Would like input from the hunter owners about the 41ac. I am planning on living aboard her with my wife and looking to sail the great lakes by summer and then sail to Florida and the Caribbean in the winter
Looking at a 41AC 2004 for 1st sailboat an to b live aboard
- Thread starter Wayne_Zellers
- Start date
We own Maxine, a 44DS which is very similar. We have owned her for 10 years and I would say she has been a great boat for us. Good sailer in most airs, incredibly comfortable for 2 people and 2 dogs, and quality construction.
@Wayne_Zellers ,
Good afternoon, and welcome aboard! Hunter 41s are very comfortable and spacious, and are pretty solid when it comes to heavy weather. They're a very popular cruiser used by quite a few sailors down here in Texas; a couple H41 owners I know have sailed their boats trans-Gulf a few times and even gone through the Panama Canal! The performance capabilities these boats have are limited, but that' s because she's designed as a long-range cruiser, and not a racer. I have heard, however, that they are quicker than most boats their size, and are very efficiently designed with very few drawbacks.
The accommodations will be perfect for you and your wife, as the quarter-birth (astern under the cockpit floor), is very spacious and can be retrofitted with any mattress you and your wife may prefer. If you happen to have extra guests sleeping aboard, there's another birth that looks like it can potentially sleep two forward the head. The galley looks to be well equipped, and should have a freezer/refrigerator to keep the food and everything cold for long trips. The spacious cabin also has more than six feet of head room and is very well lit by the very nicely modified port windows with a couple classy "pilothouse-looking" front-mounted windows at the front of the cabin.
The bulletproof Yanmar diesel engine seems to be plenty powerful, kicking about 40hp. to the prop; that should be enough power to get you through heavy seas and weird currents when needed. Now, the drawbacks: The draft on this boat is very close to 7ft. when the vessel is loaded down with equipment, passengers, etc., and that's a lot of keel, especially if you want to be navigating the clear but reefy waters of the Caribbean. It's also a good thing, however, that the keel is of this quality, as it'll keep you more stable and comfortable when things get a bit hairy. There's also the sail plan that's a bit weird. The mains'l is plenty tall, but on all the models I've seen on the water, has very little roach (outer curve at the back edge of the sail). This roach improves performance, which usually wouldn't be an issue for a cruiser, but it's just something I noticed. The jib that comes with the boat is also a 100% furling genoa. That would usually be sufficient, but when the winds decide not to cooperate and die down, you'll probably want something a little bigger, so I'd recommend either bringing aboard a Code 0 or rigging a 135% and using that furling 100 as a storms'l.
Other than that, I really like this boat. She looks very modern and sleek, and I LOVE the sugar-scoop transom; it even looks like a dropping swim platform might be an option! I envy you, sir, haha. I hope this helps!
God Bless,
S.S.
Good afternoon, and welcome aboard! Hunter 41s are very comfortable and spacious, and are pretty solid when it comes to heavy weather. They're a very popular cruiser used by quite a few sailors down here in Texas; a couple H41 owners I know have sailed their boats trans-Gulf a few times and even gone through the Panama Canal! The performance capabilities these boats have are limited, but that' s because she's designed as a long-range cruiser, and not a racer. I have heard, however, that they are quicker than most boats their size, and are very efficiently designed with very few drawbacks.
The accommodations will be perfect for you and your wife, as the quarter-birth (astern under the cockpit floor), is very spacious and can be retrofitted with any mattress you and your wife may prefer. If you happen to have extra guests sleeping aboard, there's another birth that looks like it can potentially sleep two forward the head. The galley looks to be well equipped, and should have a freezer/refrigerator to keep the food and everything cold for long trips. The spacious cabin also has more than six feet of head room and is very well lit by the very nicely modified port windows with a couple classy "pilothouse-looking" front-mounted windows at the front of the cabin.
The bulletproof Yanmar diesel engine seems to be plenty powerful, kicking about 40hp. to the prop; that should be enough power to get you through heavy seas and weird currents when needed. Now, the drawbacks: The draft on this boat is very close to 7ft. when the vessel is loaded down with equipment, passengers, etc., and that's a lot of keel, especially if you want to be navigating the clear but reefy waters of the Caribbean. It's also a good thing, however, that the keel is of this quality, as it'll keep you more stable and comfortable when things get a bit hairy. There's also the sail plan that's a bit weird. The mains'l is plenty tall, but on all the models I've seen on the water, has very little roach (outer curve at the back edge of the sail). This roach improves performance, which usually wouldn't be an issue for a cruiser, but it's just something I noticed. The jib that comes with the boat is also a 100% furling genoa. That would usually be sufficient, but when the winds decide not to cooperate and die down, you'll probably want something a little bigger, so I'd recommend either bringing aboard a Code 0 or rigging a 135% and using that furling 100 as a storms'l.
Other than that, I really like this boat. She looks very modern and sleek, and I LOVE the sugar-scoop transom; it even looks like a dropping swim platform might be an option! I envy you, sir, haha. I hope this helps!
God Bless,
S.S.
Thanks again for info I'm looking at one for sale in Florida for and it has all the upgrades i want including davits and a tender
There are 3 owner reviews on our 41 page:
https://hunter.sailboatowners.com/resources/index.php?task=model&mid=72
https://hunter.sailboatowners.com/resources/index.php?task=model&mid=72
I have a 2006 41ac. I would buy it again. I've been up and down the east coast a few times with her and haven't had any problems with the boat it's self. If your going to do some serious cruising I would upgrade to a full cockpit enclosure or look for a pilot house. It's miserable outside on the night watch, it's seems to be always cold.