Hunter 34 Refit, Cabin sole, Compression post and more

Jan 28, 2017
44
Hunter 34 Halifax
Chad and Katie,
I replaced all my standing rigging last year and had to remove one of the spreaders to get one of the pins out. I don't recall having any wiggle/play in them. I don't think they should move at all, maybe the bolts could be loose. I would tighten them.

I painted the entire mast while it was down. Lightly sanded the entire mast, then used a primer called zinc chromate on the bare spots. Wiped everything down three times with solvent and painted with interlux bright sides wht paint. Looks like it just came out of the factory. Should last another 35 years.
Thanks Robbie. Do you mind saying how much the standing rigging cost to replace? I am considering doing this now while the mast is down....
 
Jan 24, 2017
666
Hunter 34 Toms River Nj
Chad and Katie,
You mentioned you are getting ready to repair you compression post.
There is a lot of great info here on this topic.
Check out a post by "Dcalif" titled "h34 Claude/Allen hybrid compression post repair"
It looked like one of the best ones I have see done to date and appears to be one of the cheapest according to his post. Very informative. My help you a lot with yours.
 
Jan 24, 2017
666
Hunter 34 Toms River Nj
I replaced everything after the hurricane damage.
Everything looked good but I just didn't trust it due to age and storm damage.
It was $2683.00 for everything including turnbuckles and shipping.

I used Seco South they did the original rigging for Hunter back in the 80s They were the cheapest by far after getting five quotes.
All I did was send them one complete set and they will duplicate it exactly. Mine was a perfect fit. Turn around time was about 2 weeks. Very professional

If you do it yourself download the rigging page from the manual and label everything. It gets a little confusing when you start to reinstall. I took lot of pic and still got a little confused.


Seco South
2111 34th street
Largo, Fl. 33771
727-536-1924

Hope this helps
 
Jan 13, 2015
95
Hunter 34 Deep Bay, BC
The water tank on stbd side sometimes cracks along the inboard side .. a pad to brace that side against the settee support keeps it from flexing so much.. A clean out port would be fine in that tank..and a level gauge might be useful.. My tank gets filled from a good municipal system most of the time so it has not been cleaned in its life.. Stern tank stays empty unless going out for a while..
Tell me more about this! Of course you meant the port side, but exactly where does it crack and how can I get at it? Mine has a crack somewhere at the top, but I can only tell that it comes from somewhere in the aft half, meaning it could be on either side at the top or at the aft end. When I fill the tank water runs into the bilge for a time (just a small stream, so not a big crack) and then stops. If I knew where to look I could cut an access opening in the settee top, but I don't want to start cutting and then discover I can't reach the crack. Also, what's the best repair method?

I don't think I'd bother with a cleanout, as I only use good water and do a chlorine shock once a year. I am thinking to add a sight glass level, though. As I always start using the aft tank first, I don't actually care about the level until that runs out and I have to switch to the port tank.
 
Jan 28, 2017
44
Hunter 34 Halifax
Well the refit is coming along nicely.... The floors are starting to go back in, and I did the false bilge modification! It went fairly easily... I used 2 hole saws and then cut between the lines with a sawzall... worked perfect and didn't take that long really at all! You can see how i did it in my VLOG here..
 
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Jan 24, 2017
666
Hunter 34 Toms River Nj
Chad & Katie,
Great video on your restoration !

When you get the chance to clean out the bilge liner try using
A 50/50 mix of white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide and about 1 ounce of dish soap. This worked so much better then just bleach and water alone. This sudsy solution really killed the mold and got rid of the bad odors.
Looks like both of you are making great progress.
 

jarda

.
May 12, 2017
6
Hunter 37.5 Brouwershaven
Hi Chad and Katie,
Inspiring to watch your video's. Just started a (hopefully) less grande Hunter project on our newly acquired 37.5. Some issue I see in your video's are very similar on our boat. Keep up the great work!
Kind regards, Jarda
 

splax

.
Nov 12, 2012
692
Hunter 34 Portsmouth
If you find the crack in the water tank top, you might try to repair it with LockTite Plastic Bonder.
 
Jan 28, 2017
44
Hunter 34 Halifax
Chad & Katie,
Great video on your restoration !

When you get the chance to clean out the bilge liner try using
A 50/50 mix of white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide and about 1 ounce of dish soap. This worked so much better then just bleach and water alone. This sudsy solution really killed the mold and got rid of the bad odors.
Looks like both of you are making great progress.
Thanks Robbie! We will try that!
 
Jan 28, 2017
44
Hunter 34 Halifax
Hi Chad and Katie,
Inspiring to watch your video's. Just started a (hopefully) less grande Hunter project on our newly acquired 37.5. Some issue I see in your video's are very similar on our boat. Keep up the great work!
Kind regards, Jarda
Awesome! happy to inspire, that's why we make these videos. We're launching the boat in the next 2 to 3 weeks so it's crunch time. there are still going to be cosmetic things we'd like to do, but the boat systems will be solid and ready to sail... it's turning into almost a complete refit... just when I think we're done we're dismantling something else. ;)
 
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Likes: jarda

jarda

.
May 12, 2017
6
Hunter 37.5 Brouwershaven
interior is really starting to look great! Well done you two. I'm still chasing leaks (rain, diesel and fresh water)
 
Jan 24, 2017
666
Hunter 34 Toms River Nj
Welcome to boating,
seams like the to do list never ends.
Plug up one hole and another starts to leak. Sometimes it's seams like you are always trying to keep you head above the water. Just raise your snorkel a little bit if the water seams to deep. Just remember that the tide rolls in and out.
You guys are doing a great job with the restoration, stay focused it is really starting to come together.
 
Jan 13, 2015
95
Hunter 34 Deep Bay, BC
you can take the whole settee top off in about 15min.
I've looked at that settee top for a long time, and I'll be d**ned if I can figure out how to get it off. Many of the screws are accessible, but there seem to be some hidden ones in the area of the water tank itself. I can't see them, but if I undo all the screws I can see it's still securely held down in that area. It's like there are screws coming up from below in the area between the tank and the side facing the middle, and there is no way to reach in there. Any ideas?
 
Nov 6, 2006
9,884
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
Re: crack.. yes port side tank, inboard side .. the big flat inboard side reportedly may crack a few inches down from the top corner/edge and usually close to the middle .. it would be most probably a crack running fore/aft on the side "facing the middle"
Here is a shot of the top of mine showing the vertical screws that you can see that hold in in place.. Then there is another set of vertical screws that are accessed by going inside the storage cubbies and looking on top of the "cleats" that are screwed to the backrest with horizontal screws. There are several screws holding the cleat (square section wood along the bottom inside of the backrest wood that has the cutouts).. some of the screws are between the openings so ya have to search.. There are also a few vertical screws outboard of the cleats that hold the settee top to the fiberglass rib running fore/aft. Then don't lift the top up but wiggle it toward inboard to get the outboard part out from under the backrest wood. If ya lift it too high, it will jam under the backrest wood. The ones I pointed out are the obvious and easy ones.. the ones inside the storage cubbies are harder to get at but are reachable..
EDIT: On my 34, the screws holding thee top to the fiberglass beam are big stainless pan headed sheet metal screws and not flat countersunk brass wood screws like all the others.
 

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Jan 13, 2015
95
Hunter 34 Deep Bay, BC
Re: crack.. yes port side tank, inboard side .. the big flat inboard side reportedly may crack a few inches down from the top corner/edge and usually close to the middle .. it would be most probably a crack running fore/aft on the side "facing the middle"
Here is a shot of the top of mine showing the vertical screws that you can see that hold in in place.. Then there is another set of vertical screws that are accessed by going inside the storage cubbies and looking on top of the "cleats" that are screwed to the backrest with horizontal screws. There are several screws holding the cleat (square section wood along the bottom inside of the backrest wood that has the cutouts).. some of the screws are between the openings so ya have to search.. There are also a few vertical screws outboard of the cleats that hold the settee top to the fiberglass rib running fore/aft. Then don't lift the top up but wiggle it toward inboard to get the outboard part out from under the backrest wood. If ya lift it too high, it will jam under the backrest wood. The ones I pointed out are the obvious and easy ones.. the ones inside the storage cubbies are harder to get at but are reachable..
EDIT: On my 34, the screws holding thee top to the fiberglass beam are big stainless pan headed sheet metal screws and not flat countersunk brass wood screws like all the others.
Hi Kloudie,

My boat has not a single one of the screws you point out in the picture. There is exactly one brass screw visible from the top, and it's right at the corner closest to the galley. There are screws pointing upwards through cleats into the plywood that are accessible through the access covers, but there appear to be more between the tank and the wall, and there is no way I can get my arm in there. I can't figure out how they put this together in the first place. My only guess is that they assembled the complete settee (top, side, and end) and somehow attached it to the hull liner in one piece over the tank.

This is a project for next winter now; the weather is too good now to spend time working on this. I think it'll probably come down to cutting another access port, now that I know the likely location of the crack.

As always, thanks for all your help.
 
Mar 31, 2013
234
O'day 23 Pa
coastlife, wife and I just binged watched, she's hooked now.
She thinks your nuts for doing it in those temps but.....
keep your eye on the prize, going to be a great boat when your done.
Don't neglect the thru hulls whilst everything is out, would be a perfect time to do them!
 
Jan 28, 2017
44
Hunter 34 Halifax
coastlife, wife and I just binged watched, she's hooked now.
She thinks your nuts for doing it in those temps but.....
keep your eye on the prize, going to be a great boat when your done.
Don't neglect the thru hulls whilst everything is out, would be a perfect time to do them!
Thats great! thanks for the kind words. The thru hulls all looked pretty good, they had been replaced at some point in the boats life.... There was one backplate under the gally sink that I just replaced. We did it in the latest episode actually..

Yeah... The weather... it was cold. But we had to do it so we could get her ready for boating season!
 
Jan 13, 2015
95
Hunter 34 Deep Bay, BC
Hi Kloudie,

My boat has not a single one of the screws you point out in the picture. There is exactly one brass screw visible from the top, and it's right at the corner closest to the galley. There are screws pointing upwards through cleats into the plywood that are accessible through the access covers, but there appear to be more between the tank and the wall, and there is no way I can get my arm in there. I can't figure out how they put this together in the first place. My only guess is that they assembled the complete settee (top, side, and end) and somehow attached it to the hull liner in one piece over the tank.

This is a project for next winter now; the weather is too good now to spend time working on this. I think it'll probably come down to cutting another access port, now that I know the likely location of the crack.

As always, thanks for all your help.
Update: The settee in my boat WAS installed as a single piece, with a couple of screws into internal cleats covered with teak plugs on the bottom near the aft end. When it goes back, the top will be removable like everyone else's!

There is crack in the tank exactly as Kloudie described. About 1" from the top, roughly half the length of the tank, on the side facing the center of the boat. Based on discolouration, there is only one short stretch of maybe 1" that is actually leaking, but given the overall length of the crack it's not long before my water tank becomes a water bucket. Now the question is "how to fix it?" I'm looking for the best repair, not just "good enough". Splax mentioned Loc-tite Plastic Bonder, but how would you get it into the crack? Capillary action? The instructions say not to use it as a gap filler, which would rule out grinding out the crack and filling it, at least with this stuff.

Ideas are welcome!
 

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Nov 6, 2006
9,884
Hunter 34 Mandeville Louisiana
Glad that ya got it off and can access the tank.. Replacement is always an option, I think the company that made the tank is still in business.. Other option would be to install a 6" or so access port (deck plate, I think Phil has some on this site,https://shop.sailboatowners.com/prod.php?14562 ) to be able to get a hand inside.. Then you can push from the inside to open the crack to the outside.. push some of the LockTite in the crack when you get it just a little open.. then take a strip of fiberglass tape and install it over the entire crack (on the outside), using the plastic bonder as you would epoxy.. Once you verify that the patch is good, use some foam bracing between the tank wall and the inboard side of the settee support to stop the flexing.. The big crack is a fatigue crack from the water sloshing around on that in-supported vertical tank wall. The beveled side (underside, outboard) is supported on expanding foam.. ya might be able to easily do the same on the vert, inboard wall by putting a garbage bag between the tank and settee support and squirting expanding foam into the bag..