Hunter 28.5 1985- First boat- Opinions?

Ed Schenck · Jan 5, 2009

A good friend owns the same boat. I have sailed it and raced it. It is solid, fast, and very comfortable. He and his wife spend nearly every summer weekend on it. Like any production boat there will be small problems. A good surveyor can find those. Then you can negotiate or walk away. Personally I love the Legend series boats. Depending upon the price it could be a great first and/or last boat.

javaprog · Jan 5, 2009

You can get a really good deal on a 28.5. They are popular, well supported (it has it's own website), sturdy, fast, comfortable and plentiful. We really like the cabin layout but find the cockpit a bit cramped.

It sounds like the one you are looking at is in poor condition. Low-ball the seller.

s sauer · Jan 5, 2009

You will have a great time discovering the Chesapeake Bay on a 28.5.
The condition sounds a little rough; check out:
www.huntertwentyeightfive.com to find out everything you'd want to know.

Jim · Jan 5, 2009

Look for a 1989 to 1993 Hunter 28. Nice boat with a walk thru transom. You are going to like this boat more than the H28.5!

ITMaster · Jan 5, 2009

Have you looked at other same age or era Hunters on some of the web sites that have sailboats for sale? How do they compare in price and amount of work that will need to be done on this one? What will the cost of the materials be to bring this up to par and how much is your time worth? You say the sails will need to be replaced. How much will they cost? Do you want to spend the next year or two working on a restoration and will you get out of it what you will put into it?

Spider webs are not bad to deal with, they are superfical and for the most part cosmetic if they are not deep. A moisture meter will help detect this. Someone mentioned getting a survey, which is very good advice and very recommended and the surveyor will find plenty of work that needs to be done, if from what you have said, you have noticed without a trained eye.

What size boats have you been bareboat chartering? How much time have you all spent on a boat of this size and how does that compare to the bareboats you have been on?

After answering these questions and giving thought and consideration seriously, then I think you may find that this might be something worth passing up.

I say this for a couple reasons.

First, you said you both have done some sailing and want to continue to do so. This boat isn't ready to drop in the water and do that. Where you are located on the upper part of the bay, there is so much to see and do and you all have been experiencing the seeing and doing and it will be a little while before you are going to do this, like you have done on the charters.

Secondly, you said this is a stepping stone boat. If you want to do that, then that is what you need to do. Get a boat ready to go, use it, maintain it and keep it at the value it is at when you get it, do minor improvements to maintain it and turn it over to step on up to something else.

There it is IMHO

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Get a boat ready to go, and go and enjoy it this summer instead of working on it and thinking about going all summer long and into the next season. If this isn't a successful venture for you, you have mentioned that it may well be your first and last boat. If this becomes a labor, then it may very well be your last. I wouldn't want to see that happen to you.

Having some skills is good and needed, but it's a buyers market right now, use that to your advantage so you can find a boat you can go use and enjoy right now. Fair winds to you and good luck!

PS Find the sticky here on the site that Sailingdog did on things to consider before buying a boat, there is so much excellent advice in that sticky, you owe to yourself to find it and read it.

Ross · Jan 5, 2009

For so common a boat I would do a lot of shopping. A 23 year old boat can be a bargain or an albatross. No need to pay a premium for a marginal boat.

tailwind · Jan 5, 2009

The best deals are the ones that have already had all the work done.

JoeWhite · Jan 5, 2009

I am with ITmaster. I have a 1984 Hunter 25.5 Shoal Keel. In the last 4 years I have spent a lot of time and money adding roller fuling and new main sail, new engine, radio and antenna, fix its trailer. replace depth sounder and knot meter, new standing rigging and many other odds and ends. After all that I am not ready to trade it in. When I was looking for a sailboat I was told that nothing less that 30 footer will do and I though that was too big to handle. Today I willsh I had a 34 footer! May be I will one of these days. Good luck whatever you decide. If you have to put in a lot of work you will not like sailing!

ITMaster · Jan 5, 2009

2sail4ever

here is a link to the sticky thread I wanted you to check out. If you check this thread out verrrrrrrrrrrry carefully, I doubt you can go wrong by following the advice herein cited. You could pay a small fortune to a consultant and not get this much knowledge and information in one spot.

http://forums.catalina.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=102541

s sauer · Jan 5, 2009

2 Sail,
Lots of advice from lots of folks. The survery info is generally appropriate to lots of models, but as Steve Prusinski suggested, if you are interested in the 28.5. check with that web site. The 28.5 with a deep keel rates 174 PHRF in the Northern Bay and will sail circles around all other similar sized Hunters and Catalinas. The later model Hunter 28 and 280 is NOT equal, much more tender and SLOWER.
Still, you are describing a 23 year old boat with lots of fixer upper needs.
Most of that repair and many upgrades will alrady be done by conscientious owners; look for the add-ons, the newer sails, biminis, hardware upgrades. The original head and original (1985&6)plastic deck hatches may be in need of replaxcement; the weather seals on the port lights are replaceable. The 2GM20f Yanmar diesel will run forever if given appropriate filter and oil changes. The Foss Foam rudders on many Hunters need looking at; all the original gate valves should have been replaced with seacocks or ball valves, and the nylon stuffing box should have been replaced with bronze or a dripples type. The B&R mast head rig is a little 'bendy' and should have 4-6" of rake and 4"of prebend; if set up properly she will out point most serrious competetitors.

Ironically, another excelent boat for maybe a little more money (and a little less racing capability) will be the Catalina 30 with a little more room and a simpler rig., particularly for a cruising family.

Again, check out the 28.5 web site.

Eddie7045 · Jan 5, 2009

Hunter always had a very functional and airy

interior layout. They are a little light on construction though. I always thought of them as a fair weather boat.

BobM · Jan 6, 2009

H28.5

I saw the 28.5 at the 1985 boat show and eventually took a basic keelboat course on one up in Nova Scotia in about 2002. The swept back spreaders can be frustrating running down wind. Also, it is quite likely that the rudder is saturated and needs repair or replacement as it is common on this boat and Hunters of this era from what I have observed over the years.

I second the motion to buy as much boat as you can with your dollar. Don't forget about the fact that loans may be available with fairly long terms and low interest rates. I got a 12 year note at 8.0% to get my boat with the advantage that the loan interest is ?(I believe...unless it changed and I didn't notice...first year and haven't done my taxes) deductable as a vacation home. I ended up buying the best boat on the local market instead of the worst. That has been a positive as I have new/newer sails, a custom winter cover, etc...and the fixed payment of $213.59 (just cut the check this morning) is part of my budget and I don't have to pay out large chunks of money frequently for improvements. The money spent on maintenance and winter storage is enough.

Seriously though...the guy I sold my last boat to was amazed at how much money this hobby of ours cost him his first season. Take whatever you are planning for annual costs and increase them by 50-100%. He was going to leave the boat in the water at a mooring to save money. I pointed out to him that he likely wouldn't have a boat in the spring if he did so and suggested he at least keep it in the water at a dock so he could check it more easily, shovel it off, prevent it from sinking...He listened to me and I beleive it was the right decision...but it cost him about $500 on a very tight budget.

Good luck

Warren Milberg · Jan 6, 2009

I've owned and sailed a H28.5 since 2003. Take a look at the 50+owner reviews of this model boat on the HOW site or the H28.5 website. This model boat has a number of common problems -- and strengths. Yet it can be a good boat if it has been properly maintained. I'd be glad to respond to specific questions if you have them.

Deadline · Jan 6, 2009

Not sure about 28.5 but my 29.5 from that era leaked a lot. Most of it came through the rubrail and was corrected by careful removal of the old caulk and recaulking with a very small bead of LifeSeal clear.

Get the aft middle board out and look for the hidden bilge in the back of the boat. Mine was filled with diesel that had leaked from the fuel tank over the years.

Otherwise, my 29.5 was light, fast and durable. I miss it. But 320H is good too. Anything is better than doing yardwork.

Jim · Jan 7, 2009

Deadline, you know it a Hunter when it leaks!

John · Jan 7, 2009

Irwin

If you were out here on the W. Coast, I'd advise you to take a look at the Irwin 30'er for sale for $5,000, as advertised on Craigs list. As I understand it, this is supposed to be one of the better-made, higher-quality boats and $5,000 is almost a giveaway.

If I weren't happy with my boat, though, I wouldn't even mention it to you; I'd go look at it myself.

tcbro · Jan 8, 2009

Hunter 28.5

I owned and sailed an '87 H28.5 on the Chesapeake for 8 years. It was perfect for my family of 3. The H28.5 is a great design and will make an excellent "first" boat. Like all boats, it has it's pluses and minuses but in this case the pluses far outweigh the minuses.

On the plus side it was fast, it was easy to handle under power or sail, it had an incredible amount of storage space and interior volume for a 28' boat. It was sturdy, it looked good and was fairly forgiving to the new sailor. We had the shoal draft version (4') and it was stiff enough that we usually didn't reef until 20 kts of wind or more. It pointed well and I could easliy trim the sails to get "in the groove" so I could leave the helm unattended to make adjustments away from the helm station. The Yanmar 2GM is virtually bulletproof.

The minuses include a smallish head and the swept back spreaders. The head required a specific seaquence of events and actions (close portlight, close door, open portlight, open undersink cabinet for TP access, turn, sit down) or you would find yourself sitting on the can and not being able to reach the TP. As mentioned by an earlier poster, the swept back spreaders will get in the way when sailing downwind. With the vang tight you will still not be able to let the main out as far as you would like. Our 150 genny and a whisker pole helped a lot.

Some things to consider; the Hood DL (continious loop) roller furler that many came with was not the best design. It was not designed to reef but, with care, we did it and never had a problem. The iron keel is no big deal. Remove the rust spots with a grinder/wire wheel, prime and paint. Yes, you'll have more spots to do next year but it doesn't take that long. The keel is a huge chunk of iron, there's no danger of it rusting away. Some don't like the low pressure alcohol stove but we loved it. It is very safe, easy to use and effective. My 28.5 came with a plastic packing gland which I never trusted. I finally changed it to a bronze one after a friend showed me the plastic one that had split in his boat (H31). There are 2 molded in locations for the primary winches, a forward station and an aft station. My primaries were mounted in the aft station which I preferred. It allowed me to single hand this boat easily as the primaries were within easy reach of the helm station.

All in all, I think the H28.5 was a great boat for my first keel boat. Only you and your surveyor can determine if the one you are looking at is right for you. There are usually many out there to choose from in varying conditions with a wide price range. You could do a lot worse than an H28.5. They were very popular for good reason.

I recommend it,
Tom

Steve_P · Apr 20, 2009

Jim said:
Deadline, you know it a Hunter when it leaks!

I'm not quite sure what you mean by leaking? I have a 1986 H28.5 and I've owned it for 6 years. Except when my packing gland wore out about 3 years ago, I never had a leak??? Are you talking about a leak while sailing? No leaks there. Are you talking about after a rain? Nope. Of course, I make sure that the windows or other openings are caulked before the rains come in the winter.

Hunter 28.5 1985- First boat- Opinions?

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Steve_P