Hello all. I had my Hunter 26 in Portsmouth Harbour, UK during the winter on a mooring. It was secured by the mast through to the bow, then to the mooring. We had 30kt winds, gusting 42kts that night... very much unpredicted. So no time to move. The Hunter 26 does not like wind at all. The bow is light.. and will swing in 17kts. Anyway, as usual, all the 30 other boats pointed into the wind, with very little movement, with the hunter doing its little dance. I was watching on CCTV. Ok I thought.. it of a mess but, look like its taking it well.
The next moment I see on my screen the Hunter on its side.. full bottom showing.. then righting. Repeating this over and over, for four hours.. (helpless was the feeling) As if it wanted to test the wind by being side on all the time, then going over rather than straightening up. Ended up with the mast 45 degrees in the water! Then, righting.. to just over 45 degrees of straight up a few seconds later. Rescued the next morning, pumped out water from bulkheads, bow, cabin and - well the bilge. So I think that was from the cb area (does this when heeling anyway - so not a problem - though I could seal it there a bit more)
My question would be - would adding a fresh water tank in the bow (say 26 gallons/110 Litres) help with bow not swinging and give it a better character in the wind? Ballast full. The CB was down, and enjoyed its freedom in the air - it dosent get out that much! Other than re aligning the mast everything survived.. just a lot of cleaning!
I have had boats the same size before and they all liked to face the wind.. Though the exposed area is quite large, so maybe that cant be helped. Im a bit scared to anchor in a harbour now in case the wind comes, with not much warning
The next moment I see on my screen the Hunter on its side.. full bottom showing.. then righting. Repeating this over and over, for four hours.. (helpless was the feeling) As if it wanted to test the wind by being side on all the time, then going over rather than straightening up. Ended up with the mast 45 degrees in the water! Then, righting.. to just over 45 degrees of straight up a few seconds later. Rescued the next morning, pumped out water from bulkheads, bow, cabin and - well the bilge. So I think that was from the cb area (does this when heeling anyway - so not a problem - though I could seal it there a bit more)
My question would be - would adding a fresh water tank in the bow (say 26 gallons/110 Litres) help with bow not swinging and give it a better character in the wind? Ballast full. The CB was down, and enjoyed its freedom in the air - it dosent get out that much! Other than re aligning the mast everything survived.. just a lot of cleaning!
I have had boats the same size before and they all liked to face the wind.. Though the exposed area is quite large, so maybe that cant be helped. Im a bit scared to anchor in a harbour now in case the wind comes, with not much warning