Hunter 386 Performance?

[Big Red for life]

I am wondering what the performance of the hunter 386 under sail and motoring. Is it hard to dock? Can it handle 20 knots of wind easily. I am looking for a boat with in mast furling so if you have sailed on with in mast furling please respond.

What the difference between the hunter 380, 386, and 38. Any real big difference

Thanks

 

[Steve Dion]

Are you sure about the in mast furling?

While this feature is very nice with a new sail, there can be some real challenges.

When the sail stretches it can be nearly impossible to unfurl the sail. You are going to get a proportionally smaller sail with horizontal battens.

I have sailed on a 376 which I believe has a similar hull (1994) to some of the models that you mentioned. It is a nice sailing boat. We made a trip up the coast of Ca. last year on a boat without a dodger and it was realitively dry and the boat preformed well in moderaterly high winds with 6 x 6 swells.

I am sure that you hear many good things about these models. I am just not a fan of the furling main.

 

[rfrye1]

I own the H376 (1998), predecessor to the 380/386. I love the boat. She handles well under power & docking. Propwalk in minimal. I agree with Steve, I am not a fan of in-mast furling. My 376 has a big roach main with electric winch to help get it up. You need to reef early with the large main sails, I reef at 15-16 kts. Performance is great, cabin layout is great. Just all-round a great boat for the money.
Good luck. Bob.

 

[Ron McCoy]

I own a Hunter 386 (2004 model) which has the B&R rig and in-mast main furling. As everything in sailing is a compromise, there are pluses and minus. With the furling main, you lose sail area where it's most important - high up. The furling system doesn't work with sail havng any roach in them. Remember it has to roll up -even and smooth. On the other hand, setting the sail is a little easier (compromise) by having only to use the outhaul and a little effort toward the end with the aid of a winch. It's very easy to reef and can be done quickly. In my opinion, it's the type of sailing you enjoy that drives whether you want to hoist the main (and go just a little faster) or roll it out and enjoy the scenery. My biggest complaint with the B&R rig is the way Hunter designed the position of the jib sheets. On the 386 they run between the shrouds, which limits the size of your genoa to about 110% at best. So you have an easily sailing boat that can reach to 6 or 7 knots on a good day. The larger sails would be fun though in less then good conditions (low wind speeds). Just remember your designed hull speed is also a factor to consider.

 

[Alan]

I've sailed on most of these boats and I have to agree with Steve. I'm no fan of roller furling mains. The price paid and the sailing ability lost to in-mast furling is just not worth the convenience of the roller. The standard (non-furling) main works well and reefing can be done in under a minute. The sacrifice of sail area in lighter air and the loss of sail controls to optimize sail shape in higher wind conditions make in mast furling a big negative.

As for the 386 to handle 20+ kts, the boat can handle it and much more. The only limiting factor is the skills level of the skipper.

 

[Roland David]

General Performance

I am wondering what the performance of the hunter 386 under sail and motoring. Is it hard to dock? Can it handle 20 knots of wind easily. I am looking for a boat with in mast furling so if you have sailed on with in mast furling please respond.

What the difference between the hunter 380, 386, and 38. Any real big difference

Thanks

I own a Hunter 380 (year 2000) with mainsail furling that I sailed last year from New York to Greece and back to Carribean and New York early June. I had 50 knots of wind one time for few days and the boat behave very fine, very safely. I had 20 knots on a regular basis and the boat with reefs love that kind of winds. Really no problem. I have a mainsail with partial vertical battens and had to remove the longest one that interfere with the furling of the main. The boat was sailing an easy 6 knots on a day to day basis with 15 knots of wind or under motoring with less than 15 knots headwinds. There is basicaly no difference between the Hunter 380 and Hunter 386. The Hunter 38 is a new design. The Hunter 380 and 386 are a very good overall boat and a success design for Hunter.