How long have you owned your boat?

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Jack

19 years

I had Cat 25 for 19 years and sold it. Had sellers remorse and bought a Hunter 28.5 , 3 weeks later which I have had for 4 years and will keep that one until when I don't know. Only time will tell.
 
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Peter J. Brennan

Additions

Forgot to mention the additions and upgrades to our O'Day 37. The money invested that will not come back in a sale is another reason to keep her. We have added an anchor windlass with all chain rode, a solid fuel heater from Dickinson, davits, solid vang, whisker pole, Nicro solar vents, cruising spinnaker, two new jibs and a new main, CARD, new keel cooled refrigerator, and lots of little odds and ends.
 
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Dick Vance

I Like My "Honey Bear"!!

I bought "Honey Bear", my H-25.5, almost 10 years ago. The boat was a like new one-owner. This boat is ideal for my uses: club racing, daysailing, and weekending on a good sized inland lake. (Cherokee Lake; best sailing lake in East Tennessee!) She is very fast and has won her share of trophies but converts in a heartbeat to a very comfortable family weekender. I've done a lot of upgrades and modifications (see my article in Owner Reviews) and know every inch of her since we have no yard services on our lake. There are also several pictures of her in the Boats section of HOW. The mid-80's were the last of the Hunter "Racer-Cruisers" as the product line shifted to pure cruisers. Like most sailors, I'm always looking for that next boat but so far, I haven't found anything that I'd rather have for my sailing than "Honey Bear". Dick Vance H-25.5 "Honey Bear"
 
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Daniel Jonas

Hunter 290

We have owned our 290 for about 9 months. We bought it new and we entered it into a charter program. That is working out reasonably well. Our boat has substantial upgrades. These include electric windlass, refrigerator, furling jib, extra cabin top and spinnaker winches, traveller, solid vang, and rear step shower. We added dual chartplotters (one color), radar, full compliment of ST60's, autopilot, and Heart Link 20 battery monitor. We also modified the battery system to include two banks of batteries using 3 Group 27 AGM's. We are happy with the boat and can run everything we need to stay out multiple days without too much engine time. Dan Jonas (S/V Feije)
 
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Dick Vance

I Like My "Honey Bear"!!

I bought "Honey Bear", my H-25.5, almost 10 years ago. The boat was a like new one-owner. This boat is ideal for my uses: club racing, daysailing, and weekending on a good sized inland lake. (Cherokee Lake; best sailing lake in East Tennessee!) She is very fast and has won her share of trophies but converts in a heartbeat to a very comfortable family weekender. I've done a lot of upgrades and modifications (see my article in Owner Reviews) and know every inch of her since we have no yard services on our lake. There are also several pictures of her in the Boats section of HOW. The mid-80's were the last of the Hunter "Racer-Cruisers" as the product line shifted to pure cruisers. Like most sailors, I'm always looking for that next boat but so far, I haven't found anything that I'd rather have for my sailing than "Honey Bear". Dick Vance H-25.5 "Honey Bear"
 
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Joseph Kibelbek

Good Old C27

I bought my Catalina 27 new at the Baltimore, MD boat show in 1976 - 26 years old and still looks new! I had seen one the previous year at the Seattle boat show and fell in love with it! So when I moved to MD and saw the new ones, that was it. My previous boat was a Pearson Commander, 25' 8", 9 yrs old that I sold when we left Puget Snd. Raggedy Ann is a 1976 outboard model with a dinette interior and a aft galley. She has been constantly improved with human comforts and although I get 3 feet-itis for a bigger boat, nothing seems to sail as fast, be as easy to handle or look so good! I bought most of the sailing goodies at purchase so there wasn't too much to add to the cost later,although I have replaced the main after 25 years. I have gone through three outboards, mostly due to corrosion wearout and still wouldn't change. I receintly found the C27 users group and have made some structural repairs and learned that the factory still makes parts for the old gal! Why change when it all seems to still work!!
 
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Mickey Bernstein

Love my Minnie

I've sailed "Minnie" since 1996 and she is so perfect in every way there is no reason to make any changes. Have added GPS and autopilot but nothing else. Wish the diesel auxillary engine had a little more power but I've learned to live with what's there. Have never had any type of problem with the yanmar. It is totally dependable. Sure I named her Minnie! What else would Mickey name his boat? (Thank you Mr. Disney!
 
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Strait Line

The only love

I bought my Hunter 28.5 brand new in 1986. I was a single mom with two young girls, age four and six. I decided I didn't want to wait until I was older to own a sail boat. I bought it for my 30th birthday. I still enjoy my Hunter and use it as much as possible. When I did remarried, I made sure that my husband would never ask me to sell the boat. If I had to choose, he would have to go. We have been thinking of upgrading to a bigger boat. The finacial climate, with declining value of stock options has helped us appreciate our 28.5 even more. I have people walk by my boat all the time, telling me that I really keep my boat in good conditon. I still love my boat.
 
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Gary Bruner

C25SK since 1983

I bought my '78 in 83 and have owned her since, except for 6 years when she was owned by friends. I moved up to a Tartan 30 which I loved. Bad things happened in my life and I had to sell it and so I bought the C25 BACK in 1998. I like it cuz it's about the biggest trailerable I can afford. It has lots of upgrades: AP, new cushion slips, newer sails, including a chute with sock, great canvas, etc. It works great for the 3 weeks or so it spends in the San Juans. While not real fast, I do race a bit locally. It's been a great compromise for a family on a budget!
 
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Michael McCann

Oldie?

We bought a C25 new in 1986, and moved up to a new 1993 C36. We are satisfied with the size, and accomidations of the C36. If we were to move up in size, it would not be a newer Catalina, Hunter, or Beneteau. We do not care for the styling, or the extra room that comes with this styling trend. It would most likely be an older boat about 38' loa. I would not consider a large aft cabin as a reason to buy a boat. I still like to look a my boat.
 
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Ron Johnson

Does "Old" have a Precise Definition?

Bought an H336 new in 1997, and still haven't intertained the idea of new or larger/smaller. Sailing Oahe in South Dakota requires owner capabality for launching and winter storage. The only provided facilaty for this purpose is a ramp. Therefore, we sailors are forced to trailer our craft. Anything larger would be just more headache and less fun. And, 5 years doesn't make a boat old. Sailkota
 
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Robin Mc leroy

Love my Hunter

I have owned my boat since'94. It is '81 27' I have added roller furling. The previous owner added an 18hp Yanmar. This is very good except make the engine compartment very tight. I do not like the new style Hunters.
 
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Dave

Make do

1] 7 years 2]1984/No 3]$ 4]Roller furling and new interior 5]Would love to have 29.5, but w/ stock market flux can't afford.
 
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Roger Holmes

Length of Ownership

We bought the boat new on February 15 2000. We intend to keep it for one or two more seasons and then trade up to something bigger, more suitable for living on somewhere warm in the winter.
 
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Steve Weisbrod

Hunter 27... a great sailboat

We really like our '83 Hunter 27. We live on it friday, saturday and sunday every weekend from March to November. With 2 reefs in the main and a 70% storm jib we've had a ball in 30 knots of wind in the springtime. With 11 opening ports and hatches (we put nicro-vents in each hatch) it is comfortable on the hottest August nights. The 7.5 HP yanmar diesel moves us along at 6 knots and is positively a miser. Last year we used less than 6 gallons of fuel. The Hunter 27 looks and acts like a much bigger boat. Our inflatable dingy (when its rolled up) fits in the quarter berth along with the spare sails and the dingy's 3.3hp outboard fits in the stern locker. We added an 8' bimini and made a dodger which makes the cockpit very comfortable in any weather. Our H27 will never go around the world but it would do fine on the gulf coast, the carolinas or C'peake bay. By the way, I don't like the new Hunters either but it's all cost/price driven so what else can they do??
 
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Les Blackwell

Extremely happy with H380

We now have had four Hunters; a Legend 40, a Vision 32, a Hunter 35.5 and our present H380. We owned most of the boats for about five years and then changed. I kept looking for a boat that met my dreams of what a boat ought to be. The Hunter 380 has finally managed to do that. I love the design, the construction and what it can do in sailing and cruising. I really like the fibreglass arch. In fact this is the first boat I've had that I have not started looking at other boats. This boat fits me like an old shoe. We've added a Max prop, a Raymarine radar and chart display, a furnace and I've changed the electrical system. It came with so much that there was not much to add. My persoal thoughts are that the H380 will become a classic in coastal cruising designs. Les
 
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Jay Eaton

4th Sailboat

About this time in 1999, we bought our H380 at the Annapolis Sailboat Show. We had sold our H31 the previous summer. We started sailing on a C22 on a lake full of alligators in Louisiana. We had a Sunfish for about 3 years. NOW we have the boat of our dreams. It is a dream to sail (love the main furler); it is a dream to spend time aboard. We are completing our second season. So far, the only thing we have added is a GPS/Chartplotter. We bought an inverter at this year's boat show, and we're thinking about other accessories. We've been aboard the other large Hunters, but this one fits us. S/V NEVERMORE
 
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Dave Bickett

Old and not so old

I've owned a '69 Venture 25 since 1988. I bought a '79 Venture 25 this year. Likes: The '69 was a very bare hull since it had no liner inside. That means the interior could be modified in whatever way I wanted to customize it. It also seemed to have a little more fiberglass in the hull, so I thought it stronger. The '79 has a longer cabin and the poptop. My wife likes the fiberglass liner with the molded in galley. The '79 swing keel was bare steel with paint which was easier to renovate than the fiberglass covered version on the '69. Dislikes: The '69 did not have a poptop and the cabin was about 1.5 feet shorter than the newer ones. Interior space was less than desirable. Also, the molded in hatch between the seats at the aft end of the cockpit limited access to the transom. The longer cabin on the '79 causes the keel winch to be positioned inside the cabin which leads to water splashing into the interior through the cable tube and prevents my access while in the cockpit. The latter limitation is a hassle for single handing. The molded-in interior of the '79 causes all the under seat storage areas to be connected to the area around the winch which takes on water splashed through the keel cable channel. So, dry storage is limited aboard. Also, the '79 does not provide a good spot for the outboard tank. Bottom Line: The admiral thinks the '79 is prettier so we're keeping it. The skipper has a long list of critical "improvements" for both vessels as do all Macgregor skippers. The '69 improvements were well planned after all these years and many are completed. The '79 improvements are just beginning but are advantaged by all the lessons taught by the '69. So, anybody wanna buy a boat with a ready made list of fixups?
 
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T. Walkington

Cat27 for 22yrs,

My family had a 1974 Catalina 27 for 22 yrs. We raised two boys from birth on her, with summer weekend sailing trips, and building sand castles at the beach. I had made several cruising upgrades for sailing and comfort. I just got tired of doing the same maintenance work over again, and wanted some more room and comfort, so we moved up to a 1994 Catalina 30 last month. We used some inheritance money to move up in assets. Looking forward to more fun and parties.
 
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