Just thought I would update all on this transition for me. Some of you may know that I have owned and sailed a 1996 Hunter 376 for many (ummm.... about 14 years). Last October we sold our Hunter in Fiji and purchased a 1985 Whitby 55 in Trinidad. After getting married and having a son in Tonga, it felt a little cramped in the Hunter so that was the reason for the move.
We've spent a lot of money, time and work transitioning the Whitby from a marina moored boat to a full-time cruising boat for a small family. After cruising for 7 years on my Hunter I know what I want and this boat, although great, needed a lot of changing and still does -- need more paychecks
We are getting closer to having the boat we want but I would like to report on the differences in the boats sailing characteristics.
Everybody know what type of boat the Hunters are, moderately light with fin keel and spade rudder. The Whitby 55 is more of a mystery as it is a lot different than the Whitby 42 which is more popular. The 55 has a long fin keel (16,000 lbs) and a skeg hung rudder. The Whitby is of course heavier (Displacement/length ratio) but not by a lot. The design weight is 43,000 lbs but with all the stuff packed in, including the 300 gallons of fuel and 300 gallons of water, the cruising weight is a lot more.
The Hunter is very 'nervous' at sea compared to the Whitby. My old Hunter's autopilot would make a correction about every 5 seconds - how big depended on the seas. The Whitby sails a lot straighter and at times not making any corrections for several minutes in the same seas. The Whitby is of course a lot faster in fresh winds and tends to plow thru waves more than the Hunter would. When motoring out of Trinidad harbor with swell on the noise we had at times 20' high splash but none reached the cockpit.
The ketch is a bit more complicated to sail, especially with me doing all the work. The Hunter was simple. It was great for learning and single handling. The Whitby, well, I am glad I have a lot more experience than when I first got the Hunter. There are times I miss the simplicity of the Hunter but I am getting better with the ketch. Had to install a better track for the stay-sail sheets though and many other changes to the sails and running rigging.
Getting used to the helm on the Whitby has taken some time. The Hunter was easy to steer. She turned sharp and quick. The Whitby turns slow, the wheel is very low geared and I believe has a smaller max angle allowed on the rudder. The Hunter's helm was heavy at times but it being a spade I was easily able to balance it to make it feather light.. The helm on the Whitby is light for small changes but does get heavy once healed over a lot; that rarely happens though because the keel is so heavy it takes a lot of wind to do that. The Hunter drove like a car, the Whitby at times feels like I am helming a big ole ship spinning the wheel to make a turn.
The noise down below on my Hunter was really bad when I first got it (18 manufacturer defects that caused a lot of loud creeks) but after years of work I fixed them all so it was mostly quiet in normal offshore seas. The Whitby only had one creek which I fixed quickly. It does have a winding sound from the free spinning prop (transmission doesn't lock it) that takes some getting used to.
Summary: The Whitby was much better built than the Hunter but both boats are good boats with each having it's advantages and disadvantages. We are enjoying our new boat a lot though. It's my opinion that it is one of the best built boats for a cruising family (shame they only made 3 of them) but not a good boat for newbies. At least that is our impression after sailing in the Lesser Antilles this year after 14 years on a Hunter 376.
We've spent a lot of money, time and work transitioning the Whitby from a marina moored boat to a full-time cruising boat for a small family. After cruising for 7 years on my Hunter I know what I want and this boat, although great, needed a lot of changing and still does -- need more paychecks
We are getting closer to having the boat we want but I would like to report on the differences in the boats sailing characteristics.Everybody know what type of boat the Hunters are, moderately light with fin keel and spade rudder. The Whitby 55 is more of a mystery as it is a lot different than the Whitby 42 which is more popular. The 55 has a long fin keel (16,000 lbs) and a skeg hung rudder. The Whitby is of course heavier (Displacement/length ratio) but not by a lot. The design weight is 43,000 lbs but with all the stuff packed in, including the 300 gallons of fuel and 300 gallons of water, the cruising weight is a lot more.
The Hunter is very 'nervous' at sea compared to the Whitby. My old Hunter's autopilot would make a correction about every 5 seconds - how big depended on the seas. The Whitby sails a lot straighter and at times not making any corrections for several minutes in the same seas. The Whitby is of course a lot faster in fresh winds and tends to plow thru waves more than the Hunter would. When motoring out of Trinidad harbor with swell on the noise we had at times 20' high splash but none reached the cockpit.
The ketch is a bit more complicated to sail, especially with me doing all the work. The Hunter was simple. It was great for learning and single handling. The Whitby, well, I am glad I have a lot more experience than when I first got the Hunter. There are times I miss the simplicity of the Hunter but I am getting better with the ketch. Had to install a better track for the stay-sail sheets though and many other changes to the sails and running rigging.
Getting used to the helm on the Whitby has taken some time. The Hunter was easy to steer. She turned sharp and quick. The Whitby turns slow, the wheel is very low geared and I believe has a smaller max angle allowed on the rudder. The Hunter's helm was heavy at times but it being a spade I was easily able to balance it to make it feather light.. The helm on the Whitby is light for small changes but does get heavy once healed over a lot; that rarely happens though because the keel is so heavy it takes a lot of wind to do that. The Hunter drove like a car, the Whitby at times feels like I am helming a big ole ship spinning the wheel to make a turn.
The noise down below on my Hunter was really bad when I first got it (18 manufacturer defects that caused a lot of loud creeks) but after years of work I fixed them all so it was mostly quiet in normal offshore seas. The Whitby only had one creek which I fixed quickly. It does have a winding sound from the free spinning prop (transmission doesn't lock it) that takes some getting used to.
Summary: The Whitby was much better built than the Hunter but both boats are good boats with each having it's advantages and disadvantages. We are enjoying our new boat a lot though. It's my opinion that it is one of the best built boats for a cruising family (shame they only made 3 of them) but not a good boat for newbies. At least that is our impression after sailing in the Lesser Antilles this year after 14 years on a Hunter 376.
