We want to purchase a new Hunter 410 and sail from Michigan to Florida and trvel the cost for awhile and then head for the Caribbean. What we would like to know from anybody, if the 410 is a sea worthy boat for this adventure, amy problems either machanical or structural? Is the Hunter over a good boat? any info on the 410 would be very much appreciated. THANKS
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Last week I sailed a 1999 H410 for a week in the Caribbean and was very impressed with the boat. I realize the British Virgin Islands is not blue water sailing, but we did encounter some 8 ft seas and strong winds on the North side of Tortola. Assuming the knot meter was correct, we could sail at 7 to 7.5 knots and once had it up to 8.2 knots. I did not consider the sails properly trimmed and it may have been able to sail faster. My only complaint was the jib fairlead did not go aft as far as I would have liked. Under power we cruised at 6.5 knots and it was easy to motor at 7.0 knots when required. If you have specific questions, I would be happy to respond further.
410
We bought our 410 last winter and sail primarily of the New England coast. Although probably not a blue water cruiser, the 410 is a very seaworthy vessel. Its easy to sail short handed and handles extremely well. I've had VMG's of 9.5 knots numerous times on the boat. It points extremely well, as I can consistently sail 20 degrees off the wind. Did upgrade the prop to an autoprop which improved motoring characteristic tremendously. Also added a cruising spinnaker which improved downwind performance. Its a lot of boat for the money. And by the way AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAArgh to your vacation plans. Bryce S/V Spellbinder
We bought our 410 last winter and sail primarily of the New England coast. Although probably not a blue water cruiser, the 410 is a very seaworthy vessel. Its easy to sail short handed and handles extremely well. I've had VMG's of 9.5 knots numerous times on the boat. It points extremely well, as I can consistently sail 20 degrees off the wind. Did upgrade the prop to an autoprop which improved motoring characteristic tremendously. Also added a cruising spinnaker which improved downwind performance. Its a lot of boat for the money. And by the way AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAArgh to your vacation plans. Bryce S/V Spellbinder
yep
Sorry about the late reply. I've been off the web for a few weeks, sailing down in the Sea of Cortez on a buddy's boat... Arg.. I've punched my 410 through a few offshore gales and am very impressed with its manners in big seas. It lacks good pilot berths in a seaway, as do most modern production boats, but that's something you can fix yourself. I agree with the comment that the refrigerator sucks, and strongly advise you NOT TO GET A GRUNERT COMPRESSOR!!! Tell your dealer you want to upgrade to something designed for a 9 cubic foot box, something that can be used in a cruising/liveaboard situation. (The Grunert Polarmate is NOT designed for these specs. Get on the Marine Air website and you'll see that it's designed for small box daysailing use.) Your dealer might tell you that the problems with the refers on early 410s have been corrected. Don't believe him.
Sorry about the late reply. I've been off the web for a few weeks, sailing down in the Sea of Cortez on a buddy's boat... Arg.. I've punched my 410 through a few offshore gales and am very impressed with its manners in big seas. It lacks good pilot berths in a seaway, as do most modern production boats, but that's something you can fix yourself. I agree with the comment that the refrigerator sucks, and strongly advise you NOT TO GET A GRUNERT COMPRESSOR!!! Tell your dealer you want to upgrade to something designed for a 9 cubic foot box, something that can be used in a cruising/liveaboard situation. (The Grunert Polarmate is NOT designed for these specs. Get on the Marine Air website and you'll see that it's designed for small box daysailing use.) Your dealer might tell you that the problems with the refers on early 410s have been corrected. Don't believe him.
Adler Barbour refrig
I'd also echo the thoughts about the 410. I've sailed mine in some rough passages across the Gulf of Mexico and find it to be very seaworthy boat. I also agree that the Grunert rrfrig unit sucks. After screwing around with it for a year, I finally threw it into the bay and installed an aircooled Adler Barbour Super Cold plate--wish I had done it long ago. Chris Webb s/v Grand Cru II
I'd also echo the thoughts about the 410. I've sailed mine in some rough passages across the Gulf of Mexico and find it to be very seaworthy boat. I also agree that the Grunert rrfrig unit sucks. After screwing around with it for a year, I finally threw it into the bay and installed an aircooled Adler Barbour Super Cold plate--wish I had done it long ago. Chris Webb s/v Grand Cru II
I'm laughing...
...after reading that Chris W chucked his Grunert refer into the bay. I had my unit replaced/repaired/augmented THIRTEEN TIMES in the first year I had my boat, and Hunter kept telling me that I was the only 410 owner having problems with the system. Sheeesh. I ended up separating the two boxes and installing a second compressor/cold plate for the other box, (another f**king Grunert) but that cost me a great deal of shelf space. The new refer has gone through four power heads at this point, less than a year after it was installed. Another year from now I'm guessing that the entire system will flame out, at which point I'll go the route of an A/B Super Cold Machine which can be switched between air and water cooling. Too bad there isn't a way we can let Hunter know how much good will they're losing among big boat owners because of these CHEAP refer systems. They save a few bucks by jumping into bed with Marine Air, which ends up costing their customers thousands and thousands of dollars, not to mention the cost of all the food we've had to throw out. Ouch.
...after reading that Chris W chucked his Grunert refer into the bay. I had my unit replaced/repaired/augmented THIRTEEN TIMES in the first year I had my boat, and Hunter kept telling me that I was the only 410 owner having problems with the system. Sheeesh. I ended up separating the two boxes and installing a second compressor/cold plate for the other box, (another f**king Grunert) but that cost me a great deal of shelf space. The new refer has gone through four power heads at this point, less than a year after it was installed. Another year from now I'm guessing that the entire system will flame out, at which point I'll go the route of an A/B Super Cold Machine which can be switched between air and water cooling. Too bad there isn't a way we can let Hunter know how much good will they're losing among big boat owners because of these CHEAP refer systems. They save a few bucks by jumping into bed with Marine Air, which ends up costing their customers thousands and thousands of dollars, not to mention the cost of all the food we've had to throw out. Ouch.
Grunert Refrigeration?
I have it intalled on my 460 and it seems to work fine. Stuff in the refrigerator stays cold, and stuff in the freezer stays frozen. What problems are you folks experiencing? My only complaint at this time would be that when the compressor kicks in, it is a big electrical draw. I'd like some feedback from those of you who experiencing problems with your Grunert Refer units. Thanks Mark Johnson
I have it intalled on my 460 and it seems to work fine. Stuff in the refrigerator stays cold, and stuff in the freezer stays frozen. What problems are you folks experiencing? My only complaint at this time would be that when the compressor kicks in, it is a big electrical draw. I'd like some feedback from those of you who experiencing problems with your Grunert Refer units. Thanks Mark Johnson
My hunter 410 experience
Jim and Cathy, sorry for getting in on this thread so late. I haven't been checking the site lately. Here is a brief summary of my experience with the boat, although it may be too late. Overall, the 410 is a seaworthy, comfortable boat. I have been down the Texas coast 3 times in winds up to 25 knots and seas 4-6 feet. The ride is good although it pounds going to windward. But I suspect most production boats will also. The cockpit is very comfortable and secure. Add a few handholds down below. The boat is well made and sails on all points well, with the one caveat (mentioned always by all traditional sailing magazine reviewers) that the mainsail lays on the swept back spreaders when going downwind. No big deal to me. Get a cruising spinaker and keep the main off the spreaders. I have one major caution. My boat (#12) had a significant number of construction problems that needed to be ironed out over a period of 18 months. Most were leaks. The center console leaked (the dealers fault actually). It was bear to track down but caulking in the tube that passes cables into the boat fixed the problem. More importantly, the stern joint leaked into both aft lockers through pin holes into the boat, ultimately putting up to 10 gallons of water into the bilge after a day sail. Who expects to see find water apparently coming through solid glass? It took a while to find those leaks but Hunter repaired everything better than new at their expense. Finally, all my cockpit lockers leaked after every rain. I fixed with some heavy-duty neoprene gaskets. But it took a while to get them in correctly So in summary, great boat, does well offshore (esp. John Fahnsworth note), strong, but expect to need to iron out a bunch of problems. Don't expect to buy the boat, sail it for a couple of weeks, and then head out with no problems. At least 6 months will be needed to identify and fix all of the problems, if your boat is like mine (maybe the factory is doing a better job of quality control on newer boats) Best wishes, John Van Wagoner ps.. my refrig works fairly well, so far.
Jim and Cathy, sorry for getting in on this thread so late. I haven't been checking the site lately. Here is a brief summary of my experience with the boat, although it may be too late. Overall, the 410 is a seaworthy, comfortable boat. I have been down the Texas coast 3 times in winds up to 25 knots and seas 4-6 feet. The ride is good although it pounds going to windward. But I suspect most production boats will also. The cockpit is very comfortable and secure. Add a few handholds down below. The boat is well made and sails on all points well, with the one caveat (mentioned always by all traditional sailing magazine reviewers) that the mainsail lays on the swept back spreaders when going downwind. No big deal to me. Get a cruising spinaker and keep the main off the spreaders. I have one major caution. My boat (#12) had a significant number of construction problems that needed to be ironed out over a period of 18 months. Most were leaks. The center console leaked (the dealers fault actually). It was bear to track down but caulking in the tube that passes cables into the boat fixed the problem. More importantly, the stern joint leaked into both aft lockers through pin holes into the boat, ultimately putting up to 10 gallons of water into the bilge after a day sail. Who expects to see find water apparently coming through solid glass? It took a while to find those leaks but Hunter repaired everything better than new at their expense. Finally, all my cockpit lockers leaked after every rain. I fixed with some heavy-duty neoprene gaskets. But it took a while to get them in correctly So in summary, great boat, does well offshore (esp. John Fahnsworth note), strong, but expect to need to iron out a bunch of problems. Don't expect to buy the boat, sail it for a couple of weeks, and then head out with no problems. At least 6 months will be needed to identify and fix all of the problems, if your boat is like mine (maybe the factory is doing a better job of quality control on newer boats) Best wishes, John Van Wagoner ps.. my refrig works fairly well, so far.
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