Hunter 33 buyer...maybe

[bigwave]

Hey allI am lookin into buying a 2005 Hunter 33. I will admit a few things so you know where I am coming from. At present I dont sale. However I am reading and studying as much as I can on the subject. I am saving my money right now so I can go to a couple of different sailing schools and hopefully get a little daysailer to get experience on. I am 24 and when I am done school will be hopefully moving to Florida and want to live aboard and work at a local hospital.I have been on a 33 and find in quite adequate for my needs in regards to living aboard. However there are a few questions I need to ask.I am mostly going to use the boat for cruising and coastal sailing, however I am sure that at some point family will talk me into going to the bahamas or some other such place and I was wondering if the 33 would be adequate for this type of journey.I was looking at the 306 but I read that it was too light and while you could do it, you would have to be really picky about your days according to the weather.If anyone has an advice that would be awesomeThanks

 

[John G]

Tread carfully

My advice is to start with a used boat around 30 feet and get a couple of years sailing experience under your belt instead of "cutting your teeth" on a brand new, bigger boat. It is one thing sailing with someone else and thinking " I can do that" but it ain't always plain saling ( forgive the pun). Sometimes you have to tough it out on your own. I own a new Hunter 33 (2004) and it is a very comfortable boat to live on. However, the boat is light (and tender) and in my opinion requires careful handling/sail trimming/reefing in anything above 12/15 knots. It also has lots of windage so docking in windy situations can be tricky, leaving you with dings in the hull. I therefore suggest you start with something like a Catalina 30 (not tall-rig) which from my experience is a very forgiving boat and also comfortable as a coastal cruiser. Finally, that CE Category "A" given to the Hunter 33 is in my opinion good sales stuff but I would not venture too far off the coast shorthanded with this boat. I am sure there are differing opinions on the subject but that's mine for what it's worth. Good hunting and hope you find the right boat.

 

[Ed Fluss]

Live aboard

Ive done significant liveaboard on the 326. If you would like to have a convo on the fit, plus and minus of the boat (which is similar to the 33) email me... sailwriter@yahoo.com Cheers!Ed

 

[smorrow]

blue water sailing

I would recommend this boat as a coastal sailor and not for blue water.

 

[Oliverhg]

Tread carefully

I would agree with John G's comments. I bought a 33 new in 2004 and had a MacGregor 26X which I bought new in 2000. I must say it is nice to have new boats where everything works and if they don't work, there is always the warranty. However, we do most of our learning from making mistakes and no matter how good we are with the theorey, we need the practice.And what good is practice if they don't involve close calls? Someone said that if you have never missed a flight then you have been arriving at the airport too early.So, I would say that you should count on scratching or some damage to your first boat from docking maneuvers, groundings, or some other "close calls". If you are comfortable with that, then get the new boat. Otherwise, get a used one or cheaper boat to learn from.I like my 33 but have not push it out of coastal waters. So can't really tell you where the limits are. No "close calls" there to report.