Another question for the late model Hunter 25 owners. I have been going through the archives reading all the reviews and anything else I can find on this boat, very good information and overall everyone seems happy with their new 25's. I will be keeping my boat in the water and trailering a few times a year. I want to make sure the rudder will clear the water while at the dock. Is this something that can be easily resolved? Is it covered under warranty, if so, what was needed? I also read about concerns regarding the hull to deck joint and the need to re-caulk and have bolts put in about every 6 inches. Have you all needed to have this done? Who did the work and how long did it take? I also see the furling line may need to be relocated, I'll have to check and see what side it is on now. Is this easily done yourself? They are supposed to replace on the port lights this week as the two front windows were leaking badly and the lexan was cracked at the screws on the port side. I was supposed to do my test sail today but the weather is bad, but hopefully this weekend we will take the sail and finalize the purchase. Thanks! Scott Cocoa Beach, FL
Hunter 25 05/06 Rudder and Hull to Deck Joint
- Thread starter ScottCocoaBeach
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a few answers
The rudder: you can get it out of the water, but it sticks straight back from the stern of the boat. You can't even do that with the factory rudder raising tackle as it is set up from the factory. You can do it by removing some of the factory linkage. I keep mine up and straight back. It only clears the water by a few inches. There is no way to raise it any more without modifying the rudder itself. I plan to just bottom paint my rudder and leave it down. When I anchor in shallow water, I will raise it out. My side window (non opening portlite) was not sealed well from the factory. My dealer had Hunter send me two tubes of dow 795 to do the fix. My dealer is 200 miles away, so that was a good solution for me. Rain will also come in the boat through the companionway slider if you dont use a companionway cover. I just put a small tarp over that area now. I don't have any hull/deck joint issues. The furling line is a pain as it can interfere with the anchor line, if the anchor is left in the locker. You can get around this if you just prepare your anchor to store on the roller. You just need to drill your anchor so that the pin on the roller can go through the anchor shaft to hold it in place. You could also move the furling line to the other side, however, this would take some additional tackle to do it. By the way, I absolutely love this boat. I thought I might regret not going with the 27, but with the type of sailing I do (mostly day sailing on the lake), its perfect. We have overnighted on the boat, but it's kind of silly when I can just walk to my house from our marina.
The rudder: you can get it out of the water, but it sticks straight back from the stern of the boat. You can't even do that with the factory rudder raising tackle as it is set up from the factory. You can do it by removing some of the factory linkage. I keep mine up and straight back. It only clears the water by a few inches. There is no way to raise it any more without modifying the rudder itself. I plan to just bottom paint my rudder and leave it down. When I anchor in shallow water, I will raise it out. My side window (non opening portlite) was not sealed well from the factory. My dealer had Hunter send me two tubes of dow 795 to do the fix. My dealer is 200 miles away, so that was a good solution for me. Rain will also come in the boat through the companionway slider if you dont use a companionway cover. I just put a small tarp over that area now. I don't have any hull/deck joint issues. The furling line is a pain as it can interfere with the anchor line, if the anchor is left in the locker. You can get around this if you just prepare your anchor to store on the roller. You just need to drill your anchor so that the pin on the roller can go through the anchor shaft to hold it in place. You could also move the furling line to the other side, however, this would take some additional tackle to do it. By the way, I absolutely love this boat. I thought I might regret not going with the 27, but with the type of sailing I do (mostly day sailing on the lake), its perfect. We have overnighted on the boat, but it's kind of silly when I can just walk to my house from our marina.
Warranty Items
Thanks for the great info. I am a little concerned about the hull to deck joint over time but am glad to hear you haven't had any issues. The rudder feedback is helpful and I think I will have them paint it when I have the bottom job done as I don't see how it could hurt anything to have it painted and it should provide some extra protection. I am limited by both depths (about 4 feet on a good day) and heights, about 36 feet of clearance on the bridges, so this is about as big a boat as I can go. It seems ideal for our purposes as we also want to be able to tow it down to the keys for long weekends and trips over to the west coast of Florida. I am dying to take the test sail and take delivery of the boat but the weather is holding me up. Hopefully this coming weekend will be nice and we can pick up the boat by Monday. I really can't wait to see how it handles. I have an o'day 240 now with a wing keel that draws 2'8" so I will be interested to see how they compare.
Thanks for the great info. I am a little concerned about the hull to deck joint over time but am glad to hear you haven't had any issues. The rudder feedback is helpful and I think I will have them paint it when I have the bottom job done as I don't see how it could hurt anything to have it painted and it should provide some extra protection. I am limited by both depths (about 4 feet on a good day) and heights, about 36 feet of clearance on the bridges, so this is about as big a boat as I can go. It seems ideal for our purposes as we also want to be able to tow it down to the keys for long weekends and trips over to the west coast of Florida. I am dying to take the test sail and take delivery of the boat but the weather is holding me up. Hopefully this coming weekend will be nice and we can pick up the boat by Monday. I really can't wait to see how it handles. I have an o'day 240 now with a wing keel that draws 2'8" so I will be interested to see how they compare.
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