I am considering moving up from a 1979 Ericson 30 to a 1985 Hunter 34. I have a family of 4 and would like to know how the boat sails especially in heavier winds. Are there any problem spots I should be aware of when inspecting the boat?
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Perspective from San Fran
Tom...I own an H34 and sail it in San Francisco Bay and offshore. I frequently sail it in 30+ knots. The H34 is a little tender, plus has a tall rig. So I find that I frequently reef the main to reduce heeling. I usually reef at more than 18knots when the weather helm and heeling get uncomfortable for the crew. In really high wind conditions, the boat sails well on the jib alone. The H34 should be perfect for your area. I'm from NJ and sailed to Block Island often. You'll also find better sea-kindliness moving up from 30 feet to 34, not to mention all the extra living space below. The major flaw with the H34 is the compression post issue...but is very repairable. Best idea when buying is to buy one that had it already fixed. You'll find your boat ownership is enhanced by the use of this web-forum. There are lots of great owners with tons of experience who are always willing to help/suggest better ways for you to maintain and enjoy your boat. Check out the forum archives for hours of info on the H34. Good luck and welcome to this forum! JoeO
Tom...I own an H34 and sail it in San Francisco Bay and offshore. I frequently sail it in 30+ knots. The H34 is a little tender, plus has a tall rig. So I find that I frequently reef the main to reduce heeling. I usually reef at more than 18knots when the weather helm and heeling get uncomfortable for the crew. In really high wind conditions, the boat sails well on the jib alone. The H34 should be perfect for your area. I'm from NJ and sailed to Block Island often. You'll also find better sea-kindliness moving up from 30 feet to 34, not to mention all the extra living space below. The major flaw with the H34 is the compression post issue...but is very repairable. Best idea when buying is to buy one that had it already fixed. You'll find your boat ownership is enhanced by the use of this web-forum. There are lots of great owners with tons of experience who are always willing to help/suggest better ways for you to maintain and enjoy your boat. Check out the forum archives for hours of info on the H34. Good luck and welcome to this forum! JoeO
H34 Liveability
Tom, I've sailed my H34 on Narragansett Bay since 1983 (out of Brewer's at Cowessett). I agree with Joe's comments: the boat is a little tender and develops weather helm as it leans. The afternoon sea breezes on the bay (15 knots or so) are almost at the point where you might think about throwing in a reef. By 20 knots you certainly will want to reef. We've cruised LI Sound to Nantucket frequently, the boat does seem to "pound" in heavy chop, and seems to be a little underpowered on the engine in chop. Nevertheless it's a very liveable boat for a family of four with oodles of room below. Good luck, Derek
Tom, I've sailed my H34 on Narragansett Bay since 1983 (out of Brewer's at Cowessett). I agree with Joe's comments: the boat is a little tender and develops weather helm as it leans. The afternoon sea breezes on the bay (15 knots or so) are almost at the point where you might think about throwing in a reef. By 20 knots you certainly will want to reef. We've cruised LI Sound to Nantucket frequently, the boat does seem to "pound" in heavy chop, and seems to be a little underpowered on the engine in chop. Nevertheless it's a very liveable boat for a family of four with oodles of room below. Good luck, Derek
H-34s are great!
I agree with all the others have said, and would suggest the deep keel version. (we have the shoal keel, little less pointing ability) Once you get used to how the H-34 responds to stronger winds you won't mind reefing early. The great thing about a H-34 is that even when reefed way down or under jib alone you still get good speed! By the way, in moderate winds with a cruising chute up, WOW! the speed and stability will amaze you! Charles Duhon "Artistry"
I agree with all the others have said, and would suggest the deep keel version. (we have the shoal keel, little less pointing ability) Once you get used to how the H-34 responds to stronger winds you won't mind reefing early. The great thing about a H-34 is that even when reefed way down or under jib alone you still get good speed! By the way, in moderate winds with a cruising chute up, WOW! the speed and stability will amaze you! Charles Duhon "Artistry"
Ericson vs Hunter
Tom: We have sailed aboard our friends Ericson 29' for several years. If we compare the Ericson to our Hunter 31 which is similar to the 34 I would make the following observations. Generally the Ericson was "more" tender than the Hunter. These boats would heal over to 15-20 degrees very quickly in lite air and seemed to stiffen up. They had a short mast with a very long boom, so they had a lot of sail initally. They did not sail very well with the jib or main only, defintely out of balance. The Hunter is also tender but if your experience with the Ericson is the same as I have described you were ready to reef early anyway. The interior layout and space utilization of the Hunter is much better too. These early Ericsons seemed to be very well built but had very few conviences. This 34-37 foot range boat is probably the very best size boat to own. Some other things. The cockpit in the Ericson is very large, the Hunter is not nearly as large. You are probably going from an Atomic 4 to a Yanmar so this is a plus. The v-berth in the Ericson was fairly large, and I am not sure about the H'34 but I think it is smaller. The aft berth is better in the Hunter is going to be better. The Hunter has the Origo stove/oven combo which is very nice if you cook aboard. The compress post is the only MAJOR think to worry about assuming the boat has been taken care of. The engine/trans is fairly bullet proof. I hope you get a good surveyor. If they "know" Hunters this is a big plus. Seems like these surveyors have been missing the obvious things on some of the recent posts. Be sure that you do your own survey too. Open up every locker pull up the cushions. Check the fuel (i Overall I think you are going to be happier with the Hunter and the additional 5 feet.
Tom: We have sailed aboard our friends Ericson 29' for several years. If we compare the Ericson to our Hunter 31 which is similar to the 34 I would make the following observations. Generally the Ericson was "more" tender than the Hunter. These boats would heal over to 15-20 degrees very quickly in lite air and seemed to stiffen up. They had a short mast with a very long boom, so they had a lot of sail initally. They did not sail very well with the jib or main only, defintely out of balance. The Hunter is also tender but if your experience with the Ericson is the same as I have described you were ready to reef early anyway. The interior layout and space utilization of the Hunter is much better too. These early Ericsons seemed to be very well built but had very few conviences. This 34-37 foot range boat is probably the very best size boat to own. Some other things. The cockpit in the Ericson is very large, the Hunter is not nearly as large. You are probably going from an Atomic 4 to a Yanmar so this is a plus. The v-berth in the Ericson was fairly large, and I am not sure about the H'34 but I think it is smaller. The aft berth is better in the Hunter is going to be better. The Hunter has the Origo stove/oven combo which is very nice if you cook aboard. The compress post is the only MAJOR think to worry about assuming the boat has been taken care of. The engine/trans is fairly bullet proof. I hope you get a good surveyor. If they "know" Hunters this is a big plus. Seems like these surveyors have been missing the obvious things on some of the recent posts. Be sure that you do your own survey too. Open up every locker pull up the cushions. Check the fuel (i Overall I think you are going to be happier with the Hunter and the additional 5 feet.
Another Plug for the 34
We've got a H-35 that we bought when the 34 model was discontinued. One of the things I liked about the 34 was the dinette table which could be used as a real chart table - I don't like to fold my charts. Sailing ability: In the first Hunter Association of Puget Sound rendezvous a 34 was first over the finish line, beating the dealers new 37 and our then new 35. It's a fast boat. With regard to the "tender" issue this is one of my pet peves. The rig and sail plan is great for light air and when things build up just throw a reef in. It's not that difficult and with a few tricks like marking the main halyard can be made easier. On the other hand when the wind is light it's more difficult to add more sail area than to reef. With regard to reefing, my preference is to reef early so as to protect the sail. If one caries the sail into higher winds it will "blow our" sooner. A sail with a lot of draft will cause the boat to heel more, too. We recently bought a new North main and jib for our 35 and it ran $5K with foam luff on the jib, another reason to protect one's sails. The tall rig should be great for carrying a cruising chute. The 34 has nice lines, a good layout, nice ports in the main salon (there has been some discussion about how to stop leaks there). Check the hull for blister history (early 80s boats), ensure the rudder is the newer version (about 6 inches longer than the earlier version which had a tendency to "stall"). As mentioned previously, what comes with the Hunter that one doesn't get with many of the other boats is this web site! Good luck in making your decision.
We've got a H-35 that we bought when the 34 model was discontinued. One of the things I liked about the 34 was the dinette table which could be used as a real chart table - I don't like to fold my charts. Sailing ability: In the first Hunter Association of Puget Sound rendezvous a 34 was first over the finish line, beating the dealers new 37 and our then new 35. It's a fast boat. With regard to the "tender" issue this is one of my pet peves. The rig and sail plan is great for light air and when things build up just throw a reef in. It's not that difficult and with a few tricks like marking the main halyard can be made easier. On the other hand when the wind is light it's more difficult to add more sail area than to reef. With regard to reefing, my preference is to reef early so as to protect the sail. If one caries the sail into higher winds it will "blow our" sooner. A sail with a lot of draft will cause the boat to heel more, too. We recently bought a new North main and jib for our 35 and it ran $5K with foam luff on the jib, another reason to protect one's sails. The tall rig should be great for carrying a cruising chute. The 34 has nice lines, a good layout, nice ports in the main salon (there has been some discussion about how to stop leaks there). Check the hull for blister history (early 80s boats), ensure the rudder is the newer version (about 6 inches longer than the earlier version which had a tendency to "stall"). As mentioned previously, what comes with the Hunter that one doesn't get with many of the other boats is this web site! Good luck in making your decision.
Another Plug for the 34
We've got a H-35 that we bought when the 34 model was discontinued. One of the things I liked about the 34 was the dinette table which could be used as a real chart table - I don't like to fold my charts. Sailing ability: In the first Hunter Association of Puget Sound rendezvous a 34 was first over the finish line, beating the dealers new 37 and our then new 35. It's a fast boat. With regard to the "tender" issue this is one of my pet peves. The rig and sail plan is great for light air and when things build up just throw a reef in. It's not that difficult and with a few tricks like marking the main halyard can be made easier. On the other hand when the wind is light it's more difficult to add more sail area than to reef. With regard to reefing, my preference is to reef early so as to protect the sail. If one caries the sail into higher winds it will "blow our" sooner. A sail with a lot of draft will cause the boat to heel more, too. We recently bought a new North main and jib for our 35 and it ran $5K with foam luff on the jib, another reason to protect one's sails. The tall rig should be great for carrying a cruising chute. The 34 has nice lines, a good layout, nice ports in the main salon (there has been some discussion about how to stop leaks there). Check the hull for blister history (early 80s boats), ensure the rudder is the newer version (about 6 inches longer than the earlier version which had a tendency to "stall"). As mentioned previously, what comes with the Hunter that one doesn't get with many of the other boats is this web site! Good luck in making your decision.
We've got a H-35 that we bought when the 34 model was discontinued. One of the things I liked about the 34 was the dinette table which could be used as a real chart table - I don't like to fold my charts. Sailing ability: In the first Hunter Association of Puget Sound rendezvous a 34 was first over the finish line, beating the dealers new 37 and our then new 35. It's a fast boat. With regard to the "tender" issue this is one of my pet peves. The rig and sail plan is great for light air and when things build up just throw a reef in. It's not that difficult and with a few tricks like marking the main halyard can be made easier. On the other hand when the wind is light it's more difficult to add more sail area than to reef. With regard to reefing, my preference is to reef early so as to protect the sail. If one caries the sail into higher winds it will "blow our" sooner. A sail with a lot of draft will cause the boat to heel more, too. We recently bought a new North main and jib for our 35 and it ran $5K with foam luff on the jib, another reason to protect one's sails. The tall rig should be great for carrying a cruising chute. The 34 has nice lines, a good layout, nice ports in the main salon (there has been some discussion about how to stop leaks there). Check the hull for blister history (early 80s boats), ensure the rudder is the newer version (about 6 inches longer than the earlier version which had a tendency to "stall"). As mentioned previously, what comes with the Hunter that one doesn't get with many of the other boats is this web site! Good luck in making your decision.
Necessary checks on H34
Living in the south the really only heavy weather in the Gulf is when mom nature throws us some bad thunderstorms other than the occasional Hurricane. The two problem areas most noted in the H34 is the mast where it is stepped on the deck, a close inspection for compression at the step and inside around the compression post is warranted. Additionally where the chain plates pass thru the deck by the bulk head is another, if those problems are not present in market boats or the previous owner has addressed them you will find the boat is a to own and sail. The only other concern would be the opening ports however like most older boats they will most likey need to be replaced. Good Luck.
Living in the south the really only heavy weather in the Gulf is when mom nature throws us some bad thunderstorms other than the occasional Hurricane. The two problem areas most noted in the H34 is the mast where it is stepped on the deck, a close inspection for compression at the step and inside around the compression post is warranted. Additionally where the chain plates pass thru the deck by the bulk head is another, if those problems are not present in market boats or the previous owner has addressed them you will find the boat is a to own and sail. The only other concern would be the opening ports however like most older boats they will most likey need to be replaced. Good Luck.
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