Scott, You've been bitten!! It's an all invasive
malady. The only hope of cure doesn't come from the Doctor, it comes on a trailer. All 26 feet of cure, right there, waiting for you to grab the water and down the medicine. The 260 is a later version of the Hunter 26. They are very basically and closely the same. The Hunter 270 is the 260 with an inboard motor. We have a 1995 26 and sail it behind Grand Coulee Dam in Eastern Washington. Because this body of water is 135 miles long we can sail for weeks at a time. The shore land is all National Park Service land and therefore has no homes or developments on onshore. The 26 being water ballasted allows us to raise our center board keel, raise our rudder and beach just like any powerboat. This is something that can't be done with a conventional solid keel sailboat. The 260/26 also tows great behind a full size pick-up. We bought our boat 2 years ago from the "Anchorage" in Lyons Colorado. We drove 2200 miles round trip to get the boat and Eileen and John Winans are the greatest people one could ever do business with. They helped us through tons of first time owners questions, patiently over 1 month. We had found 3 different brands of boats near home, types they also had on there site, and that's how we met. We called on their boats vs. what we found here. We compared their prices to what we had here. They took the time to answer every question we had without any pressure to buy their boat. Finally we settled on a Hunter 260 up here but just couldn't afford it. When we talked to them it turned out they had a 26 that was the same boat, had tons more of gear, was in mint shape (better than the 260)and $9,000 less. We had them send pictures over the net, listened to what they said and advised. We then bought it sight unseen but they left us a way out if it wasn't what they said. When we got there 2 weeks later I was blown away! The boat was perfect, they had it serviced and rigged waiting for us. They spend the full day showing us how to raise and lower the mast and how to operate every system. These people are beyond first class. The 26 might be the way to go if the 260 is to much money. I like the 26 better and if offered the exact 260 replacement for my 26 I would stay with the 26. Either way I feel that Hunters are the Flat Out Best sailing towable sailboat. It is possible the people selling the Hunters at the Denver show were Eileen and John. If you would like to contact Maria or I you can do it through the directory on this site. Ray S/V Speedy
