Are there really sailors out there who hate Hunter sailboats? I've been researching a new boat purchase, and have settled on a Hunter 290. But I've read message boards that say some sailors really dislike Hunter sailboats and their owners. Is this a reality? Are people actually going to dislike me because I sail a Hunter? Has anyone experienced this?
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Bob Rutland
Love to be hated!
I compare so called "Hunter Haters" to these people who buy big fourwheel drive SUVs, but never take them off road. Most Hunter haters like or own heavy, slow, tanks of a sailboat that will never see bluewater. The best Hunter hater comment I've heard is,"Hunters are the Chevrolets of the sailboat world". My responce is the Corvette is a Chevrolet and that's good enough for me. Don't let some people make you second guess your boat. Trust me, you will have the last laugh when you blow past one of these guys. Good Luck, Bob S/V Lady Di II (H31)
I compare so called "Hunter Haters" to these people who buy big fourwheel drive SUVs, but never take them off road. Most Hunter haters like or own heavy, slow, tanks of a sailboat that will never see bluewater. The best Hunter hater comment I've heard is,"Hunters are the Chevrolets of the sailboat world". My responce is the Corvette is a Chevrolet and that's good enough for me. Don't let some people make you second guess your boat. Trust me, you will have the last laugh when you blow past one of these guys. Good Luck, Bob S/V Lady Di II (H31)
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ted
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adam, are you buying the boat to have fun sailing? if so dont worry, if you want to empress people at the yacht club step up and spend alot more $ on a boat that will do the same for you. in the real world the only place ive meet hunter haters is on the internet, ive never meet one on the docks.
adam, are you buying the boat to have fun sailing? if so dont worry, if you want to empress people at the yacht club step up and spend alot more $ on a boat that will do the same for you. in the real world the only place ive meet hunter haters is on the internet, ive never meet one on the docks.
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Been There
That;s funny, I thought they all sailed J boats
Bob Rutland wrote, "Most Hunter haters like or own heavy, slow, tanks of a sailboat that will never see bluewater." Except for the ones who sail slim, fast boats that leave Hunters in their dust. When I was in the BVIs recently, I was surprised at how many newer J boats had just made the crossing. They seem popular for doing the circuit, with those who have the money. Everyone has their own likes and dislikes in boats. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Buy the boat you like, pay cash, and have fun. And think twice before buying new. You can find much better deals on boats five to ten years old, and someone else has worked out the bugs.
Bob Rutland wrote, "Most Hunter haters like or own heavy, slow, tanks of a sailboat that will never see bluewater." Except for the ones who sail slim, fast boats that leave Hunters in their dust. When I was in the BVIs recently, I was surprised at how many newer J boats had just made the crossing. They seem popular for doing the circuit, with those who have the money. Everyone has their own likes and dislikes in boats. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Buy the boat you like, pay cash, and have fun. And think twice before buying new. You can find much better deals on boats five to ten years old, and someone else has worked out the bugs.
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Sam Lust
Snobbery!
I've blasted by vessels the same size as mine worth anywhere from 3 to 15 times what my "Chevrolet 33" is worth. They wouldn't make eye contact, but you can bet I got a chuckle out of it. Dollar for dollar as coastal cruisers we get a lot more bang for our bucks. Buy the Hunter and put the savings into the stock market or single malt scotch.
I've blasted by vessels the same size as mine worth anywhere from 3 to 15 times what my "Chevrolet 33" is worth. They wouldn't make eye contact, but you can bet I got a chuckle out of it. Dollar for dollar as coastal cruisers we get a lot more bang for our bucks. Buy the Hunter and put the savings into the stock market or single malt scotch.
Yes, They will hate you.
Adam: Yes, they will hate you. There are several reason for this. 1. Stupidity. They spent 5 times the amount of money for something that they preceived as 5 times better (wrong). 2. Ignorance. They have never owner a Hunter. (probably not a Beneteau or Catalina either). 3. Jealous. They bought their expensive boat and thought that they would go cruising but cannot afford it now (stock market went south). The number of people that are going to hate you is going to be fairly small. I do not know the numbers but I'd bet that the number of Hunters, Catalinas and Beneteaus mfg'd. each year probably exceeds the rest of them combine. Enjoy your boat as we have for the last 15 years. Everyone that sees our 15 year old Hunter 31 cannot believe what a nice boat it was and still is. When you decide to sail around the world you can buy one of those boats from one of those jealous people. Until then you can just blow-by-um with your B & R rig and NO back stay. HAHA.
Adam: Yes, they will hate you. There are several reason for this. 1. Stupidity. They spent 5 times the amount of money for something that they preceived as 5 times better (wrong). 2. Ignorance. They have never owner a Hunter. (probably not a Beneteau or Catalina either). 3. Jealous. They bought their expensive boat and thought that they would go cruising but cannot afford it now (stock market went south). The number of people that are going to hate you is going to be fairly small. I do not know the numbers but I'd bet that the number of Hunters, Catalinas and Beneteaus mfg'd. each year probably exceeds the rest of them combine. Enjoy your boat as we have for the last 15 years. Everyone that sees our 15 year old Hunter 31 cannot believe what a nice boat it was and still is. When you decide to sail around the world you can buy one of those boats from one of those jealous people. Until then you can just blow-by-um with your B & R rig and NO back stay. HAHA.
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Guest
Only on the internet and other pretend worlds.
Generally real sailors like each other. Crashing upwind offshore in a gale, dragging anchor in a poor bottom, and scraping bottom paint is pretty much the same in a Hinckley or a Hunter. So is beam reaching at hull speed in October offshore breezes or a spectacular dawn in a deserted anchorage. Real sailors have lots in common to talk about. The vast majority of boats actually out sailing are Hunters, Catalinas and Beneteaus. Where you see lots of snobbery is among people who don't really sail; check out the Cruising World board. A rich fantasy life requires less preparation and knowledge. Of course, everybody really *does* hate the stinkpotters. (grin)
Generally real sailors like each other. Crashing upwind offshore in a gale, dragging anchor in a poor bottom, and scraping bottom paint is pretty much the same in a Hinckley or a Hunter. So is beam reaching at hull speed in October offshore breezes or a spectacular dawn in a deserted anchorage. Real sailors have lots in common to talk about. The vast majority of boats actually out sailing are Hunters, Catalinas and Beneteaus. Where you see lots of snobbery is among people who don't really sail; check out the Cruising World board. A rich fantasy life requires less preparation and knowledge. Of course, everybody really *does* hate the stinkpotters. (grin)
Hunter haters- you can have them.
Personally I can't be bothered by people who waste energy on negative attitudes. My dad, the designer, who never argued anything with an idiot, had a saying- 'Consider the source'. Or, like that silly sign in taverns all over says, 'Never argue with an idiot– onlookers can't tell the difference.' I agree that many people who invest energy in 'hating' Hunter owners probably do not know what sailing for fun is. That's their problem. Say a prayer for them and then, having thus discharged your humanitarian duty, go sailing with a smile. (I think it was me who might've said, 'Hunters are the Chevy station wagon of sailboats'. But, consider the source. I have always preferred GM and particularly Chevy as decent, safe, affordable, reasonable purchases that can be used by a family with pride, be repaired by owners that never went to tech school, be souped up towards respectable performance, and impress others enough that they retain good resale value. Holy cow! –does that sound like a Hunter to you??) So in response to Adam's question, 'Are people going to dislike me because I sail a Hunter?', I say, 'Should you care?' JC
Personally I can't be bothered by people who waste energy on negative attitudes. My dad, the designer, who never argued anything with an idiot, had a saying- 'Consider the source'. Or, like that silly sign in taverns all over says, 'Never argue with an idiot– onlookers can't tell the difference.' I agree that many people who invest energy in 'hating' Hunter owners probably do not know what sailing for fun is. That's their problem. Say a prayer for them and then, having thus discharged your humanitarian duty, go sailing with a smile. (I think it was me who might've said, 'Hunters are the Chevy station wagon of sailboats'. But, consider the source. I have always preferred GM and particularly Chevy as decent, safe, affordable, reasonable purchases that can be used by a family with pride, be repaired by owners that never went to tech school, be souped up towards respectable performance, and impress others enough that they retain good resale value. Holy cow! –does that sound like a Hunter to you??) So in response to Adam's question, 'Are people going to dislike me because I sail a Hunter?', I say, 'Should you care?' JC
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Barrie McDonald
Hunter Haters - Who Give a Hoot!!
Adam, NYC must be getting to you. Don't even consider wasting your energy worrying about (sic!) so called Hunter Haters.In this life there is someone everywhere who hates something. Why worry about nimrods like them. Go and enjoy your boat, and if ever anyone slams your boat or you yourself for purchasing a Hunter, don't forget to give them your middle finger. Have fun
Adam, NYC must be getting to you. Don't even consider wasting your energy worrying about (sic!) so called Hunter Haters.In this life there is someone everywhere who hates something. Why worry about nimrods like them. Go and enjoy your boat, and if ever anyone slams your boat or you yourself for purchasing a Hunter, don't forget to give them your middle finger. Have fun
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Bill
Just go
Untie boat. Head out to main channel. Raise sail. Go. Have fun. Lower sail. Return. Tie up at slip. Tell tall tales while relaxing. That is 98% of sailors so just enjoy your boat no matter what.
Untie boat. Head out to main channel. Raise sail. Go. Have fun. Lower sail. Return. Tie up at slip. Tell tall tales while relaxing. That is 98% of sailors so just enjoy your boat no matter what.
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Bob Knott
Hate to sound like a broken record..but
Adam, First of all everyone in a marina compares their boats to others. If you wanna win that contest or have a very thin skin you'd better have a very thick wallet and be willing to see it thin considerably. You can buy a Hunter and sail knowing you got a great boat at a great price, or you can try to buy a Swan or an Oyster and break the bank. Or you can buy a very old classic sail boat and spend a lot of time hauling the engine and tanks and wiring out for replacement, or buy a relatively new used Hunter and get the best of both worlds. I bought a Hunter 280 and after 2 1/2 seasons traded up to a Hunter 380 in 1999. I looked at lots of boats before buying the second Hunter but I kept coming back to Hunter for the following reasons: 1. Didn't care about the purists at the marina calling my boat a floating condo. (They usually can't sail cause their boats always being repaired, or they are short handed and can't get the full keeled barge off the dock easily.) 2. For a sailing family the easy of sail plan to use, and roominess for weekend and week long cruising is un matched. 3. I could afford to buy the bigger boat now instead of dreaming about the Swan for 10 more years as prices keep escalating. 4. Hunter wanted my business and made the deal come together with my dealer. 5. Hunter's customer service people, especially Eddie Breedan have always gone the extra mile with me. They have on occasion covered something out of waranty, lit a fire under a non responsive dealership, made calls to a mast manuacturer to answer a problem with my mast instead of telling me to call them... The list could go on and on, but I don't want to sound like a Hunter employee or cultist, just a Happy satisfied customer who acknowledges there are problems with sailboats when bought new, and thanks God that Hunter as a manufacturer has a Cusotmer Service Department as responsive as it is. Enjoy sailing, repel snobbery at every turn, treat those you deal with as you'd like to be treated, and the rewards are many. Enjoy the sport, people always said the two happiest days are the day you buy your boat and the day you sell it. Well I reject that!!!! That's a powerboaters motto, mine reads; "Sailing is ridiculously expensive, there's no way in the world to justify it, and it's worth every single penny!!!" By the boat, sail it, enjoy it, and don't worry about what others think or say, just sail. True sailors admire those who sail as much as what they sail on. If you're out their sailing everyday you'll have plenty of friends at any Marina. Bob Knott H380 S/V Serenity Harwichport, MA
Adam, First of all everyone in a marina compares their boats to others. If you wanna win that contest or have a very thin skin you'd better have a very thick wallet and be willing to see it thin considerably. You can buy a Hunter and sail knowing you got a great boat at a great price, or you can try to buy a Swan or an Oyster and break the bank. Or you can buy a very old classic sail boat and spend a lot of time hauling the engine and tanks and wiring out for replacement, or buy a relatively new used Hunter and get the best of both worlds. I bought a Hunter 280 and after 2 1/2 seasons traded up to a Hunter 380 in 1999. I looked at lots of boats before buying the second Hunter but I kept coming back to Hunter for the following reasons: 1. Didn't care about the purists at the marina calling my boat a floating condo. (They usually can't sail cause their boats always being repaired, or they are short handed and can't get the full keeled barge off the dock easily.) 2. For a sailing family the easy of sail plan to use, and roominess for weekend and week long cruising is un matched. 3. I could afford to buy the bigger boat now instead of dreaming about the Swan for 10 more years as prices keep escalating. 4. Hunter wanted my business and made the deal come together with my dealer. 5. Hunter's customer service people, especially Eddie Breedan have always gone the extra mile with me. They have on occasion covered something out of waranty, lit a fire under a non responsive dealership, made calls to a mast manuacturer to answer a problem with my mast instead of telling me to call them... The list could go on and on, but I don't want to sound like a Hunter employee or cultist, just a Happy satisfied customer who acknowledges there are problems with sailboats when bought new, and thanks God that Hunter as a manufacturer has a Cusotmer Service Department as responsive as it is. Enjoy sailing, repel snobbery at every turn, treat those you deal with as you'd like to be treated, and the rewards are many. Enjoy the sport, people always said the two happiest days are the day you buy your boat and the day you sell it. Well I reject that!!!! That's a powerboaters motto, mine reads; "Sailing is ridiculously expensive, there's no way in the world to justify it, and it's worth every single penny!!!" By the boat, sail it, enjoy it, and don't worry about what others think or say, just sail. True sailors admire those who sail as much as what they sail on. If you're out their sailing everyday you'll have plenty of friends at any Marina. Bob Knott H380 S/V Serenity Harwichport, MA
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Mark Johnson
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Carl & Jule
Hunter haters?
You might also read a 30?-year old book called 'Games People Play,' [or are we really dating ourselves here?], and, as everyone says. ENJOY sailing! We suggest that you be a little more concerned with what YOU think of other people, rather than what they think of you... J & C H340 s/v Syzygy
You might also read a 30?-year old book called 'Games People Play,' [or are we really dating ourselves here?], and, as everyone says. ENJOY sailing! We suggest that you be a little more concerned with what YOU think of other people, rather than what they think of you... J & C H340 s/v Syzygy
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Dick McKee
Adam...There are a bunch of them out there..
but they hate any boat that is not 25 years old and and same brand and model as what they sail. In fact they think those who live on the west coast really aren't sailors. Bottom line is we love our 430. Its well built,depenable and easy to sail. So who cares what some one else likes or dislikes.. Dick McKee S/V Constellation
but they hate any boat that is not 25 years old and and same brand and model as what they sail. In fact they think those who live on the west coast really aren't sailors. Bottom line is we love our 430. Its well built,depenable and easy to sail. So who cares what some one else likes or dislikes.. Dick McKee S/V Constellation
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Bryan C.
Hunter bias
IMHO, one of the reasons Hunter is the poster child for the traditionalist ire in part because Hunter is the most progressive major manufacturer. Walk thru transoms, arches, backstayless rigs, beamy boats, and rail seats are just a few innovations Hunter pioneered. Even Catalina and Beneteau don't go as far in innovation in design and implementation as Hunter does. Never mind that you see many of these innovations on more and more boats. To the eye pleased by traditional wooden boats, the arched Hunter is about as far away from the ideal as one can be. So it's not surprising that when a traditionalist thinks of unappealing modern boats, Hunter first comes to their lips.
IMHO, one of the reasons Hunter is the poster child for the traditionalist ire in part because Hunter is the most progressive major manufacturer. Walk thru transoms, arches, backstayless rigs, beamy boats, and rail seats are just a few innovations Hunter pioneered. Even Catalina and Beneteau don't go as far in innovation in design and implementation as Hunter does. Never mind that you see many of these innovations on more and more boats. To the eye pleased by traditional wooden boats, the arched Hunter is about as far away from the ideal as one can be. So it's not surprising that when a traditionalist thinks of unappealing modern boats, Hunter first comes to their lips.
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Adam
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Been There
Well, Bryan, that really isn't innovative
Increasing beam and freeboard to maximize interior volume at the expense of sailing quality is not all that innovative. Lots of builders were doing it before the newer Hunters. Look at the Morgan Out Islanders. The B&R rig and the arch are innovations. Walk-through transoms are old. Rail seats are accessories. The HC 50 has some interesting innovations for a cruising boat. Moveable ballast. Gimballed nav seat. The watertight bulkheads and protected watch station aren't innovative, but they are really nice to see. It is telling that this design is narrower and lighter than Hunter's other designs. I hope they sell a lot of the HC50 -- it is a move in a better direction.
Increasing beam and freeboard to maximize interior volume at the expense of sailing quality is not all that innovative. Lots of builders were doing it before the newer Hunters. Look at the Morgan Out Islanders. The B&R rig and the arch are innovations. Walk-through transoms are old. Rail seats are accessories. The HC 50 has some interesting innovations for a cruising boat. Moveable ballast. Gimballed nav seat. The watertight bulkheads and protected watch station aren't innovative, but they are really nice to see. It is telling that this design is narrower and lighter than Hunter's other designs. I hope they sell a lot of the HC50 -- it is a move in a better direction.
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Frank Arndorfer
Don't over-think it.
Thank goodness the boat mfgrs understand that a lot of us make decisions with our hearts as well as our heads. Swan, Oyster, Caliber, Catalina, Hunter......they're all good. But trying to justify the purchase of any of them based strictly on OBJECTIVE reasons is a lot like "letting water into the wind"...if you know what I mean. You simply HAVE to think with your heart too. Face it. If purchasing a boat was based strictly on OBJECTIVE reasons, we'd all likely never buy one.!!!!! Ownere of high-end (blue water) boats who simply cannot understand why anyone would settle for anything else are kind of like saying that everyone should drive a Mercedes or Porsche. Superior.???? Yes indeed. But required for the daily trip to the grocery store...???? I think not.!!! God bless America. We live in a society of choices. How boring it would be otherwise.
Thank goodness the boat mfgrs understand that a lot of us make decisions with our hearts as well as our heads. Swan, Oyster, Caliber, Catalina, Hunter......they're all good. But trying to justify the purchase of any of them based strictly on OBJECTIVE reasons is a lot like "letting water into the wind"...if you know what I mean. You simply HAVE to think with your heart too. Face it. If purchasing a boat was based strictly on OBJECTIVE reasons, we'd all likely never buy one.!!!!! Ownere of high-end (blue water) boats who simply cannot understand why anyone would settle for anything else are kind of like saying that everyone should drive a Mercedes or Porsche. Superior.???? Yes indeed. But required for the daily trip to the grocery store...???? I think not.!!! God bless America. We live in a society of choices. How boring it would be otherwise.
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Jim Brown
It's only you & what you want that matters
My wife and I own an older model H-30 and we have had it up and down the Nova Scotia coast and we just love our boat. We know that it is dependable and easy to sail and it's not going to let us down when we need her. We have put it through some pretty good Atlantic ocean storms and once you know what the "old girl" will do, there is not tradering her in (not the wife...the boat) I can't tell you the number of people that have been on my boat and can't believe the age of her and how great shape she is in. (that's the boat I'm talking about) I guess you can tell that I love my boat (of course my wife too)
My wife and I own an older model H-30 and we have had it up and down the Nova Scotia coast and we just love our boat. We know that it is dependable and easy to sail and it's not going to let us down when we need her. We have put it through some pretty good Atlantic ocean storms and once you know what the "old girl" will do, there is not tradering her in (not the wife...the boat) I can't tell you the number of people that have been on my boat and can't believe the age of her and how great shape she is in. (that's the boat I'm talking about) I guess you can tell that I love my boat (of course my wife too)
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