Has anyone cruise a Hunter 33 offshore? If so, to where? I have been very pleased with the performance and strength of mine on the Great Lakes and she has handled all weather extremely well. I believe she would make a good ocean going boat but am unaware of others who have cruised extensively.
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ask Tim Schaaf!
Bill: Tim Schaaf has his down in Mexico. He should be a good measure of how these boats do off shore.
Bill: Tim Schaaf has his down in Mexico. He should be a good measure of how these boats do off shore.
Clearly a capable design
Read some earlier discussions in the archives. The design ratios match those of an offshore boat. Most discussions focus on maintenance and improvements to ensure strength of hull and rigging, waterproof capability it rolled or pooped, tankage, and comfort issues. David '77 h27
Read some earlier discussions in the archives. The design ratios match those of an offshore boat. Most discussions focus on maintenance and improvements to ensure strength of hull and rigging, waterproof capability it rolled or pooped, tankage, and comfort issues. David '77 h27
H33 offshore (from Tim Schaaf)
Steve's right. Of the H33 posters on this site, Tim has been out further, for longer, and may well be the best sailor. The fact he hasn't answered this thread may indicate he's crossing the Pacific now. Anyway, here are several earlier posts of his relating to offshore capability of the H33: Agree with Hank Submitted by Tim Schaaf on 10/26 at 09:58PM regarding General_interest I would add a couple of points. Even in a circumnavigation, much of your sailing will be fairly short range, plus, if you enjoy sailing, you will want to simply take your boat out for daysails. Both of these facts mitigate against the crab crusher, and in favor of a boat with decent performance, including to windward. I would suggest that the Cherubinis included many more "sea boat" features than the modern Hunters, by the way. Phil is absolutely right when he says that the newer boats have been more tailored to the principal sailboat market. The old 33 came with a settee with leeboard, a usable pilot berth (many have been converted into bookshelves) and a nice quarter berth. Three sea berths on a 33 footer ain't bad. The 37 seems to be one tough vessel, too. I would also say that the vessel's preparation is as important as the vessel, but both of these factors are secondary to your OWN preparation. By the way, I have done quite a bit of offshore stuff in my own 33, and will be heading across the Pacific next spring. See you out there. two decades! Submitted by Tim Schaaf on 07/05 at 05:00PM regarding Hunter 33 Next February 4 will be the 20th anniversary of my purchase of Casual Water, my 1980 H33. It has been a good boat. My experience with Hunters of that era is that the build quality varied greatly, but a good Hunter is a good boat indeed. The 33 has many fans, and has many good features for sailing, as opposed to just sitting in a slip. It has a few bad design features, but these are fairly easily corrected. Chronic problem areas are deck delamination, often, but not always, an easy fix, and many people complain about the ports. In my experience they have been fine, and they haven't leaked, but I am about the only guy that uses my boat, so the dogs on the ports don't get overtightened. Tnat can break them. Many H33 owners dislike these ports.In any case, they are not a hard thing to replace, either with the same model as original, or with something more substantial and costly, made by a porthole maker. The Hunters of that era came with gate valves, which should be changed out for ball valves or, better yet, true sea-cocks. I should add that I have lived aboard my H33 for all but four of the years I have owned her, and have cruised her extensively through California and Mexico. There has been quite a bit of offshore work involved. So I think my boat has been pressed pretty hard! This site has a lot of information on the boat, particulaly in the section entitled "the boats" on the Home Page, but if you need any advice,particularly on how to make a potentially very wet cockpit much drier (!) my email address is: tims@cabomarina.com.mx I have great faith in the boat. A good boat Submitted by Tim Schaaf on 06/25 at 03:42PM regarding Hunter 33 I have had my 1980 H33 since early 1982, when I bought it in the SF Bay area. I sailed there for six years, including up and down the California coast. Subsequently, I sailed her for three years in Southern California. For the last ten, I have been based in Mexico. My boat and I have sailed all over the Sea of Cortez. We plan to head in the direction of NZ next year. I have lived aboard for all but four years of my ownership. This has been a very good boat. Yes, I have had to modify her, somewhat, and yes, I have had to do an extensive blister job. And, like many of the Hunter's of her era, she has suffered minor deck delaminations. But, all of these things have been correctable without to much of a struggle, and none of them take away from the basic design of the boat. You will find that she has many well thought out features and details. She is very easily sailed short-handed, and has several very good sea-berths. She is pretty tough, too. Disadvantages are being initially tender due to her ten foot beam. The ballast to displacement ratio is good, but the narrow hull heels easily. Of course, she also goes to weather well, as a result of the fine entry. Just be willing to reef early. In my Bay Area days, I used to put in a reef in Spring that stayed there until the Fall. The boat sails much better upright. I also found that a full-batten main was a good addition. She also has an extremely wet cockpit. I would say a dodger is mandatory, and I added deflection boards between the cockpit coamings and the toe rails on either side of the boat, and cut out a short section of the vertical part of the toerail, to allow the water to go overboard. The deflectors direct the water that would otherwise come cascading back over the helmmsman's seat, off the side of the boat.They are angled aft, from a spot on the coaming aft of the winches, to the rail forward of the pulpit and backstays. Since these modifications, the cockpit changed into a very nice dry place. You will get the idea, the first time you take her out in a blow. But these are minor things. Get the boat, and enjoy. Something else to consider..... Submitted by Tim Schaaf on 06/08 at 03:58PM regarding Hunter 410 is the fact that most of us enjoy the shear act of sailing. It may (of may not) be true that a "crab crusher" will make for a more comfortable passage. But what happens when you get there? Daysails, and coastal stuff. Although I have seen many a cruising boat down pass through here in Mexico that does not budge when not going from port to port, I think that a lot of us LIKE to sail, in between, as well. In my case, when cruising, the anchor never stays down for more than a few days in a row. I will go out sailing, even if I am not going anywhere. So, I opt for a boat that is fun to sail, and that CAN make a passage, rather than something that is a dog in less than a gale. I remember an Island Packet that my Hunter 33 could barely keep up with in the Pacific off of San Diego. But, when we would be hard on the wind coming up into San Diego Bay, I ALWAYS left her far behind. We pointed higher, sailed faster. On the issue of speed, two very close friends of mine sailed from Cabo San Lucas through the South Pacific to New Zealand last year in their thirty year old Cal 34. It is a lot like our older Hunters. This couple are young, capable, budget-minded enthusiastic sailors. They had a wonderful trip, and averaged 5.2 knots for the whole trip. And, they had their share of challenging conditions. For a really good and informative read, I would strongly recommend their journal detailing several years of cruising from the Pacific Northwest to New Zealand, including the rigors of a blister job in Mexico. It is called the "Mandolin Mailing List",and it is on their website: http://www.aljian.com/mandolin read it and enjoy! As for my Hunter 33, Casual Water, and myself, we aim to be safely in New Zealand for the next A-Cup. I am sure we will have rattled our teeth a bit and pitched and rolled a bit more, but we have been doing that for years and we will be there!! End of rant! Phil, by the way, this has to be one of your most provocative threads! My Cherubini 33, Submitted by Tim Schaaf on 06/05 at 04:07PM regarding General_interest a 1980 model, has done just fine up and down the Pacific Coast of California and Mexico. And, the sailing in that area can be pretty challenging for crew and boat. We have been hundreds of miles offshore, far from any shelter. I did a little beefing up, built a turtle for the main hatch, washboards to deflect overboard the water that cascades along the side decks and into the cockpit, installed positive latches for such things as floorboards and drawers, added some pumps and rigged and outfitted her very well. This was done over a period of many years, so I was able to modify and add as experience suggested. She is a good boat, and as a previous answer notes, the Cherubinis are much more of seaboats than the more modern, dare I say marina condo, models. Since the 33 is a narrow tender boat (with the attendant advantages and disadvantages), I think that a good suit of sails is particularly important. Baggy ones will really lay you on your ear if you have too much canvas up. I really like my full battened main, although she still needs early reefing!
Steve's right. Of the H33 posters on this site, Tim has been out further, for longer, and may well be the best sailor. The fact he hasn't answered this thread may indicate he's crossing the Pacific now. Anyway, here are several earlier posts of his relating to offshore capability of the H33: Agree with Hank Submitted by Tim Schaaf on 10/26 at 09:58PM regarding General_interest I would add a couple of points. Even in a circumnavigation, much of your sailing will be fairly short range, plus, if you enjoy sailing, you will want to simply take your boat out for daysails. Both of these facts mitigate against the crab crusher, and in favor of a boat with decent performance, including to windward. I would suggest that the Cherubinis included many more "sea boat" features than the modern Hunters, by the way. Phil is absolutely right when he says that the newer boats have been more tailored to the principal sailboat market. The old 33 came with a settee with leeboard, a usable pilot berth (many have been converted into bookshelves) and a nice quarter berth. Three sea berths on a 33 footer ain't bad. The 37 seems to be one tough vessel, too. I would also say that the vessel's preparation is as important as the vessel, but both of these factors are secondary to your OWN preparation. By the way, I have done quite a bit of offshore stuff in my own 33, and will be heading across the Pacific next spring. See you out there. two decades! Submitted by Tim Schaaf on 07/05 at 05:00PM regarding Hunter 33 Next February 4 will be the 20th anniversary of my purchase of Casual Water, my 1980 H33. It has been a good boat. My experience with Hunters of that era is that the build quality varied greatly, but a good Hunter is a good boat indeed. The 33 has many fans, and has many good features for sailing, as opposed to just sitting in a slip. It has a few bad design features, but these are fairly easily corrected. Chronic problem areas are deck delamination, often, but not always, an easy fix, and many people complain about the ports. In my experience they have been fine, and they haven't leaked, but I am about the only guy that uses my boat, so the dogs on the ports don't get overtightened. Tnat can break them. Many H33 owners dislike these ports.In any case, they are not a hard thing to replace, either with the same model as original, or with something more substantial and costly, made by a porthole maker. The Hunters of that era came with gate valves, which should be changed out for ball valves or, better yet, true sea-cocks. I should add that I have lived aboard my H33 for all but four of the years I have owned her, and have cruised her extensively through California and Mexico. There has been quite a bit of offshore work involved. So I think my boat has been pressed pretty hard! This site has a lot of information on the boat, particulaly in the section entitled "the boats" on the Home Page, but if you need any advice,particularly on how to make a potentially very wet cockpit much drier (!) my email address is: tims@cabomarina.com.mx I have great faith in the boat. A good boat Submitted by Tim Schaaf on 06/25 at 03:42PM regarding Hunter 33 I have had my 1980 H33 since early 1982, when I bought it in the SF Bay area. I sailed there for six years, including up and down the California coast. Subsequently, I sailed her for three years in Southern California. For the last ten, I have been based in Mexico. My boat and I have sailed all over the Sea of Cortez. We plan to head in the direction of NZ next year. I have lived aboard for all but four years of my ownership. This has been a very good boat. Yes, I have had to modify her, somewhat, and yes, I have had to do an extensive blister job. And, like many of the Hunter's of her era, she has suffered minor deck delaminations. But, all of these things have been correctable without to much of a struggle, and none of them take away from the basic design of the boat. You will find that she has many well thought out features and details. She is very easily sailed short-handed, and has several very good sea-berths. She is pretty tough, too. Disadvantages are being initially tender due to her ten foot beam. The ballast to displacement ratio is good, but the narrow hull heels easily. Of course, she also goes to weather well, as a result of the fine entry. Just be willing to reef early. In my Bay Area days, I used to put in a reef in Spring that stayed there until the Fall. The boat sails much better upright. I also found that a full-batten main was a good addition. She also has an extremely wet cockpit. I would say a dodger is mandatory, and I added deflection boards between the cockpit coamings and the toe rails on either side of the boat, and cut out a short section of the vertical part of the toerail, to allow the water to go overboard. The deflectors direct the water that would otherwise come cascading back over the helmmsman's seat, off the side of the boat.They are angled aft, from a spot on the coaming aft of the winches, to the rail forward of the pulpit and backstays. Since these modifications, the cockpit changed into a very nice dry place. You will get the idea, the first time you take her out in a blow. But these are minor things. Get the boat, and enjoy. Something else to consider..... Submitted by Tim Schaaf on 06/08 at 03:58PM regarding Hunter 410 is the fact that most of us enjoy the shear act of sailing. It may (of may not) be true that a "crab crusher" will make for a more comfortable passage. But what happens when you get there? Daysails, and coastal stuff. Although I have seen many a cruising boat down pass through here in Mexico that does not budge when not going from port to port, I think that a lot of us LIKE to sail, in between, as well. In my case, when cruising, the anchor never stays down for more than a few days in a row. I will go out sailing, even if I am not going anywhere. So, I opt for a boat that is fun to sail, and that CAN make a passage, rather than something that is a dog in less than a gale. I remember an Island Packet that my Hunter 33 could barely keep up with in the Pacific off of San Diego. But, when we would be hard on the wind coming up into San Diego Bay, I ALWAYS left her far behind. We pointed higher, sailed faster. On the issue of speed, two very close friends of mine sailed from Cabo San Lucas through the South Pacific to New Zealand last year in their thirty year old Cal 34. It is a lot like our older Hunters. This couple are young, capable, budget-minded enthusiastic sailors. They had a wonderful trip, and averaged 5.2 knots for the whole trip. And, they had their share of challenging conditions. For a really good and informative read, I would strongly recommend their journal detailing several years of cruising from the Pacific Northwest to New Zealand, including the rigors of a blister job in Mexico. It is called the "Mandolin Mailing List",and it is on their website: http://www.aljian.com/mandolin read it and enjoy! As for my Hunter 33, Casual Water, and myself, we aim to be safely in New Zealand for the next A-Cup. I am sure we will have rattled our teeth a bit and pitched and rolled a bit more, but we have been doing that for years and we will be there!! End of rant! Phil, by the way, this has to be one of your most provocative threads! My Cherubini 33, Submitted by Tim Schaaf on 06/05 at 04:07PM regarding General_interest a 1980 model, has done just fine up and down the Pacific Coast of California and Mexico. And, the sailing in that area can be pretty challenging for crew and boat. We have been hundreds of miles offshore, far from any shelter. I did a little beefing up, built a turtle for the main hatch, washboards to deflect overboard the water that cascades along the side decks and into the cockpit, installed positive latches for such things as floorboards and drawers, added some pumps and rigged and outfitted her very well. This was done over a period of many years, so I was able to modify and add as experience suggested. She is a good boat, and as a previous answer notes, the Cherubinis are much more of seaboats than the more modern, dare I say marina condo, models. Since the 33 is a narrow tender boat (with the attendant advantages and disadvantages), I think that a good suit of sails is particularly important. Baggy ones will really lay you on your ear if you have too much canvas up. I really like my full battened main, although she still needs early reefing!
Still smiling.....
at all those things that Terry recalled. Yes, I am a big fan of the 33. Mine answered her latest interesting challenge a couple of months ago in a rip roaring Norther in the Sea of Cortez. We were doing three to four knots under bare poles, or should I say reefed dodger! The Monitor was quite happy. We were going downwind, and I had been trying to see just how much wind the Monitor could handle with only full-battened main, as opposed to the recommended headsail alone. We ended up with the boom almost in the water, and a good bit of water over the coaming....a very rare event. Anyway, I found the limits, but old Casual Water handled everything like a champ. I had recently done a lot of bedding of the chainplates ( a chronic problem for which I think I have finally devised a really good solution) and stanchions, and replaced ports, so it was gratifying to have lots of water over the decks and zero leaks. We haven't quite left to cross the Pacific, but should be doing so, either in early May, or maybe not until December. I will be quiting my work in Cabo very soon, and may do a Final Tour of the Sea of Cortez. But, back to the 33. I think she is a good solution to all the compromises we make in our boats, and I think that, prudently sailed and properly maintained, she will take good care of her offshore crew. Mine has. But do make the modifications I suggested to keep the cockpit dry, or the misery index will skyrocket! Good luck.
at all those things that Terry recalled. Yes, I am a big fan of the 33. Mine answered her latest interesting challenge a couple of months ago in a rip roaring Norther in the Sea of Cortez. We were doing three to four knots under bare poles, or should I say reefed dodger! The Monitor was quite happy. We were going downwind, and I had been trying to see just how much wind the Monitor could handle with only full-battened main, as opposed to the recommended headsail alone. We ended up with the boom almost in the water, and a good bit of water over the coaming....a very rare event. Anyway, I found the limits, but old Casual Water handled everything like a champ. I had recently done a lot of bedding of the chainplates ( a chronic problem for which I think I have finally devised a really good solution) and stanchions, and replaced ports, so it was gratifying to have lots of water over the decks and zero leaks. We haven't quite left to cross the Pacific, but should be doing so, either in early May, or maybe not until December. I will be quiting my work in Cabo very soon, and may do a Final Tour of the Sea of Cortez. But, back to the 33. I think she is a good solution to all the compromises we make in our boats, and I think that, prudently sailed and properly maintained, she will take good care of her offshore crew. Mine has. But do make the modifications I suggested to keep the cockpit dry, or the misery index will skyrocket! Good luck.
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