Just bought a 44 Deck Salon - Any suggestions about use and ownership

Jack Barnes

Jack Barnes

.
Jul 5, 2017
37
Hunter 44DS Cape Coral
We (my wife and I) are finalizing the purchase of a 2004 44 Deck Salon. We will be summering on Lake Champlain, taking the boat south on the ICW and wintering on the south west coast of Florida. I was wondering if any of the owners of this boat on the forum had any words of wisdom to pass on to a new owner. Any recommended changes, modifications, etc.
 
Marc14857

Marc14857

.
Jun 5, 2004
485
Hunter 44 Mystic, Ct
Congrats on the 44DS. We have an 2005 44AC (owned since new) and could not be happier.

We do mostly coastal cruising in the Mystic Ct area and did take her up to Maine last year. Planning an ICW trip to Florida in the fall of 2019.
She is a very stable and handles weather well. We have the in mast Selden Main sail and the stock working jib. We start to reef the main at ~ 18 knots of wind. Since she is a fractional rig we typically reef the main to match the height of the jib. This keeps the boat relatively flat and comfortable.

We have not done any unusual modifications. You should check that the Selden Mast forestay attachment has been inspected as detailed in this forum.

The only significant equipment problem we had was with the Xantrex Freedom Battery Charger/Inverter which died a few years back but we were lucky enough to find someone who had some replacement PC boards and was able to repair it. You might also want to make sure that the Tachometer is calibrated correctly. I've had a few issues with the tach indicating full throttle aka 3000 RPM and found out the actual RPM was about 2400. I spent probably two seasons trying to figure out why I could not obtain the same speed being reported by other owners.

There are several H44 owners on this forum so if anything comes up or you have any questions feel free to ask.

Best
Marc
​
 
tkwhalen

tkwhalen

.
Jun 8, 2004
267
Hunter 49 60803 Lake Erie
Congrats
My previous boat was the 44 aft cockpit (same boat different doghouse). I loved the boat. The only thing I changed over ten years was I added electric fresh water flush heads, 100 feet of anchor chain, a spinnaker pole and a bowsprit. Enjoy!
 
jviss

jviss

.
Feb 5, 2004
6,745
Tartan 3800 20 Westport, MA
Just a nit, is it really named a "Deck Salon," not "Deck Saloon?"
 
R

Rick486

.
Oct 1, 2007
1,858
Boston Whaler Super Sport Pt. Judith
Jack Barnes said:
We (my wife and I) are finalizing the purchase of a 2004 44 Deck Salon. We will be summering on Lake Champlain, taking the boat south on the ICW and wintering on the south west coast of Florida. I was wondering if any of the owners of this boat on the forum had any words of wisdom to pass on to a new owner. Any recommended changes, modifications, etc.
Click to expand
Congratulations! We have owned Maxine #207 since 2008 and we love her. We have accomplished several carpentry projects below but the one project I will also mention is a custom helm seat. My wife was unable to steer the boat as delivered (she is 5' tall if she jumps) so we fabricated a removable custom helm seat. The helm station is much more ergonomically outfitted.
Good luck with your new boat!!
Rick
 
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