I've been a long-time lurker on the forums, but have been searching for a Hunter 260 for some time. I inspected one today and had a quick question I'm hopeful someone here may be able to assist...
I noticed the deck seam at the swim platform was quite low to the water even with the boat empty, but I didn't think too much of it as I had heard these boats lie pretty low. While the boat was very dry overall, I found two access hatches under the aft birth that were filled with water almost to the hatch opening. (maybe 1.5-2" below). I asked the broker about it who claimed that was access to the water ballast. This didn't seem quite right to me and I suspected it was a bilge access area, which from my look at the owners manual seems to be correct?
While looking at the boat, I did check in the battery area in back of the cabin, as well as under the sinks, bunks, etc. and everything was dry. The hatch was a bit suspect but no signs of water on the main cabin floor.
When I go back, I'm definitely going to check the functionality of the bilge pump. That said, I was curious in your experience if these boats are typically fairly wet, or if I could be dealing with a more series leak at the transom?
If the transom is leaking, how bad are these typically to correct? Is this area of the hull cored?
There's a lot I like about the boat - newer trailer, solid motor, nice autopilot, monthly bottom cleanings by a diver, etc. but it is otherwise cosmetically quite rough and needs a lot of detailing. The price is right on it but want to make sure I'm not getting into a mess. I do suspect it has been sitting on the water for a while without the owner sailing it.
I noticed the deck seam at the swim platform was quite low to the water even with the boat empty, but I didn't think too much of it as I had heard these boats lie pretty low. While the boat was very dry overall, I found two access hatches under the aft birth that were filled with water almost to the hatch opening. (maybe 1.5-2" below). I asked the broker about it who claimed that was access to the water ballast. This didn't seem quite right to me and I suspected it was a bilge access area, which from my look at the owners manual seems to be correct?
While looking at the boat, I did check in the battery area in back of the cabin, as well as under the sinks, bunks, etc. and everything was dry. The hatch was a bit suspect but no signs of water on the main cabin floor.
When I go back, I'm definitely going to check the functionality of the bilge pump. That said, I was curious in your experience if these boats are typically fairly wet, or if I could be dealing with a more series leak at the transom?
If the transom is leaking, how bad are these typically to correct? Is this area of the hull cored?
There's a lot I like about the boat - newer trailer, solid motor, nice autopilot, monthly bottom cleanings by a diver, etc. but it is otherwise cosmetically quite rough and needs a lot of detailing. The price is right on it but want to make sure I'm not getting into a mess. I do suspect it has been sitting on the water for a while without the owner sailing it.
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