Hello, I’m a new Hunter 23 owner, just bought a 1987 boat Hakuna Matata earlier this year. I’ve been fixing it up but have a few questions. For the rudder, there is a line that can be pulled and cleated to keep it in the down position. Is there no way to keep it in the up position? My previous sailboats all did. Also, it has a Francespar mast. On the base, bottom, there is no foot. Only two holes for a single bolt to go through, between two vertical plates attached to the deck. Should it have a foot? Thanks for any help. Raising the mast per the original instructions seemed impossible. Chuck
Hunter 23 Rudder and Francespar Mast
- Thread starter Newhouse1969
- Start date
Stock rudder has no mechanism to hold rudder up. You'd have to rig some kind of sling. The rudder does float, but I'd not leave it floating up at the dock.
Don't know about your mast base. Take some pics. If the mast is bolted inside the two plates can it pivot from the horizontal to vertical? If so, the general instructions should work.
Don't know about your mast base. Take some pics. If the mast is bolted inside the two plates can it pivot from the horizontal to vertical? If so, the general instructions should work.
Thank you for the answer on the rudder. I couldn’t see a way for it to stay up. The mast support is slotted, so it could be raised the be seated. The previous owner dropped the original mast two years ago and bought this replacement. It had new standing rigging, so I thought it would be in good shape, but it has some issues. Am I looking at it right to say that the jib sheets are only held by the winches? I tried the winches out, but even with four turns of lines on them, they seemed to slip. Chuck
I am a former Hunter dealer who sold the Hunter 23 wing keel. Picture of the mast and rudder uphaul please
Thank you both for replying. Here are a few photos of the mast near the base and the rudder. The rudder makes sense. For the mast, the connection between the boom and mast was coming apart. Looked like it had two black tri split rivets. I ordered some with 1 inch of grab, but they weren’t quite long enough. Besides Francspar, the only other marking I saw on the mast was I think H38? That’s from memory, I’m out of town with family today. My biggest question is whether the mast should have had some type of foot. I’ll get exact measurements next week. Chuck
That's a completely different mast than I have. Looks to me like it's a type not normally used on the 23. Crazy Dave would know. No idea if it should have a casting in the mast extrusion. I don't know if Francespar is still in business or has been acquired, but companies like RigRite often sell parts and could tell you if there is missing fitting.
Kenyon Isomat supplied masts for the 23. Call Rig Rite for parts. Keyon Isomat Wes located in Charlotte, NC but deal with Rig Rite first
The other supplier was Z Spar which was a French company and I wonder if Francspar is Z Spar. However, Z Spar left the US but later returned as U S Spars in Gainesville Florida. Call Dave at U s Spars for help identifying
if all else fails, call the forum store and ask Mike Thomas at ext 106 as he ordered all the parts and supplies for Hunter Marine.
keep us posted
The other supplier was Z Spar which was a French company and I wonder if Francspar is Z Spar. However, Z Spar left the US but later returned as U S Spars in Gainesville Florida. Call Dave at U s Spars for help identifying
if all else fails, call the forum store and ask Mike Thomas at ext 106 as he ordered all the parts and supplies for Hunter Marine.
keep us posted