. The deck on the H33 looks like a factory-painted gray surface. Mine was looking pretty faded, so I painted it myself using marine epoxy paint. I added non-skid material and some gloss flattener. It looks great now. I don't believe the deck will blister, because fiberglass needs to be in the water to blister. It can get cracks in the gelcoat, but that may be normal, and I have very few stress cracks on my deck. 5. Liberty sails well to windward, especially since I added inboard tracks for the jib sheets. I did this for racing, and don't think that cruisers need bother with adding tracks. It is easy to over-power the H33 with too much sail, and she will round-up windward and be hard to handle in winds over 15 knots. Know when to reef, and she will handle beautifully. A survey is neccessary before you sign the bottom line. Overall, I think that you are making a good selection. The H33 is a solid boat that sails fast, and has plenty of room in the cabin for cruising. Good luck with your selection. Ken Palmer, S/V Liberty kpalmer@rochester.rr.com http://home.rochester.rr.com/kpalmer
I purchased my Hunter 33 4-years ago. It is a 1981 model, but I think that they were about the same as the year you are inquiring about. I'll try to help out with your questions, and I'm sure you will get many answers besides mine. 1.I have had no toerail problems, and haven't read about any on the HOW. 2. If there is blistering, you will see them even with anti-fouling paint applied. My H33 has had, and continues to have some small blisters about the diameter of a pencil eraser. I have not drilled and filled, and they seem to remain the same. I believe you are correct in saying the hull is solid fiberglass. It is the deck that has a bulsa core. 3. My engine is the same as yours, with a 2-blade prop. It is fine for the Great Lakes area. If you need more power because of current, there have been good reports about going to a 3-blade prop. 4. The deck on the H33 looks like a factory-painted gray surface. Mine was looking pretty faded, so I painted it myself using marine epoxy paint. I added non-skid material and some gloss flattener. It looks great now. I don't believe the deck will blister, because fiberglass needs to be in the water to blister. It can get cracks in the gelcoat, but that may be normal, and I have very few stress cracks on my deck. 5. Liberty sails well to windward, especially since I added inboard tracks for the jib sheets. I did this for racing, and don't think that cruisers need bother with adding tracks. It is easy to over-power the H33 with too much sail, and she will round-up windward and be hard to handle in winds over 15 knots. Know when to reef, and she will handle beautifully. A survey is neccessary before you sign the bottom line. Overall, I think that you are making a good selection. The H33 is a solid boat that sails fast, and has plenty of room in the cabin for cruising. Good luck with your selection. Ken Palmer, S/V Liberty kpalmer@rochester.rr.com http://home.rochester.rr.com/kpalmer
T
Tom FitzGibbon
33 is a Great Boat
Brian, My wife and I bought a '79 H33 in June of 1998. We have spent a lot of time sailing it as well as a lot of $$ upgrading it, but we still love it. While we don't race it, the guy we bought it from was really into racing and was fairly successful. We were relatively new to sailing when we bought it, and it is a great beginner boat. It is very stable and forgiving, but Ken is correct - it can be oevrpowered if you are not careful. The result of that, though, at least as we've experienced it is rounding up due to weather helm. Windward performance is good. The only toe rail problems we have are (i) some grey adhesive or sealant sqeezing out on the deck and (ii) a slight leak on the stern toe rail where on the port side. I've seen some posts that the grey ooze is not uncommon, but the "problem" appears to be cosmetic. I think you and Ken are correct that the hull is solid, but the deck is definitely cored. The boat is a little bit underpowered with the 2QM, but a 3 bladed prop will help. We changed this year to a 14x11 fixed 3 blade prop and have seen a world of improvement - especially in reverse. As we sail up a fairly narrow river to get to open water, performance under power is a key. My biggest criticism was ventillation. I've spent a lot of time in Toronto, but never in the summer. If your summers are as hot and humid as our in New Jersey, you will need to upgrade the ventillation if a previous owner did not. I replaced 2 of the 3 mushroom vents with 4" Nicro Day and Night solar powered vents last winter and it has been a great improvement. That, the 3 blade prop and adding roller furling are probably the best improvements we've made. As far as the deck paint is convcerned, it's probably not due to blistering as, as Ken noted, you need lots of water contact for blisters. More than likely, the deck gelcoat lost its shine (it is a 21 year old boat, after all) and the paint was a cosmetic thing. If you have more questions, there are lots of 33 owners who love to talk about our boats, so post them here or feel free to e-mail me at the address in the owners directory. Tom FitzGibbon S/V Plan B
Brian, My wife and I bought a '79 H33 in June of 1998. We have spent a lot of time sailing it as well as a lot of $$ upgrading it, but we still love it. While we don't race it, the guy we bought it from was really into racing and was fairly successful. We were relatively new to sailing when we bought it, and it is a great beginner boat. It is very stable and forgiving, but Ken is correct - it can be oevrpowered if you are not careful. The result of that, though, at least as we've experienced it is rounding up due to weather helm. Windward performance is good. The only toe rail problems we have are (i) some grey adhesive or sealant sqeezing out on the deck and (ii) a slight leak on the stern toe rail where on the port side. I've seen some posts that the grey ooze is not uncommon, but the "problem" appears to be cosmetic. I think you and Ken are correct that the hull is solid, but the deck is definitely cored. The boat is a little bit underpowered with the 2QM, but a 3 bladed prop will help. We changed this year to a 14x11 fixed 3 blade prop and have seen a world of improvement - especially in reverse. As we sail up a fairly narrow river to get to open water, performance under power is a key. My biggest criticism was ventillation. I've spent a lot of time in Toronto, but never in the summer. If your summers are as hot and humid as our in New Jersey, you will need to upgrade the ventillation if a previous owner did not. I replaced 2 of the 3 mushroom vents with 4" Nicro Day and Night solar powered vents last winter and it has been a great improvement. That, the 3 blade prop and adding roller furling are probably the best improvements we've made. As far as the deck paint is convcerned, it's probably not due to blistering as, as Ken noted, you need lots of water contact for blisters. More than likely, the deck gelcoat lost its shine (it is a 21 year old boat, after all) and the paint was a cosmetic thing. If you have more questions, there are lots of 33 owners who love to talk about our boats, so post them here or feel free to e-mail me at the address in the owners directory. Tom FitzGibbon S/V Plan B
S
steven f
they are correct
The first two responses to your questions are correct (in my opinion). I have some trouble beating to windward however, my main is old and just last week blew out. Also, I have the shoal draft keel, if you have the deeper keel you'll get better windward performance, here on the SW coast of FLA the shallow keel is way better if you plan to do any cruising. I'm in the process of replacing the main and I'm HOPING I'll get better performance with a new sail. I can't stress enough that this model boat tends to round up into the wind if overpowered. I pull in the first reef around 15-20 knots of wind, she than handles great. The hull is sound but I too have some blisters and I havn't heard of a toe rail problem yet. All in all I'd have to recommend this boat, she's been great, even off shore in 8' seas, no problems. Good luck and enjoy.
The first two responses to your questions are correct (in my opinion). I have some trouble beating to windward however, my main is old and just last week blew out. Also, I have the shoal draft keel, if you have the deeper keel you'll get better windward performance, here on the SW coast of FLA the shallow keel is way better if you plan to do any cruising. I'm in the process of replacing the main and I'm HOPING I'll get better performance with a new sail. I can't stress enough that this model boat tends to round up into the wind if overpowered. I pull in the first reef around 15-20 knots of wind, she than handles great. The hull is sound but I too have some blisters and I havn't heard of a toe rail problem yet. All in all I'd have to recommend this boat, she's been great, even off shore in 8' seas, no problems. Good luck and enjoy.
B
Brian Anderson
Thank you for the useful information
We received several responses to our looking at a hunter 33 post. This is really a great forum. We will continue to participate. There is a wealth of sailing knowledge available. See you on the water.
We received several responses to our looking at a hunter 33 post. This is really a great forum. We will continue to participate. There is a wealth of sailing knowledge available. See you on the water.
D
Doug
Awlgrip issue
With a boat over 20 years old it is almost impossible to obtain any lasting shine on the gelcoat regardless of polish/wax. this is a result of long UV exposure. It is quite possible that the previous owner wanted a deck that had more shine than a chalk board so decided to use a polyurathane paint of some sort to acheive this. As decks arent in the water constantly, blistering would be uncommon on the deck. Delamination or core damage is the thing to look out for, especially around fittings. Have surveyor check for this well. The deck should not sponge or sink when you jump up and down on it. check mast comp. post too. Use plastic hammer to tap on deck and around hand holds, fitting, etc. Those kinds of repairs (if large areas) can cost more than your boat. Also check the way bulkheads line up to cabin ceiling and doors in frames. This could indicate sagging deck. Have fun with her!
With a boat over 20 years old it is almost impossible to obtain any lasting shine on the gelcoat regardless of polish/wax. this is a result of long UV exposure. It is quite possible that the previous owner wanted a deck that had more shine than a chalk board so decided to use a polyurathane paint of some sort to acheive this. As decks arent in the water constantly, blistering would be uncommon on the deck. Delamination or core damage is the thing to look out for, especially around fittings. Have surveyor check for this well. The deck should not sponge or sink when you jump up and down on it. check mast comp. post too. Use plastic hammer to tap on deck and around hand holds, fitting, etc. Those kinds of repairs (if large areas) can cost more than your boat. Also check the way bulkheads line up to cabin ceiling and doors in frames. This could indicate sagging deck. Have fun with her!
E
Ernie tetrault
Buy it... you'll like it!!!
Taking all of the previous considerations into mind, I can most strongly recomend the H33. My wife and I purchased a 1979 last year. As a charter captain in the past, I've sailed many differant boats and I absolutely love my H33. I too have had to deal with the oozing sealant from the toe rails (just use a razor knife to cut it flush with the rail), converting to a 3 blade prop, and painting the decks (strictly cosmetic). Face it, all boats demand a lot of money for improvements and customization, but this one hasn't hurt my wallet ..... TOO much! Happy Sailing, you'll love it!!
Taking all of the previous considerations into mind, I can most strongly recomend the H33. My wife and I purchased a 1979 last year. As a charter captain in the past, I've sailed many differant boats and I absolutely love my H33. I too have had to deal with the oozing sealant from the toe rails (just use a razor knife to cut it flush with the rail), converting to a 3 blade prop, and painting the decks (strictly cosmetic). Face it, all boats demand a lot of money for improvements and customization, but this one hasn't hurt my wallet ..... TOO much! Happy Sailing, you'll love it!!
E
Ed Schenck
Two other useful sites are..
http://people.ne.mediaone.net/tlyons/tdl/hunter/index.html for some basic H33 diagrams. And http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=204587#a=1888331 for photos(can't remember if still a problem but replace the '#' with a an ampersand). And don't forget the Cherubini site here on HOW. My H37C has the 2QM20 and been in some pretty heavy seas. It motors at 5 knots at 2200 RPM in normal seas.
http://people.ne.mediaone.net/tlyons/tdl/hunter/index.html for some basic H33 diagrams. And http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=204587#a=1888331 for photos(can't remember if still a problem but replace the '#' with a an ampersand). And don't forget the Cherubini site here on HOW. My H37C has the 2QM20 and been in some pretty heavy seas. It motors at 5 knots at 2200 RPM in normal seas.
- Status
- Not open for further replies.