New owner of a Hunter 20

[flynhi4u]

Hello everyone. We are new owners of a nice 1984 Hunter 20 swing keel. We just bought our first boat last night and eager to start leaning and making memories with it. Of course I have a few questions.
First off. The left inner shroud cable has one broken strand. Any recommendations for where I can get a new one made?
Second, I noticed the keel is raised with a rope instead of a cable wrapped around the winch drum. is this correct or should it be a cable? It is a 400 lb swing keel and I thought this might be a bit light for such a weight. It does appear to be a 1/2" diameter rope. If it should be a cable what size is recommended for it?
Third, it does have navigation lights but no mast light. Being slightly under 20' long is it required? I am going to check but I think Indiana requires a mast light to be on when at anchor.
Thanks for the help and look forward to your responses.

Sam in IN

 

[kenkindy1]

Hi sam,

Welcome aboard Lake Monroe is a great sailing area. I'm at the Lake Monroe Sailing Association at the Moore's Creek ramp. A great facility. I can't offer any advice on your questions.

Sailboats, Inc. on the northwest side of Indy is a good source for rigging. There are lots of other online options as well.

 

[Chasemixon]

I have an 85 22 and I have the same line on my swing keel, it is pretty easy to raise the keel with just the line. It is not that heavy. I can't help with lights.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

I believe you have the Hunter 19 as that was the boat built during that time either as a kit or complete manufactured boat. Look at the hull number and usually the last two numbers generally designate the model year. I am unaware of the specs for the 20 listed under boat information as the 18.5 in the late 80's into the early 90's was replaced by the water ballast 19. Again I believe the website is in error of the information for the 20 as to 1989 as I was the top dealer for small boat sales during those years and it was I who made the decision to scrap the water ballast 19.

You are correct to replace that wire as one broken strand not only can cause failure for the mast to fall but two other things that very well could happen is a ripped sail and a torn up hand if running over that broken strand.

If you will take or send the old one to a sail loft or rigging company would help and if it is stretched with no tuning left you might want to shorten it a little so you can tune the rig.

As for navigation lights, you are required to have an anchor light or a 360 degree light when anchoring. You could use a battery operated led light that is rechargeable hanging it from the boom as on most lakes, power boaters look straight and not up whereas on the coast it generally is different as many look up as well as straight. It would save on having to rewire the mast, deck and so on.

crazy dave condon

 

[flynhi4u]

Thanks for the replys

Any one have any idea how many Hunter 20's were made in 83 and 84? I contacted Hunter and they did send me some scanned copies of the owners manual but other than that said they did not have any info on the boat. Just trying to find other owners to share info with.

Thanks
Sam

 

[masscop79]

I just bought a 1983 Hunter 20 about 2 months ago. Started to do a little work before winter sets in here in New England....

My swing keel is raised and lowered with a steel cable. It looks like it was replaced in the past 2 years by the previous owner. I would be a little concerned about using rope to raise and lower the keel. The winch is essentially pulling on the top of the keel horizontally which I would imagine is creating a significant strain while trying to lift the 400lbs + keel. This is not the type of thing you want breaking as it would make re-trailering extremely difficult or even impossible.

You can try rigrite.com for the shroud replacement.

Here is a simple to understand source about your Nav lights.
http://www.boat-ed.com/texas/handbook/page/34/Navigation-Lights
Although not specific to Indiana, I doubt Indiana law would contradict USCG regulations

Good luck with your new boat. I can't wait for next spring when we can finally get ours in the water.

 

[flynhi4u]

Thanks

Thank you for the info. I will replace the rope with a steel cable before we set sail for the first time. I saw a diagram of how the cable rotates the keel and while the way they do it keeps the cable out of the water I am like you in thinking it probably puts a pretty good strain on the cable or rope in my case. Maybe they know more about geometry and physic and me and it doesn't. At least with the cable up out of the water one does not have to worry about the cable singing through the water like on some other boats that have the cable attach to the lower portion of the keel.
Glad to know there is someone else out there with a Hunter 20 likes ours. Hopefully we can share info as we learn about our boats. Hunter emailed me what few documents they had on the boat. If you would like me to forward them onto you just pm me with your address and I will do so. Good luck with your new boat and thanks for the info.

Sam in IN