Hunter 290/306 Dinette Table Mods??

[kb2qqm]

Hi, I am new to the forums and have not purchased a Hunter yet, but I am in the process of looking. I was out at the Marina looking at pre-owned Hunter 290's and 306's and my wife and I love the boats but compared to the interior of a Newport we found, the 290/306 has a dinette table in the middle of the boat. The table has a folded leaf on the port side of the boat (the aisle) and to starboard is the seat around the table.Has anyone modified this table to fold on the right also? I know the table forms a sleeping berth and I am not sure how this would be effected. Any thoughts, Ideas? Thanks for your comments in advance.Greg and Lisakb2qqm@wi.rr.com

 

[Randy Conkling]

Rotate table

We have not altered the table, but I often rotate the table either to port or starboard to gain additional space. You can slide the table up the compression post and then rotate it. If you raise the table high enough to clear the galley counter, it will rotate to port all the way around to the port hanging locker. I do this to gain much better access to the areas under the starboard settees. This does block access to the forward cabin however. I’ve include a link to a picture (not submitted by me) in the 306 info section of this site that shows the table rotated to starboard.

 

[kb2qqm]

Great

Thanks for the quick reply! The wife says she loves the boat, but doesn't like the table...so I will show her your post and then see if she likes it. When we were looking at the interior, the salesman just stood there. We voiced our opinion, but he sort of just sat there. Thanks so much for your photo and approach to the situation. If wife likes it, then its off to make the offer. Greg

 

[Randy Conkling]

My General Opinion of the 306

Greg,In general, I don’t think that you can buy a 30 foot boat with a more functional interior. My family of 4 has spent 2 weeks at a time aboard and could go longer if we had the time. We’ve made one overnight passage sailing back home from Pensacola. From dock to dock it was 155 nm. We were approximately 50 nm off shore during the night. The conditions were 15 to 20 knots with gusts to 25. We had following seas most of the way. The boat seemed to love it. All said, I don’t thing you can buy a more versatile coastal cruiser. Randy

 

[Bill O'Donovan]

Tell your wife...

...that she'll love the table when it folds down to make a king-size bed. We tried for years to use the V-berth and the aft-berth for sleeping, but the center part is far preferable.