Currently have a Hunter 375 and am thinking about moving up to a previously owned Hunter 46 but there seems to be more of these on market than any other model. Interested in hearing from Hunter 460 or 450 owners (either past or present) as to their evaluation of how the 450 and/or 460 handles. I am really pleased with the performance of the 375 but thinking about upgrading. Currently have full batten main with dutchman sailhandling system and it performs very well. While interested mainly in cruising, it is nice to have a boat that can be competitive if desired. Interested in opinions of current and previous owners to assess the pros and cons of the 460 and 450 models.
Hunter 460 or 450 Performance/Evaluation
- Thread starter Happy Days
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46
(By the way, you'll get more responses on posts such as this in the Big Boat forum than here.) Last summer I moved up from a 1998 H410 to a 2006 H46LE and can only say that there's no comparison between the two boats. The 46 has jaw-dropping speed, and yet is twice as stable as the 410 was. Yesterday I ran the gennaker in a 13-knot breeze, and hit 9.5 knots at about 120 degrees. That's with a furling main! It makes no sense to me that a boat this accommodating below, with such huge freeboard, can be as fast as it is, even in light air, even with OEM sails. The biggest difference between the 410 and the 46 is the masthead rig. Having owned both, I would never go back to a fraction-rigged boat. The rig on the 46 is a zillion times easier to balance, and once the boat gets in a groove it wants to stay there. My wife loves taking her hands off the wheel and letting the boat steer itself. One caution is that many of the early 460/466 models had carbon-fiber rudder stocks, and they're a bit too easy to break as far as I'm concerned. Later models went back to a stainless stock, and many owners of earlier models upgraded to the stronger rudder, but I wouldn't recommend buying a boat with a carbon stock if you're planning on doing offshore passages. (Indeed, even though I have the steel stock, I carry an emergency rudder just in case.) Every knowledgeable sailor who takes our helm on the 46 is amazed at the feel of this boat. I suspect that one reason for this is that I put a 48-inch Edson access wheel on it, which is truly a delight. Smartest thing I did on this boat was telling the dealer I didn't want the goofy little (undersize!) folding wheel it came with. We find ourselves doing a lot more sailing, meaning a lot less motoring/motorsailing, on the 46 than we did on the 410. Part of this is because of how much less time it takes to get from point A to point B with all this waterline, and partly because the new boat is much less picky about the conditions in which it will perform well. On the 410 I could only go 5 knots to weather in 10 knots of breeze. In the 46 I can go 5 knots to weather in 6 knots of breeze. Bottom line, it's hard to believe that the two boats are as closely related as they appear to be on the surface.
(By the way, you'll get more responses on posts such as this in the Big Boat forum than here.) Last summer I moved up from a 1998 H410 to a 2006 H46LE and can only say that there's no comparison between the two boats. The 46 has jaw-dropping speed, and yet is twice as stable as the 410 was. Yesterday I ran the gennaker in a 13-knot breeze, and hit 9.5 knots at about 120 degrees. That's with a furling main! It makes no sense to me that a boat this accommodating below, with such huge freeboard, can be as fast as it is, even in light air, even with OEM sails. The biggest difference between the 410 and the 46 is the masthead rig. Having owned both, I would never go back to a fraction-rigged boat. The rig on the 46 is a zillion times easier to balance, and once the boat gets in a groove it wants to stay there. My wife loves taking her hands off the wheel and letting the boat steer itself. One caution is that many of the early 460/466 models had carbon-fiber rudder stocks, and they're a bit too easy to break as far as I'm concerned. Later models went back to a stainless stock, and many owners of earlier models upgraded to the stronger rudder, but I wouldn't recommend buying a boat with a carbon stock if you're planning on doing offshore passages. (Indeed, even though I have the steel stock, I carry an emergency rudder just in case.) Every knowledgeable sailor who takes our helm on the 46 is amazed at the feel of this boat. I suspect that one reason for this is that I put a 48-inch Edson access wheel on it, which is truly a delight. Smartest thing I did on this boat was telling the dealer I didn't want the goofy little (undersize!) folding wheel it came with. We find ourselves doing a lot more sailing, meaning a lot less motoring/motorsailing, on the 46 than we did on the 410. Part of this is because of how much less time it takes to get from point A to point B with all this waterline, and partly because the new boat is much less picky about the conditions in which it will perform well. On the 410 I could only go 5 knots to weather in 10 knots of breeze. In the 46 I can go 5 knots to weather in 6 knots of breeze. Bottom line, it's hard to believe that the two boats are as closely related as they appear to be on the surface.
460 performance
I purchased my 460 new in 2000. I owned three previous Hunters, 31, 37.5, and a 40.5. I have extensively sailed the 460 the last seven years, including a 2500 mile cruise to Mexico over the last 5 months. The vessel is a heavy cruising boat that will stand up well in high winds and sea conditions. When the boat was commissioned and first launched via crane with empty tanks and no gear, she was 29,500 lbs. in the sling. Consequently, if wind speeds are 5 knotts or less, you're not going anywhere fast. My cruising chute really helps in winds less than 10 knots. I added a custom full vertical batten main which has made a substantial difference in performance and sail shape over the original roller furling main. I also replaced the standard 110 head sail with a 125 (the largest sail which would fit) and gained more performance as well. In wind speeds over 10 knots, she really starts to come alive. The boat is rock solid, seakindly, and will take you anywhere you want to go in comfort and safety. I have a three blade feathering max prop and she motors 8knots in most sea conditions, at 2800rpm with a yanmar 75hp turbo.
I purchased my 460 new in 2000. I owned three previous Hunters, 31, 37.5, and a 40.5. I have extensively sailed the 460 the last seven years, including a 2500 mile cruise to Mexico over the last 5 months. The vessel is a heavy cruising boat that will stand up well in high winds and sea conditions. When the boat was commissioned and first launched via crane with empty tanks and no gear, she was 29,500 lbs. in the sling. Consequently, if wind speeds are 5 knotts or less, you're not going anywhere fast. My cruising chute really helps in winds less than 10 knots. I added a custom full vertical batten main which has made a substantial difference in performance and sail shape over the original roller furling main. I also replaced the standard 110 head sail with a 125 (the largest sail which would fit) and gained more performance as well. In wind speeds over 10 knots, she really starts to come alive. The boat is rock solid, seakindly, and will take you anywhere you want to go in comfort and safety. I have a three blade feathering max prop and she motors 8knots in most sea conditions, at 2800rpm with a yanmar 75hp turbo.
Carbon Fiber Rudder Stock
To follow up on John's comments about the carbon fiber rudder stock, my boat is hull 19 and came with the carbon fiber stock. The reason carbon fiber was used was to eliminate corrosion which can weaken stainless steel used in rudder stock. I think in principal, its makes sense. There are several major manufactures, other than Hunter, presently using carbon fiber for rudder stock. It's a very strong and capable alternative to stainless. The problem encounted in the carbon fiber rudders, in case of very hard grounding or collision with submerged objects, its difficult to tell from a visual inspection of the rudder whether there's damage to the internal portion of the stock. Stainless steel may bend to show evidence of impact where in the case of carbon fiber, if the impact is great enough, its won't bend but break. In cases where there has been substantial impact and the carbon fiber rudder is intact, evidence of any internal damage may hard to detect. When buying a used boat with a carbon fiber stock, this may be an issue that the buyer should be aware. This imformation was related to me by Hunter last year during detailed conversations about the rudder issue. I was planning a long trip to Mexico and wanted to be prepared. According to Hunter, the carbon fiber rudder stock was as strong or stronger than the stainless steel but because of the reasons stated above, the decision was made to go back to stainless. Whether than is actually true or not, I don't know. I'm the original owner and have been on board every mile traveled and know my rudder hasn't sustained any impact damage. Nonetheless, last year in preparation for my cruise, the boat was hauled out and the rudder dropped and inspected. It's a straight forward procedure which took about 45 minutes. The stock looked "as new" and no stress fractures were noted. I was surprised at the size of the rudder stock. It was massive. The boat yard owner, who has taken care of all my boats for the last 20 years, said the rudder was absolutely fine. The price for a new stainless 460 rudder from Hunter is about $3,000, which if you are buying a used boat and unaware of it's history, is a small price to pay for an upgrade on a $200,000 boat. I also installed the emergency back up rudder from Hunter for additional peace of mind. They sell it at their cost for $750. It's basically the same thing as the SOS emergency rudder which sells for about $2,000.
To follow up on John's comments about the carbon fiber rudder stock, my boat is hull 19 and came with the carbon fiber stock. The reason carbon fiber was used was to eliminate corrosion which can weaken stainless steel used in rudder stock. I think in principal, its makes sense. There are several major manufactures, other than Hunter, presently using carbon fiber for rudder stock. It's a very strong and capable alternative to stainless. The problem encounted in the carbon fiber rudders, in case of very hard grounding or collision with submerged objects, its difficult to tell from a visual inspection of the rudder whether there's damage to the internal portion of the stock. Stainless steel may bend to show evidence of impact where in the case of carbon fiber, if the impact is great enough, its won't bend but break. In cases where there has been substantial impact and the carbon fiber rudder is intact, evidence of any internal damage may hard to detect. When buying a used boat with a carbon fiber stock, this may be an issue that the buyer should be aware. This imformation was related to me by Hunter last year during detailed conversations about the rudder issue. I was planning a long trip to Mexico and wanted to be prepared. According to Hunter, the carbon fiber rudder stock was as strong or stronger than the stainless steel but because of the reasons stated above, the decision was made to go back to stainless. Whether than is actually true or not, I don't know. I'm the original owner and have been on board every mile traveled and know my rudder hasn't sustained any impact damage. Nonetheless, last year in preparation for my cruise, the boat was hauled out and the rudder dropped and inspected. It's a straight forward procedure which took about 45 minutes. The stock looked "as new" and no stress fractures were noted. I was surprised at the size of the rudder stock. It was massive. The boat yard owner, who has taken care of all my boats for the last 20 years, said the rudder was absolutely fine. The price for a new stainless 460 rudder from Hunter is about $3,000, which if you are buying a used boat and unaware of it's history, is a small price to pay for an upgrade on a $200,000 boat. I also installed the emergency back up rudder from Hunter for additional peace of mind. They sell it at their cost for $750. It's basically the same thing as the SOS emergency rudder which sells for about $2,000.
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