I recently acquired a Hunter 23. Like most boats I aquire it is a bit of a project. We currently own a Pearson 365 ketch which i have owned for 20 years. It was a huge project (partially sank in its slip). We also own a Melges 24 for racing purposes. It too was and still is an on going project. Ultimately I would love to take the Pearson to Maine but I have learned the hard way that time is the ultimate big gatekeeper. We operate a retail marine chandlerly in Buffalo, NY and that alone keeps us busy all year long. For the near and long term Maine is not achievable on the 365. Somewhere around 25 years ago I acquired a Seaward 23 and we trailered that boat all kinds of interesting places. I sold it just before we purchased the Pearson and to this day wish I never did. So... this Hunter 23 (abandon at the marina we frequently work at) was just sitting there, an orphan. Initially I started working on it to resell. I needed another boat like a hole in the head. As I cleaned and repaired I was impressed in the simplicity and space such a small light trailerable possessed. It wasn't long before trailer sailing Maine became a montra and everything was inspected and improved. I have worked on the best gold platters money can buy and never dreamed I would own a Hunter. Working on all of those boats has also revealed some of the best names are not what they appear. This 23 Hunter for what it is, is all one needs to travel down the highway at 60 mph to a destination of choice. I am about 2 weeks away from dropping her into Maine waters and quite excited about the whole thing. This 23 will be perhaps not like most. Almost every replaciment part was repurchased off of some other good old boat. She will have all stainless Barrients. Spinlock rope clutches, a cruising kite in a sock and even an on board diesel heater. I am looking forward to more adventure in this boat than most anything we have sailed over the past 20 years. I am not new to the site however I have never posted. I am looking forward to posting ideas and improvements, as well as reading about all of yours. Good sailing... Dale
Hunter 23
- Thread starter Shacklepin
- Start date
My favorite improvements were to add hardware and an endless line to the ends of the traveler to allow much easier adjustment of the traveler position while sailing, and getting rid of the fixed topping lift using a small swivel block so I could adjust it up after lowering the sail. And, unless you have a few people to help step/unstep the mast, a "baby stay" system to keep the mast from swaying sideways (which it did once before I built that).
There is a guy on YouTube with a video of the mast raising system he made that has what looks like thin wall conduit that attaches to pivot points on the deck and a slide that glides in the mast sail track. I have built a post from the mast outward for the raising line but the sliding car and the rigid tube struts to keep the stick dead center look like the ticket. I am planning on working on that next.
The mast is currently on horses as I installed an anchor light and replaced the steaming light with a combination steaming/ deck flood. I also moved the jib sheave assembly to above the headstay upper attachment so I can fly a chute. The jib halyard was no longer necessary as the boat came with a CDI furler and it has its own internal halyard system. The spinn halyard is what I'll use to raise the mast with the mast pole by hooking another line to it and running it through the lifting block harness located below deck in the anchow well. So far it works great but the side to side thing is worrysome.
Good sailing ..
TESSIE. Hunter 23
Dale
The mast is currently on horses as I installed an anchor light and replaced the steaming light with a combination steaming/ deck flood. I also moved the jib sheave assembly to above the headstay upper attachment so I can fly a chute. The jib halyard was no longer necessary as the boat came with a CDI furler and it has its own internal halyard system. The spinn halyard is what I'll use to raise the mast with the mast pole by hooking another line to it and running it through the lifting block harness located below deck in the anchow well. So far it works great but the side to side thing is worrysome.
Good sailing ..
TESSIE. Hunter 23
Dale
I did not try that A- frame mast raising design so can't comment. Don't underestimate the tendency to sway sideways; the mast is on the tall side for a boat that size, IMHO. Mine got a bit out of control and tore the aluminum casting out of the mast extrusion, luckily the mast did not fall and it was easy to reinsert and rivet it back. If you use baby stays the trick is to devise a pivot point near the deck for the lower end of each stay that is the same level as the mast tabernacle. I made some things with 2X4's bolted together to get the right height (about 6 or 8 inches above the gunwale), using web ratchet straps around the hull to hold them from tilting inwards and a stainless wire with eye bolts to hold them from tilting out. As you know, the 23 lacks aluminum gunwales that can be used to attach things.
I just followed this: A great mast raising system
I did mine this weekend and tried. For me this is a must have to operate as 1 person. I have extended the poles to prevent sway...
excellent !
I did mine this weekend and tried. For me this is a must have to operate as 1 person. I have extended the poles to prevent sway...
excellent !
I stumbled across this mast guide idea a bit ago. Simple yet effective and quick on and off. Working on one as we speak.
As an update, The boat is almost ready to go. Like everything else it takes more time than expected. I replaced the wooded "grab rails" along the cabin top with stainless round rails. Normally I am all about wood but the boat is of a modern design and the stainless rails complement it lines and will require zero maintenance. I also replaced the wood companion way guides with stainless strips that hold down the plexiglass when the hatch is closed. The stainless looks great and again zero maintenance.
Wood on the inside is good, adds a warm cozy look. The entire interior was removed (the stuff that would unscrew) sanded and varnished. I found once the kick panels were off of the interior seats that the tabbing from the hull to the bulkheads had let go on many of the partitions. I pried those back with some wood sticks and slathered thickened epoxy down into the failed joint with a throwaway brush. I ran a bunch of drywall screws into the fiberglass to "close the gap" until the epoxy set up and removed the screws when everything was cured. Each compartment was freshly painted with a satin white coat of Rustoleum paint which matched the existing gelcoat quite nicely. When replacing the kick panels I glued all of the screw backer blocks (many were loose as Hunter used steel staples) and ran a few screws in them as well. I used a polyurethane construction adhesive to bond the lower fiberglass pan lip to the kick plates when I reinstalled them and waterproof wood glue on all of the other wood to wood surfaces. This and the reattachment of the tabbing should stiffen the boat up quite a bit.
I installed a pass through stern rail and a fold down stern ladder. All donated from scrapped boats. The mast is all rewired complete with a combination steaming/deck flood light. I also added a anchor light at the top of the mast along with a new VHF 36" stainless whip antenna. All of the wiring was concealed under the interior companionway trim. I still need to wire in a used Blue Sea 8 breaker circuit breaker panel. This Blue Sea panel just happens to fit in the existing teak holder by just slightly enlarging the opening. I also added a dual USB charging port with a digital volt meter.
I moved the battery to mid center under the starboard interior cabin seat in an effort to balance the weight distribution a bit better. The outboard, OB bracket, battery, water tank and galley module all were mounted on the port side aft. The battery should help at least offset the galley weight.
I added (2) aft deck cleats and a single center deck cleat up at the bow. The diesel heater (Chinese knockoff espar) will be mounted to the bulkhead under the cockpit with the duct work hidden under the port side interior seats. One discharge vent will be in the main cabin and one on the slanted kick panel facing the porta poti in the V-berth. The tricky part is the heaters exhaust that will go out of the transom. Because of the reversed raked transom a standard double wall discharge fitting will point down into the boat allowing water to enter the exhaust system. An angled exhaust fitting used for raked transoms is very pricey so I am modifying the straight version to work in an angled transom. The heater is basically the last Item to finish but with the destination being off of the mainland of Maine, with the water temp in the 50's and night time temps in the 50's this time of year it is a must have for comfort. My outboard (6hp Sailpro by Tohatsu) has the charging circuit built into it so that should maintain the charge in the 31 series battery.
The trailer has all new lights, new wiring and tires. The bearings are super quite and the axles are already equipped with bearing buddies. The plan is to head to Maine next weekend!
Good sailing
Dale Tanski
Tessie
Hunter 23 wing keel
As an update, The boat is almost ready to go. Like everything else it takes more time than expected. I replaced the wooded "grab rails" along the cabin top with stainless round rails. Normally I am all about wood but the boat is of a modern design and the stainless rails complement it lines and will require zero maintenance. I also replaced the wood companion way guides with stainless strips that hold down the plexiglass when the hatch is closed. The stainless looks great and again zero maintenance.
Wood on the inside is good, adds a warm cozy look. The entire interior was removed (the stuff that would unscrew) sanded and varnished. I found once the kick panels were off of the interior seats that the tabbing from the hull to the bulkheads had let go on many of the partitions. I pried those back with some wood sticks and slathered thickened epoxy down into the failed joint with a throwaway brush. I ran a bunch of drywall screws into the fiberglass to "close the gap" until the epoxy set up and removed the screws when everything was cured. Each compartment was freshly painted with a satin white coat of Rustoleum paint which matched the existing gelcoat quite nicely. When replacing the kick panels I glued all of the screw backer blocks (many were loose as Hunter used steel staples) and ran a few screws in them as well. I used a polyurethane construction adhesive to bond the lower fiberglass pan lip to the kick plates when I reinstalled them and waterproof wood glue on all of the other wood to wood surfaces. This and the reattachment of the tabbing should stiffen the boat up quite a bit.
I installed a pass through stern rail and a fold down stern ladder. All donated from scrapped boats. The mast is all rewired complete with a combination steaming/deck flood light. I also added a anchor light at the top of the mast along with a new VHF 36" stainless whip antenna. All of the wiring was concealed under the interior companionway trim. I still need to wire in a used Blue Sea 8 breaker circuit breaker panel. This Blue Sea panel just happens to fit in the existing teak holder by just slightly enlarging the opening. I also added a dual USB charging port with a digital volt meter.
I moved the battery to mid center under the starboard interior cabin seat in an effort to balance the weight distribution a bit better. The outboard, OB bracket, battery, water tank and galley module all were mounted on the port side aft. The battery should help at least offset the galley weight.
I added (2) aft deck cleats and a single center deck cleat up at the bow. The diesel heater (Chinese knockoff espar) will be mounted to the bulkhead under the cockpit with the duct work hidden under the port side interior seats. One discharge vent will be in the main cabin and one on the slanted kick panel facing the porta poti in the V-berth. The tricky part is the heaters exhaust that will go out of the transom. Because of the reversed raked transom a standard double wall discharge fitting will point down into the boat allowing water to enter the exhaust system. An angled exhaust fitting used for raked transoms is very pricey so I am modifying the straight version to work in an angled transom. The heater is basically the last Item to finish but with the destination being off of the mainland of Maine, with the water temp in the 50's and night time temps in the 50's this time of year it is a must have for comfort. My outboard (6hp Sailpro by Tohatsu) has the charging circuit built into it so that should maintain the charge in the 31 series battery.
The trailer has all new lights, new wiring and tires. The bearings are super quite and the axles are already equipped with bearing buddies. The plan is to head to Maine next weekend!
Good sailing
Dale Tanski
Tessie
Hunter 23 wing keel
My 8hp Honda wouldn't do much to charge the battery especially since I didn't run it for long periods. I bought a solar panel and charge controller with the panel long enough to sit across the seats in the cockpit. That did a good job topping up the battery.
How many watts is your panel? The Tohotsu has an output of 60 watts (5 amps) when running over half throttle.