I am on my third Hunter boat and have been racing them all. My first boat was the 23 that I raced with allot of success. We took it to a Hunter Rendezvous at Harbor North on Lake Erie about 5 years ago and did real well coming in 2nd. We also raced it at the St.Marys Boat club and did very well ther winning all the club had in a two year span. I than sold the boat and bought a Hunter 25.5 and this passed summer we had the First ever Hunter 23 Nationals on Indian Lake. I got with the new owner and we went and won. My 25.5 was the shoal draft boat and we had good sails. We were starting to repeat what we had done with the 23 when for some reason I sold the boat and bought a Tripp 26. Wow what a rocket that boat was, When you are screaming past 30-35 foot boats and they are just looking with ther mouth's open what a rush to go 14 knots on a momohull. Now I have a 28.5 after looking at the market and wanting to be able to stand up to put my pants on and needing room for the crew to sleep the ( the Tripp could only sleep 3) The 28.5 looks like a real winner. I had aslo checked with my local PHRF Guy Bill Killner and we talked about what I wanted. I wanted a boat in the 30 foot range for under 20K that would sail well aginst the local fleet. The Local fleet are Tartan's, Catalina's all cruising boats. But we do come across the J Boats and some of the high end racing boats. But they were not in my price range but I did look at a J 30 but it needed allot of work. So when we plugged in all that I wanted the 28.5 kept coming out as the winner. After finding one and looking at it I could see all the possibltes that would work. It needed a new bottom and sails and the other stuff to take a boat that had always been a cruiser to become a local PHRF Legend. (We need to do the latter part.) So with the added go fast stuff we hope to become known as a boat to beat in our fleet. The Hunter's that are being made today are aimed at the cruiser with know racing in mind. With out the option to add a bigger head sail on the light air days I would think they would be slow. The older boats are real race oriented looking and do well in ther own fleet. I would not be able to keep up with a J 24 or a Tripp 26. But I can stand up to put my pants on. So when we race with our own kind like the Catalinas, Tartans and the Odays we can be at the top of the fleet and win the fleet we are sailing in. But you have to put in the work to get ther fast bottom new sails. Sails are so inportant, ther is a big difference between the sails that come on a new boat and the sail's you buy from a Sailmaker. The boats come with sails that will move the boat but they might not win many races. So if you want to race your Hunter and be good you will need to do what the other guys are doing fast bottom good sails and sailing in the right direction. Cliff Ruckstuhl
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28.5
Cliff - I also have a 88' 28.5 shoal draft. Raced it very casually in Sandusky and then we moved to Rhode Island and began racing here in a much more competive fleet. We race non - spinnaker. Our Tuesday night fleet consists of Pearson 10meters and C
Cliff - I also have a 88' 28.5 shoal draft. Raced it very casually in Sandusky and then we moved to Rhode Island and began racing here in a much more competive fleet. We race non - spinnaker. Our Tuesday night fleet consists of Pearson 10meters and C
Bill
How old are your Sail's? What kind of sail's are the rest of the fleet useing? I had told to Kosky at Doyle in Cleveland a while back and sails made for Lake Erie might not be the right cut for some where else like SF Bay. But I would not think that in RI you would be much different that here. I know the shoal draft will not point as high as the deeper draft. So fill me in on what you have and maybe as a group we can help you out. Cliff
How old are your Sail's? What kind of sail's are the rest of the fleet useing? I had told to Kosky at Doyle in Cleveland a while back and sails made for Lake Erie might not be the right cut for some where else like SF Bay. But I would not think that in RI you would be much different that here. I know the shoal draft will not point as high as the deeper draft. So fill me in on what you have and maybe as a group we can help you out. Cliff
Mast Head Chute
We have an '88 H L-35 but have raced it only a few times, once in a major PHRF race in Puget Sound, 120 boat fleet and came in 4th in our class, only a few secods out of second and 2:30 out of first (7.5 hour race); had some local club races and typically run around 3rd out of 12 to 16 boats. We have a lot of light winds and I've always wondered about a masthead chut, probably asymetrical, for those light air periods. Wonder about how much of a penalty that would be and if it'd be worth it. One could just stick a block at the mast head and run a line down the outside of the mast. Just thinking about all that good air up there. On another subject, I'd like to find a way to put a faster bottom on. I've been using Petit Trinidad orange peal (rolled on) but would like something smoother but not too labor intensive or expensive. Anyone have some ideas here? Add thinner to the Petit? Brushing afterwards, after rolling, doesn't seem to be that good.
We have an '88 H L-35 but have raced it only a few times, once in a major PHRF race in Puget Sound, 120 boat fleet and came in 4th in our class, only a few secods out of second and 2:30 out of first (7.5 hour race); had some local club races and typically run around 3rd out of 12 to 16 boats. We have a lot of light winds and I've always wondered about a masthead chut, probably asymetrical, for those light air periods. Wonder about how much of a penalty that would be and if it'd be worth it. One could just stick a block at the mast head and run a line down the outside of the mast. Just thinking about all that good air up there. On another subject, I'd like to find a way to put a faster bottom on. I've been using Petit Trinidad orange peal (rolled on) but would like something smoother but not too labor intensive or expensive. Anyone have some ideas here? Add thinner to the Petit? Brushing afterwards, after rolling, doesn't seem to be that good.
Mast head Kite
Check with Hunter for the loads that will be applied. I had a friend who had a mast head kite on his Frac Rig and put a nice 90 bend in the mast from the load when the wind came up before he could get the kite down.
Check with Hunter for the loads that will be applied. I had a friend who had a mast head kite on his Frac Rig and put a nice 90 bend in the mast from the load when the wind came up before he could get the kite down.
Masthead Chute Clarification
That's true, one should check the loads for flying a chute from the masthead but what I was thinking of was something like a 0.5 oz vice 0.75 oz material which would be for very light winds. Our L-35 has a backstay and given that the mast is oval, with the longer section fore-and-aft, there won't be a problem with mast loading when the wind is astern. The lateral load, abeam or slightly forward of abeam, would be the worst-case situation. Nevertheless, in drifters to light winds the loading should be less than when I sail close hauled with full main at 20 to 25 apparent which I've done on numerous occassions. Certainly the addition of a jackstay would help too, and for serious racing this would be a good consideration which would help improve the safety factor significantly, not to mention the sail shape. If one races in light wind areas, like Puget Sound, a mashead chute could be a valuable consideration to the sail plan if the penalty isn't too much. For info, there are other boats that have done this.
That's true, one should check the loads for flying a chute from the masthead but what I was thinking of was something like a 0.5 oz vice 0.75 oz material which would be for very light winds. Our L-35 has a backstay and given that the mast is oval, with the longer section fore-and-aft, there won't be a problem with mast loading when the wind is astern. The lateral load, abeam or slightly forward of abeam, would be the worst-case situation. Nevertheless, in drifters to light winds the loading should be less than when I sail close hauled with full main at 20 to 25 apparent which I've done on numerous occassions. Certainly the addition of a jackstay would help too, and for serious racing this would be a good consideration which would help improve the safety factor significantly, not to mention the sail shape. If one races in light wind areas, like Puget Sound, a mashead chute could be a valuable consideration to the sail plan if the penalty isn't too much. For info, there are other boats that have done this.
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