Ever Capsize a Hunter 23?

[Annapolis Day Sailor]

Still conducting "sea trials" of my new (1986) Hunter 23. I was sailing yesterday in a creek off the Chesapeake in winds 20kts gusts to 25kts but variable 30-40 degrees and got a good scare.

I was somewhat startled at how rapidly the boat heeled over when entering an area of stronger wind, or during gusts. Boat has a fixed wing keel which draws 2'3" . Most of my small boat sailing was in a Soling in Hawaii, a very large keel which made the boat almost impossible to knock down or capsize.

Can anyone provide any information / guidance / wisdom concerning my worries about capsizing or being knocked down in a Hunter 23 with a winged keel?

And can one individual stand on the keel and right it if it goes over?

Thanks in advance for taking the time to respond!

 

[Steve Dion]

Reef!

 

[C Jones]

The h23 will take a lot of air. Look at the 4th to the last picture in my profile. 20knots gusting over 30. My first mate is still sitting leeward. Reefed main and jib. It will round up at 33-34 degrees so no worries. Charles

 

[Chris14830]

Hi, I have an 86 Hunter 23 as well. I "knocked it flat" once. Things came off the shelf below, and the gas tank came out of its spot under the seat and landed on the other side. It rounded up quickly as Charles mentioned. No harm done, but a bit scary.

Reef early, my new main is flatter and the boat does not seem to heel quite as much. My new traveler pulley system (see photo album) helps dump the wind more efficiently than dumping the main sheet.

It is a tender boat. My brother calls it a dinghy with a cabin. I still would not trade it for any other.
-Chris

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Whenever there is a small boat to include the Hunter 23, it is more affected than the larger boats simply due to displacement and that is a simple fact. 25 knots is pretty high for many and if sailing under those conditions, reefed main as suggested is a good recommendation without jib unless you have roller furling on your boat. To simply go out with full sail in 25 knots, you are overpowered which requires reduced sail or for the newcomers to sailing, learn to sail more before sailing in that type of wind. I have always said never to allow the boat to heel more than 12 - 14 degrees.

crazy dave condon

 

[isaksp00]

You asked if standing on the keel would right her. While I have never had my 23 more heeled than the rails a bit under, I can't imagine it would sit flat if knocked over - the keel ought to pull it upright. I don't think it could ever need manual righting, like a true dinghy or Sunfish type boat might. If it were that bad, it'd likely sink.

 

[Annapolis Day Sailor]

Thanks so much for the responses. I sailed once more in 20 kt + winds, with just the mainsail, and felt much more comfortable. Isaksp00's comment about the weight of the keel and it's ability to keep the boat from inverting gave me some confidence to sail her more aggressively and with that came confidence as to what I could do. Thanks again for all the thoughts, guys! (and/or gals) This is a great forum!

 

[Kivalo]

Did it look something like this video?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w00suzaDh_A

 

[PattyBailey]

It is difficult task to do with boat. I saw car drifting; first time I see boat drifting.

 

[Hugh Straub]

Ah, the video again. Notice how a float is suspended from the mast to prevent the boat from turning turtle. Notice how the hatch is closed with the crib boards in place. Notice how one of the crew shifts his weight to leeward, while his friend heaves in the main. Clearly, these folks are intentionally trying to capsize the boat but they can't. She simply rounds up into the wind with out any water even getting in the cockpit. This video should make 23.5 owners feel pretty confident about the safety of their boats.

Kind regards

Hugh

 

[isaksp00]

Yes, and that video is (I believe) a water ballasted boat lacking a keel - maybe the 23.5 has a board, don't know. I would think the 23 with its iron keel would have an even better righting moment. That said, reef when you need to and try to keep it comfortable. While it likely can't truly turtle or lie flat you probably don't really want it like 20 degrees from the horizontal.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

One thing if I recall, there is floatation in the Hunter 23.5 so the boat cannot sink.

 

[peptobysmol]

If you have the time to stand on the keel of a hunter 23, I'd say its already turtled or resting on the bottom on it's side. It's definitely possible to capsize a '23. Three things you must do in heavy winds 1. Reef. 2. Secure the lazarette and 3. Secure the foreward and cabin hatches. If you find yourself in heavy winds and high seas... I hope you have an EPIRB and a good life jacket . The '23 is not designed for being pooped and has a relatively low capsize ratio.
All that being said... I've never heard of nor seen one that capsized.

 

[owner23.5]

thats the video that sold me on the 23.5 I was looking heavily into the h23.5 but had reserves until the wife and I watched the video. After seeing it a couple DOZEN times it was safe to say we couldnt flip that boat over. have loved sailing it ever since"wife on the other hand ?????" she likes the no wind days when we can use the iron jib .

 

[sesmith]

That video also gave me some faith that I couldn't screw things up too much. I doubt that wind alone would flip a 23.5 over under normal circumstances. Just last weekend a surprise gust knocked us over far enough that the jib hit the water. The boat did what it was made to do, it just turned up into the wind and popped back up. However, I'm very certain that if you combined a beam hit with a largish wave just at the right time, when something like this happened, that the boat would go over. These boats aren't made for big waves, for sure.