Hunter 27

[Canyonkeeper]

After lots of cleaning she is starting to take shape. We two part teak cleaned everything inside and my girlfriend made the cushions. Next is a satin finish on the wood.

Also, we found the original spec sheet int he boat. It is attached too.

 

[Ed H]

Yes, seeing progress makes it worth it....

 

[braol]

It's not easy. Everything it seems, has to be done at once. I find it hard to prioritize and I get easily sidetracked once I actually get to the boat and start working. I find it helpful to tackle a difficult project first, then do some easy things to make me happy, then difficult again.
I have had my boat in dry storage (out of the water) for a few years now and I have major cleaning and refurbishment to do. I think that the 27 is a really solid boat it's just that things get old and there is always lots to do.

 

[Canyonkeeper]

Thank you. I have been picking a project or two a weekend. This weekend was the engine and a new stereo plus rewire of the panel. Wiring is easy for me as in a previous life I wired boats for a living.

Once I get the engine running it will be all exterior and sailing. From there either keep and it or for sale.

Will see, I love the boat but it is a little small for a weekend retreat.

 

[padetorejr]

I purchased a 1983 H27 last Christmas in NJ. Took possession in May. I made a list of things needed for safety and reliability. About 7 K and a week later, She seemed sound enough so I put her in the water. When my skipper/partner showed up he made a list of things needed. A couple more grand and another week of work and sea trials we took off for west palm beach. A couple things happened along the way to Charleston. My GF joined me for a week and came up with another list of mostly creature comfort items like new head, AC and a fridge. Then A seacock handle came off in the skippers hand and the stuffing box leaked a bit more than normal. So back out of the water in Charleston City boatyard. Three weeks and $6000 more later she went back in the water with more new bottom paint and everything below the waterline brand spanking new and new equipment installed. Lesson learned: both my skipper and I missed the potentially disastrously faulty seacocks. Call it good karma or just dumb luck but my hope is that someone will read this and replace their seacocks preemptively just because they are old. Happy sailing!

 

[Canyonkeeper]

Haha. I checked mine this weekend working on the Raw water pump. I would love to ad a AC, I have a wholesale account and pay 1500 for a 5k BTU with installation kit. But... end of summer and new house. Will see.

 

[braol]

I found the best substitute for A/C is sailing!

 

[stollo770]

You want to put a good/effective air conditioner on your boat for cheap? Buy a small 5k BTW window unit from Home depot and stick it in your companion way door. All you need to make it fit is a new door you'll have to make from pressure treated ply wood, some handles to make lifting out the door easy, and some weather stripping to seal up the cracks. I put one together in a weekend and it cost me less then $150. It works great (90 degrees outside and 65 degrees inside) and the unit uses like no power. I can run the thing off of my batteries for 2 days straight. Plus you don't need to fiddle with any plumbing, thru hulls, or sea cocks. Its just a cheap, simple, and effective way to cool your boat if you need to sleep in it for a night or two. Also, its risk free because if it doesn't work out you just throw away the door and move on.

I will say that you don't need an a/c most of the time. I used mine a total of once this entire summer because it doesn't get hot enough on the water to warrant its use. When it does get hot the breeze cools you down or you can jump in the water that's all around you.

 

[Ed H]

You want to put a good/effective air conditioner on your boat for cheap? Buy a small 5k BTW window unit from Home depot and stick it in your companion way door. All you need to make it fit is a new door you'll have to make from pressure treated ply wood, some handles to make lifting out the door easy, and some weather stripping to seal up the cracks. I put one together in a weekend and it cost me less then $150. It works great (90 degrees outside and 65 degrees inside) and the unit uses like no power. I can run the thing off of my batteries for 2 days straight. Plus you don't need to fiddle with any plumbing, thru hulls, or sea cocks. Its just a cheap, simple, and effective way to cool your boat if you need to sleep in it for a night or two. Also, its risk free because if it doesn't work out you just throw away the door and move on.

I will say that you don't need an a/c most of the time. I used mine a total of once this entire summer because it doesn't get hot enough on the water to warrant its use. When it does get hot the breeze cools you down or you can jump in the water that's all around you.

What size inverter do you use?

 

[stollo770]

I have a 1500 watt pure sine wave inverter (2000 watt peak). That doesnt sound like a lot but I dont have a lot of a/c appliances and the ones I do have use very little power. I got a 750w micorwave, a flat screen tv that uses like 70w or less, a tv box that uses 30w, a blender that uses 50w, and a portable fan that uses under 20w. The air conditioner I have uses only 450watts, which is nothing, so I can run everything all at once with out any problems. I think I actually have some wattage to spare, which can accommodate a cell phone charger or something else. Most of the time I'm pulling less then 500w because my microwave doesn't run continuously.

 

[Ed H]

Very interesting... we just purchased one of those small AC units to place in the companionway but I thought it would provide "shore power only" relief. I am going to look into this. The PO had an inverter on the boat but I have not messed with it... Talk about scoring major points from the Admiral!!!

 

[braol]

You want to put a good/effective air conditioner on your boat for cheap? Buy a small 5k BTW window unit from Home depot and stick it in your companion way door. All you need to make it fit is a new door you'll have to make from pressure treated ply wood, some handles to make lifting out the door easy, and some weather stripping to seal up the cracks.

I was wondering how do you easily get in and out of the boat with the A/C unit in the companionway door? I love your idea but I wouldn't want to wrangle an airconditioner out of the way each time I wanted to exit. I was thinking maybe you have a ladder to get in/out of the forward hatch?

 

[stollo770]

Well it's actually fairly easy to get in and out because the ac unit and the door don't weigh much. I put some heavy duty handles on both sides of the door so when I want to lift it out and move it around I can. It actually requires very little effort to lift out the door and place it on one of the cockpit seats so I can get in and out if I want to. Also, the ac unit is bolted into the door so it doesn't move if the door gets knocked around.

I will say though that getting in and out was never a priority when I designed the door. The point was to have a cheap and temporary way of cooling the boat at night while I slept. The plan was to let everything be open during the day and then at night drop in the ac door, go to sleep, and then remove it in the morning when the day begins. I really never have a need for ac during the day because the wind always cools me down or I jump in the water if I got to hot. I only really need ac at night when I sleep because I'd rather not sleep in a pool of sweat.

If you only use the ac at night when you sleep, or when you absolutely need it, you won't need to worry about moving it constantly to get in and out of the cabin. Besides, even with ac mounted somewhere else, you wouldn't want to open the doors anyway because it let's the cold out.