Any opinions on purchasing a used Hunter 33? What are other owners opinions of this boat? Any inherited problems? Pro's / Con's? Thanks
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Great Boat
WE purchased our '79 "33", six month ago and have loved it. It is a return to sailing after 30 years of power boating and we find it comfortable, reliable, easy to work on and very easy to sail. For us, anyway, it was a great choice.
WE purchased our '79 "33", six month ago and have loved it. It is a return to sailing after 30 years of power boating and we find it comfortable, reliable, easy to work on and very easy to sail. For us, anyway, it was a great choice.
two decades!
Next February 4 will be the 20th anniversary of my purchase of Casual Water, my 1980 H33. It has been a good boat. My experience with Hunters of that era is that the build quality varied greatly, but a good Hunter is a good boat indeed. The 33 has many fans, and has many good features for sailing, as opposed to just sitting in a slip. It has a few bad design features, but these are fairly easily corrected. Chronic problem areas are deck delamination, often, but not always, an easy fix, and many people complain about the ports. In my experience they have been fine, and they haven't leaked, but I am about the only guy that uses my boat, so the dogs on the ports don't get overtightened. Tnat can break them. Many H33 owners dislike these ports.In any case, they are not a hard thing to replace, either with the same model as original, or with something more substantial and costly, made by a porthole maker. The Hunters of that era came with gate valves, which should be changed out for ball valves or, better yet, true sea-cocks. I should add that I have lived aboard my H33 for all but four of the years I have owned her, and have cruised her extensively through California and Mexico. There has been quite a bit of offshore work involved. So I think my boat has been pressed pretty hard! This site has a lot of information on the boat, particulaly in the section entitled "the boats" on the Home Page, but if you need any advice,particularly on how to make a potentially very wet cockpit much drier (!) my email address is: tims@cabomarina.com.mx I have great faith in the boat.
Next February 4 will be the 20th anniversary of my purchase of Casual Water, my 1980 H33. It has been a good boat. My experience with Hunters of that era is that the build quality varied greatly, but a good Hunter is a good boat indeed. The 33 has many fans, and has many good features for sailing, as opposed to just sitting in a slip. It has a few bad design features, but these are fairly easily corrected. Chronic problem areas are deck delamination, often, but not always, an easy fix, and many people complain about the ports. In my experience they have been fine, and they haven't leaked, but I am about the only guy that uses my boat, so the dogs on the ports don't get overtightened. Tnat can break them. Many H33 owners dislike these ports.In any case, they are not a hard thing to replace, either with the same model as original, or with something more substantial and costly, made by a porthole maker. The Hunters of that era came with gate valves, which should be changed out for ball valves or, better yet, true sea-cocks. I should add that I have lived aboard my H33 for all but four of the years I have owned her, and have cruised her extensively through California and Mexico. There has been quite a bit of offshore work involved. So I think my boat has been pressed pretty hard! This site has a lot of information on the boat, particulaly in the section entitled "the boats" on the Home Page, but if you need any advice,particularly on how to make a potentially very wet cockpit much drier (!) my email address is: tims@cabomarina.com.mx I have great faith in the boat.
Everyone Likes their Hunter 33
You won't find anyone on this site that doesn't like their Hunter 33. It is an outstanding value for the money - an important qualifier, since most 33's sell in the 18k-26k range, depending on the condition. It is a great boat for coastal cruising - where are you going to use yours?
You won't find anyone on this site that doesn't like their Hunter 33. It is an outstanding value for the money - an important qualifier, since most 33's sell in the 18k-26k range, depending on the condition. It is a great boat for coastal cruising - where are you going to use yours?
It's a Cherubini, . . .
what could be better?!
As mentioned the Forum Archives are full of H33 info. Also see the Cherubini Forum here on HOW, the Link below, and the Hunter manual at : http://people.ne.mediaone.net/tlyons/tdl/hunter/index.html
what could be better?!
As mentioned the Forum Archives are full of H33 info. Also see the Cherubini Forum here on HOW, the Link below, and the Hunter manual at : http://people.ne.mediaone.net/tlyons/tdl/hunter/index.htmlHappy are they who...
I like what Mr Logan said here, that everyone likes their 33. Truly I have never heard any warranted complaints about the boat. Also Mr Schaaf is oone of your foremost advocates for the boat. But what he calls design flaws, the delamination and portlight problems, are two things entirely outside my father's authority in designing the boat. Hunter was known for superceding and sometimes undermining some very basic design stipulations in the interests of ease of construction and budget issues. If my dad suggested a hull thickness, for example, it was only a matter of time before Hunter figured out how much less they could get away with. These decisions never really compromise the integrity of the boat, you know-- my dad was noted for overkill 'to be better safe than sorry' --but they do illustrate that the boats were not always executed as my dad specified in the designs after all. His real contribution is in the sailing characteristics of the boat and its inmherent seaworthiness, in which the H-33 is exemplary. I have long believed the H-33 to be a real winner and since I have never sailed one I refer the doubting to the dozens of happy owners who visit the HOW site regularly. JC 2
I like what Mr Logan said here, that everyone likes their 33. Truly I have never heard any warranted complaints about the boat. Also Mr Schaaf is oone of your foremost advocates for the boat. But what he calls design flaws, the delamination and portlight problems, are two things entirely outside my father's authority in designing the boat. Hunter was known for superceding and sometimes undermining some very basic design stipulations in the interests of ease of construction and budget issues. If my dad suggested a hull thickness, for example, it was only a matter of time before Hunter figured out how much less they could get away with. These decisions never really compromise the integrity of the boat, you know-- my dad was noted for overkill 'to be better safe than sorry' --but they do illustrate that the boats were not always executed as my dad specified in the designs after all. His real contribution is in the sailing characteristics of the boat and its inmherent seaworthiness, in which the H-33 is exemplary. I have long believed the H-33 to be a real winner and since I have never sailed one I refer the doubting to the dozens of happy owners who visit the HOW site regularly. JC 2
agree
I have to agree with most of the responses here. We've owned ours for three years and sailed her quite regularly in SW Florida, Everglades and the Keys. She sails quite well, especially with new sails and a clean bottom (dont the all). The biggest shortfall I've noticed is the engine, its too small. I've sailed other H33's with deep keels, shoal keels, big motors and small motors. A big selling point for me was that my boat was recently re-powered with a Westerbeke 24 hp and 3 bladed prop. It makes motoring much nicer. Let's face it, most of us will motor a bunch if the weather is on our nose, the original engine and prop is okay but fighting some of the pass currents here (and probably in your area as well) are wicked, the extra power is not a luxury but rather a necessity. All in all a great sailing boat. My wife and I are tall (6'4" and 5'10") and we actually fit in the boat. We spend a month at a time on board without problems (at anchor or sailing every night, no marina's except for fuel, etc.)
I have to agree with most of the responses here. We've owned ours for three years and sailed her quite regularly in SW Florida, Everglades and the Keys. She sails quite well, especially with new sails and a clean bottom (dont the all). The biggest shortfall I've noticed is the engine, its too small. I've sailed other H33's with deep keels, shoal keels, big motors and small motors. A big selling point for me was that my boat was recently re-powered with a Westerbeke 24 hp and 3 bladed prop. It makes motoring much nicer. Let's face it, most of us will motor a bunch if the weather is on our nose, the original engine and prop is okay but fighting some of the pass currents here (and probably in your area as well) are wicked, the extra power is not a luxury but rather a necessity. All in all a great sailing boat. My wife and I are tall (6'4" and 5'10") and we actually fit in the boat. We spend a month at a time on board without problems (at anchor or sailing every night, no marina's except for fuel, etc.)
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