H26 modifications

Phil Herring · Feb 2, 2011

MABell, you might want to post them under Boat Info -> Hunter 26 -> Owners Mods, as well. That will allow many more people to find them.

Paul356 · Feb 2, 2011

Some really nice ideas, and nicely executed.

Bob 04 H260 · Feb 3, 2011

lots of great ideas ! and very well done too.
Do you have a picture of the cockpit table in use in the cockpit ? I have a 260 and have the same cockpit table in my v-berth area but have no idea how it was supposed to be used, there is no mention of it in the manual. I have a wheel so probably can not be used. I do have a friend with tiller steering on his 260 and he has asked me about it but nothing is obvious. I suspect he is missing a fitting to mount it ?
thanks Bob

soling42 · Feb 3, 2011

Really like the water bladder and v-berth mods. In my quest for more water storage (and the accumulating weight in the bow)I considered adding a bladder in the stern behind the bulkhead to balance the boat but couldn't find the right size. Also reworked our cabin table last summer and redesigned the v-berth so it can now actually sleep 2 in relative comfort.

Great mods, nice table and intriguing bow section . Please add your pics/comments to the boat mods forum as Phil mentioned. People will build on your ingenuity. Well done and thanks for posting. I guess there'll always be something to do

Mike and Kelli

Bilgewater · Feb 3, 2011

Great mods and a very good workmanship! Could you elaborate on opening up the forepeak? Cutting and finishing details?

Bob 04 H260 · Feb 6, 2011

MABell said:
The H26 has a table base holder molded into the cockpit floor. As I understand, they did away with that in the H260 - even without the wheel. The v-berth mold (with the storage area for the table) remained the same. To bad, because the table gets a lot of complements. If you have a wheel, there are a lot of choices in tables to attach to the pedestal. Prepare for sticker chock however.

Thanks for the info MAbell, I will pass it on to my friend. There may be a way he can add a mount to the cockpit floor for this table. I mounted a cockpit table in front of my wheel on a guard, you are right it was a bit of sticker shock but so handy to use and stow so well worth it. At the same time I installed the wheel brake, also nice piece of workmanship but expensive too. (I have pictures of all in my album).

I really like your cooler solution. At this point I just moved up to a 5 day cooler, with the drain connected into the sink seacock hose. I have been looking at the Engal refrigerator/freezers but all of this type are so tall they would require major surgery to install there. I have considered installing one in the v-berth but would like to keep as much weight as I can off the bow as I am using 70 ft of 1/4" chain on my rode now and the boat is trimmed well so don't need any more weight up front.

thanks again for the info, Bob

soling42 · Feb 7, 2011

Bob,
Whats up with the angle of the main sheet. My MS is relatively vertical and cramps the size of my cockpit table(which I rarely use anyway). My MS is attached on the boom just a bit forward of my bimini when it's in place. Maybe your bimini is simply bigger than mine.

I would have thought that your Edson pedestal came with a wheel brake or did I misunderstand your comment. I also ended up replacing our stock igloo cooler last summer with a 72qt igloo marine at west marine it's a major benefit although as you mentioned weight is adding up everywhere when I get "ingenious" with yet another perk. Lately it's all in the bow. The countertop lid had to go and the larger cooler's a very tight fit but when we're onboard overnight or longer the lifespan of the ice and extra storage space is great. Also added a simple drain so moving it isn't such a pain too.

If anybody has any ideas about adding another 20 gals of water storage that'd be balanced within the boat and not too impossible of a project I'm all ears. Even when skimping having only 20gal with or without guests on a hot day it goes fast. A bladder secured behind the rear bulkhead is all I can imagine.

My water gauge mod is still working flawlessly and is a huge help. Easy to install and well worth knowing when we're getting low without unnecessarily wedging into the forward hold. Here's a pic

M&K

Bob 04 H260 · Feb 7, 2011

Mike, I didn't see a post about your water tank indicator, looks like a great idea, will have to put it on my list. Where did you buy it ?

As far as the mainsheet goes it was moved forward maybe 6" by the selling dealer to just clear the front of the bimini. It may be the angle the picture was taken perhaps ? It in fact just clears the cockpit table. If we are not using the boom tent we will often move the MS over to the side to just clear it out of the cockpit altogether. The only other pcture I have of the MS angle is when I tested the fit of the anchor sail, maybe this puts into perspective better ? The MS does press against the end of the table a bit so would not want it any more vertical than what it is. I have about a 12" wire between the end of the MS and the attachment point on the deck to make it easier to use the cleat, it gives me a better angle.

The wheel did not come with a wheel brake and without an autopilot and the jib sheets so far away it did not make sense they would supply the boat that way, so $200+ later we had a brake installed........

I like the 5 day cooler, not as much space as we would like but does work so much better that the Igloo supplied by Hunter, in hot weather it would have water running down the sides. I like to be able to close the lid and have use of the counter space, I drilled a hole to run a drain line out to a ball valve T'ed into the sink drain, makes draining the cooler so easy.

Are you getting any sailing in down there ? we are freezing our butts up here !:cry:

Bob

soling42 · Feb 8, 2011

Water tank sender link http://www.rvelectronics.com.au/page.asp?parentid=3&parent2id=67
WG201 fit fine and was an easy install. I mounted the sender to cover the area mid way between the top and bottom of the tank and easily fished the small control wire back to the galley side wall. When the gauge reads it's lowest i still have a few gallons of reserve.

I noticed that your bimini is the same size as ours but mounted about 6" further fwd(see pic) on the rail giving you a tad more room at your table. Got to love the cockpit roominess for entertaining in these boats with the MS pulled over to the side rail which is a great setup.

Our slightly used '04 came rigged with the wheel guard, a brake and jib sheet spinlocks, lucky me because they're all extremely practical for this boat especially single handed. Of all my mods I'd say I use the AP the most because I'm often solo. Whether it's a long haul down the coast or simply to hold a heading while I winch a sheet or grab a cold one, it's been great. Unfortunately Simrad discontinued the WP32 which seems to be the best choice for the buck.

I opted for one relatively giant cooler instead of a small frig because of our longer coastal trips and having to otherwise need a 2nd cooler on the cabin floor under foot. It's wedged in but is a great icebox and the lid is the same height as the counter top and nearly as big. Sorry no pics.

All the mods mentioned should fit a 26 or 260 if I'm not mistaken. I often struggle with the lust for a bigger/better boat but this boat is so versatile and perfect for our lifestyle in SW Fl that I "keep it until maybe next year", which is now about 5yrs

. I guess it's a keeper.

I'll try to get some pics of our V-berth setup which is unique, versatile and actually pretty functional for guests although getting in the fwd hold is still as tough as ever.

M&K

Bob 04 H260 · Feb 9, 2011

Mike thanks for the details on the fresh water guage, I will look into that.

My bimini will touch the end of the boom if I move the mounts back on the pushpit, as it seems to raise the front of it up.

Our boat did not come with anything except the bimini and wheel steering. I put in all the electronics, guard, table, s/s sink etc.

Bob

Lance14037 · Feb 10, 2011

Thank you for sharing. Always nice to see what good changes are made.

Bilgewater · Feb 10, 2011

Hey Bob,
Your last pic shows what I assume is a riding sail set on the topping lift and sheeted forward somewhere. Got any details about that? I have noticed that the boat will "hunt" (hence the name?) while at anchor, and a riding sail can fix that.

Bilgewater in frozen Ohio

Bob 04 H260 · Feb 10, 2011

anchor sailing

Bilgewater, I made the sail out of an old jib off my previous boat because of what I thought was excessive sailing on the anchor. I have only had a chance to use it once so too soon to say how well it works. Mike advised me not to expect much from it.

I also switched to chain rode (70 ft of 1/4") and a bridle and found that helps a lot. I also have a 10 lb mushroom anchor I will sometimes use as a kellet on the anchor rode, right on the bottom directly below the bow roller.

Some sailors advise using a kellet or small anchor set off the stern at the extreme excursion of the boats swing.

The best solution is supposed to be anchoring your boat at the stern instead of the bow, then you have no swinging at all, but with a 260 the cockpit might get wet and it will be more difficult getting in and out of a dinghy in a blow. All details are explained here, http://www.jordanseriesdrogue.com/D_14.htm

If I ever get a good solution I'll post it on here until then I'm waiting to hear what others have tried.

Bob

Bob 04 H260 · Feb 11, 2011

one additional point I did not mention, some sailors report hanging a bucket off the stern helps to reduce the swinging, I have not tried this solution but sounds like it would help, and very easy to try, Bob

soling42 · Feb 11, 2011

Bob and BW,

One of the bigger issues for me with a riding sail in a blow was the noise from the lines drawing taut on each and every swing from P/S with very little improvement in our stability. A wise man once quoted Thoreau who said "The sail..so noisy and impatient when least effective"

Some people are more impressed with them but I'd imagine they'd be most effective mounted on a true backstay way at the stern(which we can't do without difficulty).

Sleeping aft is impossible for me with rigging twanging like mad in a blow or anchoring from the stern with endless waves bashing in my ear. A stern anchor could get dicey in a midnight storm too. Your bow anchor bridle, kellet and careful anchorage choice is probably as good as it'll get for our boats.

I choose each nights anchorage with great care based on weather, tide and shelter. These boats give us awesome gunk hole choices that most sailboats will never begin to use. pic below in 2 1/2' of water with the Gulf 100' behind us over a dune. love it.

I carry a drogue that I'll try tied closely astern with the rudder up, or tied down the bow anchor line at the waterline on our next windy overnight. keeping it simple has merit.

Sailing this weekend. Highs at 70. Freezing........for a Fl boy

We always have room for crew that need to thaw.

Mike and Kelli

Bob 04 H260 · Feb 12, 2011

OK Mike you got me good

!
All good advice, you are right we don't need any more noise in a blow. It seems the noise makes it seem worse than it really is. I try to have any canvas down before it comes through. I found even on a mooring ball with 15 kt winds she would be sailing all around. I would usually have the bimini up and a boom tent set so these are the conditions I would like to try the ridng sail in. We found coming back to the boat with the dinghy we would have to catch it as it sailed by.
In a real hard blow I like to use two anchors set about 60* apart with lots of chain, seems to help and makes sleeping (with the anchor drag alarm set) possible.
Man 70* is swimming weather for us Canucks ! It does not look like we will get south this winter, too many things left to do, maybe late spring if things settle down for us.
enjoy your time on the water, post a few pics for us frozen sailors, Bob

H26 modifications

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