I have put a deposit down for a new Hunter 260. What options are most worth buying from the factory, and what options are best left to getting on your own?
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A
Alan
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
I have a h26 with a tiller and have sailed a keel 260 (now a 270) with a wheel. I would take the wheel, put a shower in the head if possible, get an anchor roller, consider shore power, fans and then whatever. alan
I have a h26 with a tiller and have sailed a keel 260 (now a 270) with a wheel. I would take the wheel, put a shower in the head if possible, get an anchor roller, consider shore power, fans and then whatever. alan
J
John Revenboer
Options
I have a 2001 260. I opted for the pota-potty versus the factory installed wastes storage system, allowing for more room in the aft bunk. I took the larger 5 gallon marine model and it has worked out well. The Roller Furling is great. The Bimini Top is a God Send in the summer heat. Definately get a Bow Roller. I have the tiller instead of the wheel. The tiller allows for plenty of room in the cockpit when the boat is tied up to the dock as it can be swung hard over to starboard or port and lashed. I also enjoy teaching and so the tiller allows a student to learn how to use a tiller in forward and reverse. However the wheel is also a nice option. Definately get a Marine Bar-B-Q.
I have a 2001 260. I opted for the pota-potty versus the factory installed wastes storage system, allowing for more room in the aft bunk. I took the larger 5 gallon marine model and it has worked out well. The Roller Furling is great. The Bimini Top is a God Send in the summer heat. Definately get a Bow Roller. I have the tiller instead of the wheel. The tiller allows for plenty of room in the cockpit when the boat is tied up to the dock as it can be swung hard over to starboard or port and lashed. I also enjoy teaching and so the tiller allows a student to learn how to use a tiller in forward and reverse. However the wheel is also a nice option. Definately get a Marine Bar-B-Q.
T
Tom
Options
I went through this in 1999... From the Factory, I recommend: Wheel with pedistal mounted compass wired for nightlight Motor controls on pedistal (have to inform on motor type). Add Pedistal Guard. Bow roller Bottom prep and paint, if you are keeping in water. Stern pulpit with seats. Porta Pottie with 5 Gal tank. Cloth seat covers in Cabin. Mainsail cover. Furling for Jib if you are so inclined. I went without Furling and prefer it that way. I Use a jib bag that mounts on sail while still hanked on forestay. Also have a jib hauldown led to cockpit to avoid having to go on deck if conditions are rough ($25 dollar investment). I would definately have a furler for a large genoa, but the H260 has a small, very managable jib. Easier to raise/lower mast without furler. CANVAS (Easy to add later, order from Ameriseam) Bimini (6 foot version) Pop top Canvas Pop top/Hatch cover (keeps crap out during storage) ELECTRONICS These are added by the dealer at premium cost to you. I like to live with the boat for a season to see what I need and where I want things mounted. Much of it is easy to install. VHF Radio and antenna RAM (Remote VHF mic/speaker in cockpit) is really cool, might want to see if factory will install cable during mfg, it can be hard to lead through after. Depth (simple depth only readout, Humminbird) Speed (I do without -- use knotstick when needed) GPS (I prefer handheld, provides speed info) Autopilot (Really handy for single handed sailing) ENGINE Tack and hour meter are very handy to have, but not essential. Have ignition key and any guages mounted on starboard cockpit bench side, above battery. Harder for dealer to install, but best location. Dealer may want to mount on steering seat, easy access for them, but in the way accessing storage under seat and this area is exposed to water and elements. Suggest 9.9 HP 4 stroke for quiet operation and fuel efficiency. Honda, Evinrude, others are available. See photo forum (link below) for ideas on mounting equipment.
I went through this in 1999... From the Factory, I recommend: Wheel with pedistal mounted compass wired for nightlight Motor controls on pedistal (have to inform on motor type). Add Pedistal Guard. Bow roller Bottom prep and paint, if you are keeping in water. Stern pulpit with seats. Porta Pottie with 5 Gal tank. Cloth seat covers in Cabin. Mainsail cover. Furling for Jib if you are so inclined. I went without Furling and prefer it that way. I Use a jib bag that mounts on sail while still hanked on forestay. Also have a jib hauldown led to cockpit to avoid having to go on deck if conditions are rough ($25 dollar investment). I would definately have a furler for a large genoa, but the H260 has a small, very managable jib. Easier to raise/lower mast without furler. CANVAS (Easy to add later, order from Ameriseam) Bimini (6 foot version) Pop top Canvas Pop top/Hatch cover (keeps crap out during storage) ELECTRONICS These are added by the dealer at premium cost to you. I like to live with the boat for a season to see what I need and where I want things mounted. Much of it is easy to install. VHF Radio and antenna RAM (Remote VHF mic/speaker in cockpit) is really cool, might want to see if factory will install cable during mfg, it can be hard to lead through after. Depth (simple depth only readout, Humminbird) Speed (I do without -- use knotstick when needed) GPS (I prefer handheld, provides speed info) Autopilot (Really handy for single handed sailing) ENGINE Tack and hour meter are very handy to have, but not essential. Have ignition key and any guages mounted on starboard cockpit bench side, above battery. Harder for dealer to install, but best location. Dealer may want to mount on steering seat, easy access for them, but in the way accessing storage under seat and this area is exposed to water and elements. Suggest 9.9 HP 4 stroke for quiet operation and fuel efficiency. Honda, Evinrude, others are available. See photo forum (link below) for ideas on mounting equipment.
K
Kevin
Option List
The list could be almost endless. I took delivery of my 2002 H260 in early August. I ordered the boat with the options I needed which Hunter would install not the dealer. I did not want the dealer to install anything which would cause a longer wait. If I had a chance to do it over again, I would have installed the Knot/Depth. Definately go with the roller furling if you want to sail solo. Stern rail seats are also a must. Good luck!
The list could be almost endless. I took delivery of my 2002 H260 in early August. I ordered the boat with the options I needed which Hunter would install not the dealer. I did not want the dealer to install anything which would cause a longer wait. If I had a chance to do it over again, I would have installed the Knot/Depth. Definately go with the roller furling if you want to sail solo. Stern rail seats are also a must. Good luck!
J
joyce
options
Dear Mark, my wife and I took delivery of a 2002 H260 on June 12, 2001. We also racked our brains deciding which options to purchase. We settled on the following: first was fixed keel or W/B, we settled on W/B. The boat sails wonderfully, I can put it on a trailer any time I want and I can go places most sail boats can't. Its interesting to note that in the H260 manual the W/B is calssified as a class "C" (inshore) boat and the fixed keel is a class "B" (offshore) boat, so the fixed keel is definately more "seaworthy". However, my application is sailing the very shallow Great South Bay of Long Island, NY with my family and not offshore, blue water sailing. The W/B is great. Once we decided on the W/B, we had no other choice but to go with an outboard. We purchased a Honda 9.9, 4 cycle and again, it is perfect. I like the idea of having a modular type of boat. At the end of the season, I can remove the engine, take it to my dealer for service and store it in my basement. I have one less "thru hull" to worry about failing. As it turned out, other than pulling in and out of our canal, we never use it anyway. On June 12, I puchased 6 gals of fuel, and my tank is still half full (I almost said "half empty"). Again, you may loose some of that seaworthyness, but for my application, diesel would have definately been overkill. The next big decision was wheel or tiller steering. I went with the tiller, you definately free up so much room in the cockpit and installation of a tiller autopilot is much less expensive than a wheel autopilot. From what I have read in this site, purists usually go with a tiller, those who want that "big boat feeling" go with the wheel. I've been happy with our decision and have no desire to change to a wheel. Again, you will have to base your decision on your application. Our goal was to sail a straight 20 miles over to Fire Island, drop anchor, and live on the boat for the weekend. Cockpit and cabin space were critical, also the autopilot was important and, believe me, after the first 60 minutes on that straight line, you get tired, wheel or tiller. The marine head was a no brainer, since the goal was to live on the boat for weekends, and I had no desire to carry a port a potty. Roller furling is a must, if not for convience just for the safety in being able to reduce sail quickly. Also, stern rail seats (if you get a tiller, if you get a wheel there useless as you can't reach the wheel from the srs anyway), bimini and bow roller I also consider a must. We had our dealer do the bottom painting and they did a great job at a cost less than Hunter. We also upgraded the interior fabric and bought the cockpit cushions. This might have been a needless $1,000 expense but the quality was definately there and will not be duplicated in aftermarket products. That's about it with the exception of instrumentation. Hunter seemed very over priced on the speed and depth meter (around $1,000) and, again, another thru hull penitration. We went with an inexpensive Hummingbird ($125) for depth and a Garmin 76 ($225) GPS for everything, and I mean everything, else - spead, direction, location, trip meter. Also, for $26 you can purchase a cable to interface the GPS with the Raython ST1000 Autohhelm ($449) and the boat will literally sail itself to your pre-programed waypoints. However, we did play it safe and went with Hunters compass for $150 because its interesting how many times all this great technology fails and Hunter does a great job installing it. We definately saved a lot of money purchasing our own electronics and, in keeping with that modular theme, everything, except for the compass, is portable and removed from the boat when not in use. The battery seemed over priced at $125. Our local gas station mechanic picked us up two (2) Interstate Deep Cycle batteries for $150. Interstate has a wonderful web site for everything you may want to learn about marine, or batteries in general. The only mistake I feel that I probably made in my purchase was buying of the spare tire for the trailer for $143. This spare tire will "dry rot" long before it is ever used. Hope I didn't overkill this response. Good Luck and best wishes on your purchase! I would love to know how you made out on your purchase, drop me an email at rpfcpa@yahoo.com. regards, rpf
Dear Mark, my wife and I took delivery of a 2002 H260 on June 12, 2001. We also racked our brains deciding which options to purchase. We settled on the following: first was fixed keel or W/B, we settled on W/B. The boat sails wonderfully, I can put it on a trailer any time I want and I can go places most sail boats can't. Its interesting to note that in the H260 manual the W/B is calssified as a class "C" (inshore) boat and the fixed keel is a class "B" (offshore) boat, so the fixed keel is definately more "seaworthy". However, my application is sailing the very shallow Great South Bay of Long Island, NY with my family and not offshore, blue water sailing. The W/B is great. Once we decided on the W/B, we had no other choice but to go with an outboard. We purchased a Honda 9.9, 4 cycle and again, it is perfect. I like the idea of having a modular type of boat. At the end of the season, I can remove the engine, take it to my dealer for service and store it in my basement. I have one less "thru hull" to worry about failing. As it turned out, other than pulling in and out of our canal, we never use it anyway. On June 12, I puchased 6 gals of fuel, and my tank is still half full (I almost said "half empty"). Again, you may loose some of that seaworthyness, but for my application, diesel would have definately been overkill. The next big decision was wheel or tiller steering. I went with the tiller, you definately free up so much room in the cockpit and installation of a tiller autopilot is much less expensive than a wheel autopilot. From what I have read in this site, purists usually go with a tiller, those who want that "big boat feeling" go with the wheel. I've been happy with our decision and have no desire to change to a wheel. Again, you will have to base your decision on your application. Our goal was to sail a straight 20 miles over to Fire Island, drop anchor, and live on the boat for the weekend. Cockpit and cabin space were critical, also the autopilot was important and, believe me, after the first 60 minutes on that straight line, you get tired, wheel or tiller. The marine head was a no brainer, since the goal was to live on the boat for weekends, and I had no desire to carry a port a potty. Roller furling is a must, if not for convience just for the safety in being able to reduce sail quickly. Also, stern rail seats (if you get a tiller, if you get a wheel there useless as you can't reach the wheel from the srs anyway), bimini and bow roller I also consider a must. We had our dealer do the bottom painting and they did a great job at a cost less than Hunter. We also upgraded the interior fabric and bought the cockpit cushions. This might have been a needless $1,000 expense but the quality was definately there and will not be duplicated in aftermarket products. That's about it with the exception of instrumentation. Hunter seemed very over priced on the speed and depth meter (around $1,000) and, again, another thru hull penitration. We went with an inexpensive Hummingbird ($125) for depth and a Garmin 76 ($225) GPS for everything, and I mean everything, else - spead, direction, location, trip meter. Also, for $26 you can purchase a cable to interface the GPS with the Raython ST1000 Autohhelm ($449) and the boat will literally sail itself to your pre-programed waypoints. However, we did play it safe and went with Hunters compass for $150 because its interesting how many times all this great technology fails and Hunter does a great job installing it. We definately saved a lot of money purchasing our own electronics and, in keeping with that modular theme, everything, except for the compass, is portable and removed from the boat when not in use. The battery seemed over priced at $125. Our local gas station mechanic picked us up two (2) Interstate Deep Cycle batteries for $150. Interstate has a wonderful web site for everything you may want to learn about marine, or batteries in general. The only mistake I feel that I probably made in my purchase was buying of the spare tire for the trailer for $143. This spare tire will "dry rot" long before it is ever used. Hope I didn't overkill this response. Good Luck and best wishes on your purchase! I would love to know how you made out on your purchase, drop me an email at rpfcpa@yahoo.com. regards, rpf
Generally factory options not dealer options.
Mark: When you start looking at these options, find out which ones are factory and which ones are dealer options. Generally the dealer options are going to cost you more than you can do them yourself or even contract to have them done. Obviously a wheel option is a factory option but some of this stuff needs to be evaluated for cost. If you do it after you take delivery you are going too be either paying cash or credit card. If you finance it in with the deal you are going to pay finance charges for 10-15 years unless you are paying cash.
Mark: When you start looking at these options, find out which ones are factory and which ones are dealer options. Generally the dealer options are going to cost you more than you can do them yourself or even contract to have them done. Obviously a wheel option is a factory option but some of this stuff needs to be evaluated for cost. If you do it after you take delivery you are going too be either paying cash or credit card. If you finance it in with the deal you are going to pay finance charges for 10-15 years unless you are paying cash.
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