Art, since my friend’s boat was on my dock I know for a fact it was not installed at the factory or by Hunter. Signature yachts of Seattle did the installation in the port aft cabin. As both you and I state, the door opening was enlarged and restored after installation. We bought our boat from Signature as well and they confirmed the process when we inquired about the installation.
Signature did an outstanding job and no trace of the “surgery” could be detected.
Yes, I’m sure if this is done well, the door frame can look good as new.
Here is the issue....
As stated, make sure it is secured well. It is really important that the bottom woodwork (At floor level) is removable. On my boat, that was all but impossible, and was a full day’s job to modify the panel so that it could be taken out.
This is essential for 2 reasons.
If you need to service the unit, you will need to slide it out of the cupboard. With the lower wooden plate installed, this was basically impossible.
Much more importantly, (tell your friend about this !!!) the lower wooden piece covers the pump clean out. If you don’t drain this yearly, and take all the “Schmoo (Canadian term), out, the drain pump will seize up. This is a massive repair job.
What I did for this was install machine screw inserts into the wooden panel, and now there are easily removable bolts from under the floor. Takes 5 minutes to pull it now.
I mentioned an exhaust fan.
The fan inside the unit has limited pressure, and the hose run is long. If you install an inline blower, it will help quite a bit.
Make friends with someone who knows how to repair these. I had to change the flexible door gasket last year. It was myself & another very handy guy, and we went half out of our minds doing this.
As mentioned, the parts dealer has a really nice guy on staff that can advise you if/when you need help.
I’m not sure if you need to winterize your boat. If so, follow the directions really well.
