Brand new sailor and Hunter 23.5 owner here. Just wanted to take a minute to introduce myself and tell everyone I'm excited to find a resource. I have a 1993 for about a month and have been going through the manual for the boat and the outboard to try and learn as much as possible about it. It's in great shape (as far as I can tell) and wanting to get it in the water and make sure everything works as it should. Any beginners advice, I would gladly accept! Thanks for everything! I'm still learning how to search the forum to try to find answers to my questions, but until then... thanks for having me!
Hello to all!
- Thread starter wvpackmule
- Start date
Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your first post! 
You will find some resources for your new-to-you boat here:
You will find some resources for your new-to-you boat here:
Where will you sail it? And will you be dry sailing it (Sailing off a trailer)?
Beginner's tips: Rig it up in your driveway before going to the launch ramp. Watch out for overhead electric lines where you practice rigging it and, believe it or not, at the launch ramp. Do not pull on a loose halyard, or any line, until you completely understand what the other end is attached to. I did this on my first launch - it made a rough day. Start early in the day when there's less wind - everything is easier. Sail upwind first - it's easier to sail downwind to the ramp or marina.
Beginner's tips: Rig it up in your driveway before going to the launch ramp. Watch out for overhead electric lines where you practice rigging it and, believe it or not, at the launch ramp. Do not pull on a loose halyard, or any line, until you completely understand what the other end is attached to. I did this on my first launch - it made a rough day. Start early in the day when there's less wind - everything is easier. Sail upwind first - it's easier to sail downwind to the ramp or marina.
Congrats on the new (to you) boat. A friend of mine had one that we sailed all over Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi gulf islands .. It is a fine boat.. Welcome aboard.
Thanks so much!Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your first post!
You will find some resources for your new-to-you boat here:
Thanks so much! My first launch will be in Beech Fork lake to make sure everything seems to work well. Unfortunately, my driveway has power lines right over them but I'm trailering it to my father in laws in the morning for the inaugural mast raise. He doesn't have a power line in sight. Noted on the halyards and great tips. I doubt I'll launch it as I don't have any sailing experience yet and without an outboard, I'd still like to get a handle on the wind and tacking.
That's a great point! I'm excited to see if it floats first. The bilge pump is missing so I'll have to get one, unless I want to join the bucket brigade.After you launch… and the ballast tank fills…Don’t forget to close the ballast tank before you hoist the sails.
That does bring up a question. Favtory suggests the bilge is located port side just forward of the cooler, however I traced the bilge line and they had it running aft and it ended beside two thru hull mounts for transducers. Where would the hunter typically collect water? Should I mount it in the factory spot or mount it under the aft berth where the line seems like it ran to?
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 24,696
Your concern with the bilge is complicated. Other owners have faced it.
Here is an SBO link from 2010. The owners are discussing how to install a bilge hose loop for the boat.
Here is an interesting review from Practical Sailor.
hunter-23-5
You might find the attached personal manual, created by an owner, helpful. "McDonnell Hunter 23.5 Manual"
Looking at the boat in profile, I drew a line set about the lowest point on the boat hull. The rationale is that water will seek the lowest point in the boat. This is usually where a bilge pump would be located. On your boat, the water ballast tanks and the shallow hull draft complicate this.
It appears to me that incidental water will find its way into your boat. It will move about the shallow bottom of the hull. Here are some ideas on how you might deal with it.
Incidental water (leaks, rain, wash-down) does not stay neatly in one sump (bilge). It tends to collect:
Practical access points owners use:
Here is an SBO link from 2010. The owners are discussing how to install a bilge hose loop for the boat.
H23.5: water enters bilge pump through-hull and runs into bilge through the pump
In my recent thread "H23.5 centerboard/compression post leak", Mike (soling42) suggested water can enter the bilge pump outlet/through-hull when heeled over far enough. Sure enough, this is indeed the cause of what I hope is my third and last leak. I've attached pictures. There are only a few...
forums.sailboatowners.com
Here is an interesting review from Practical Sailor.
hunter-23-5
You might find the attached personal manual, created by an owner, helpful. "McDonnell Hunter 23.5 Manual"
Looking at the boat in profile, I drew a line set about the lowest point on the boat hull. The rationale is that water will seek the lowest point in the boat. This is usually where a bilge pump would be located. On your boat, the water ballast tanks and the shallow hull draft complicate this.
It appears to me that incidental water will find its way into your boat. It will move about the shallow bottom of the hull. Here are some ideas on how you might deal with it.
Incidental water (leaks, rain, wash-down) does not stay neatly in one sump (bilge). It tends to collect:
- Under the cabin sole, around the centerboard trunk and ballast tank
- In the spaces under the settees
- In the aft berth under the cockpit
Practical access points owners use:
- Flip-up lid / bottom companionway step — ballast fill/drain valve and vent
- Cover plate at the base of the mast compression post — centerboard mechanism
- Under-settee and aft-berth hatches — stray-water collection spots
The bilge on my H26 was where you descibe yours on the 240. In the 6 years I sailed that boat (and I sailed her hard) I don't think I ever got water on my bilge pump. I did have to sponge a little off of the cabin sole from time-to-time. I would leave it where it is and think of it as a "sh*t is hitting the fan" sort of bilge pump and not your daily drain sort of pump.