Possible new 26.5 owner

Feb 21, 2013
4,638
Hunter 46 Point Richmond, CA
Nice boat with trailer, bimini, recent bottom paint, dinghy and newer motor with remote controls.

Wow.....that is 12 hours from Flathead Lake and from San Francisco!!

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Apr 3, 2020
191
Hunter 23.5 Frenchtown, MT
OK, I'm back home now. Here's the link to the ad: click here.

It was actually in Burley, ID, about 7 1/2 hrs from Frenchtown (where I live). We hauled it as far as Dillon, and left it there at my folks place until I-90 clears up. I decided it's better to leave it there than try to haul it home in a snow storm. Thankfully the roads from ID up across Monida Pass and to Dillon were bare and dry. Lots of wind, and sometimes it was even a tailwind. I was thoroughly impressed with the trailer and our Sequoia towing it.
The boat needs some work on the teak, the cabin sole has a small amount of water damage from water slopping down from the sink, and the OE depth/knot meter is kaput. The dinghy turned out to NOT be included, but we negotiated that from the price. Oh, and the jib halyard needs to be replaced, but a brand new line was included. Of course there are other little things that could be done, but all in all she's in FAR better condition than anything else we looked at in that price range, and even some at nearly twice that price. The trailer is in great shape, all lights work, brakes are good, bearing repacked last spring. The engine has he estimates about 10 hrs on it, and he replaced the OE mount with a massive custom aluminum bracket that is very solid.
We have most of the history, and we are now the fourth owners. Some of the things not shown or mentioned in the ad, but included in the sail:
Dual batteries with isolator switch.
OB has an alternator for charging the batteries
Covers for all winches, tiller, main sail,
Lots of spare parts, including winch rebuild kits, faucet rebuild kit, and spare bilge pump.
All interior lights have already been converted to LED
Stereo with 2 interior speakers and 2 exterior that can be mounted on the pushpit railings
Fenders.
Throwable and lifejackets.
1/2 gallon of bottom paint (Interlux Alpha One)
extra sail slugs
brand new trailer tires
I'm sure I missed some things, but you get the idea. I am very pleased with our purchase and very much look forward to getting her home to begin making her our own. The previous owners used her a lot to begin with but moved from Boise to Burley, distance and spare time became and issue and she saw less and less use. They only had her in the water for a short time last summer (When the pics in the ad were taken). They are very happy to know that Serenade will be loved and used. BTW, the couple have has a number of boats previously, all named after Native American chiefs. For this one, the wife insisted on 'not another dead Indian name!'. Their daughter's name is Serena, so they chose to name the boat Serenade. We will be keeping that name.
We have crappy slow internet so it's gonna take some time for the pics to be available to upload, but I'll get some up soon.
 
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Jul 7, 2004
8,402
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
Nice looking boat! You should have a lot of fun with her. Why are there no pictures with the boom? The bimini looks really tall. Can it be used while sailing?
 
Apr 3, 2020
191
Hunter 23.5 Frenchtown, MT
unfortunately the bimini and boom are incompatible, so you either sail or enjoy the shade. that's one thing I'll be looking to modify this summer.
 
Apr 3, 2020
191
Hunter 23.5 Frenchtown, MT
What's a boat without a boat project.
I don't think that particular unicorn exists?! There are some things that Serenade needs, but aside from the jib halyard and really hard water on the lake she's sailable today. :)
 
Jan 22, 2008
763
Hunter 340 Baytown TX
unfortunately the bimini and boom are incompatible, so you either sail or enjoy the shade. that's one thing I'll be looking to modify this summer.
It's been 25 years, but we had a bimini with lots of headroom and still sailed with it up. I drilled out the goosemeck rivets on the mast and tapped the holes and added more holes in the mast about 16" up. I had another reef added to the mainsail at 16". When the bimini was up, the boom was attached at the upper holes. If I wanted to race with full sail area, I took down the bimini, shook out the reef, and lowered the boom back down.
Also, I remember seeing one with just the boom end/mainsail clew raised. The bimini was smaller, not as far forward, but it was easier to go back to normal sail area. The bimini could only go to the mainsheet anyway, unless you also added some blocks or a whole new traveler further forward, and I have seen that done to a 26.5, too.
 
Apr 3, 2020
191
Hunter 23.5 Frenchtown, MT
Thanks Bill, that makes sense as a way to move the boom up. I'll have to see about mainsheet clearance though...
 
Jul 7, 2004
8,402
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
Between the boom and the mainsheet, it says the PO gave no thought to sailing or even rigging the boat to sail with the bimini deployed. If it were mine I'd replace the bimini with one more suited to the boat. But you are way up north so maybe a bimini isn't so important in your area.
 
Apr 3, 2020
191
Hunter 23.5 Frenchtown, MT
nice looking boat Bill! it looks like the back stays go through the bimini? I might have to see about modifying to do just that. my wife is handy with the sewing machines, and we are already planning to get her a stronger one for the cushion repairs. so far it looks like the sailrite will be the one she chooses.
Question: is the 26.5 a 'small' or 'medium' boat on here?
 
Apr 3, 2020
191
Hunter 23.5 Frenchtown, MT
Since it's another snowy day, we can only dream of sailing. But, I do have some pictures uploaded now! Pictures at the link below to my google photos account. The snowy road picture is why Serenade is sitting at my parents house, awaiting the final leg of the trip.
Click here for link to photos.