Probably am buying a H 260 with wheel in Texas, many questions. Where is keel rope to lower? Any tips for new owner. I've owned a few sailboats, a Macgregor 17, Macgregor 26c (the old classic sailer), and Ericson 25 (4 foot keel which limited where I could go in Texas a lot). THANKS!!!! --- A
Probably am buying a H 260 with wheel, many questions. Where is keel rope to lower? Any tips for new owner. I've owned a few boats.
- Thread starter labrmnus
- Start date
First, I want you to scroll down to boat information and select hunter resources. Pick 260. Then scroll do to downloads and one will be the owners manual. That manual will contain info on the 240 as well. Therefore, look at the insert to determine where it starts for the 260. Familiarize yourself there first. It contains alot of information.
You can then ask more detailed information here or on Facebook about hunter 260. @rgranger and I can help. The first and last 260 left Hunter behind my truck as a dealer
Crazy Dave
You can then ask more detailed information here or on Facebook about hunter 260. @rgranger and I can help. The first and last 260 left Hunter behind my truck as a dealer
Crazy Dave
Thanks Crazy Dave. Does the ballast tank water ever get yucky, would dumping salt in it kill any bad stuff? Can people step on the hatch rooftop glass, is it that strong? . . . One day I may move this TX boat to MN, I wish there were a boat hauling company that didn't charge so much. . . I've demasted my Macgregor 26 by my lonesome, I am betting the h260 is similarly light, my Ericson 25 mast is much heavier. . . .
Both the H260 and H26 were designed to be trailered. The boat should come with a trailer. If it does not... keep shoping until you find one that does. It will save you a lot of grief.
YES! The water in the ballast tank can get FUNKY! I always put pool shock in my ballast tanks.
Here is a pic of the keel lift line sitting on my deck. The line terminates in a rope clutch. I've also attached a write up on how to change the lift line... @Crazy Dave Condon and @Kermit are featured prominently in the write up.
YES! The water in the ballast tank can get FUNKY! I always put pool shock in my ballast tanks.
Here is a pic of the keel lift line sitting on my deck. The line terminates in a rope clutch. I've also attached a write up on how to change the lift line... @Crazy Dave Condon and @Kermit are featured prominently in the write up.
My boat is not the fixed keel version, I guess they call that a Hunter 270 and they are rare. . . . I guess for motoring it is easier to keep the keel up ? ?
Centre board line is port side on mine as well - and in manual. I think photo was flipped giving a mirror image?
You can stand on the pop top (hinged fibreglass) but do NOT step on the smoked plastic portion - it is not strong enough to handle the weight.
Welcome to the 260 - it’s a great boat. Dave is the expert on the boat, but there are lots of knowledgeable owners on the site!
Mast raising is not overly difficult, follow manual directions. Take your time and make sure everything is free and in position as you raise. I’m assuming you have the gin pole and mast crutch.
Another helpful site, set up by a former h260 owner and site member. That has a variety of helpful information
Another is the manufacturers resources.
You can stand on the pop top (hinged fibreglass) but do NOT step on the smoked plastic portion - it is not strong enough to handle the weight.
Welcome to the 260 - it’s a great boat. Dave is the expert on the boat, but there are lots of knowledgeable owners on the site!
Mast raising is not overly difficult, follow manual directions. Take your time and make sure everything is free and in position as you raise. I’m assuming you have the gin pole and mast crutch.
Another helpful site, set up by a former h260 owner and site member. That has a variety of helpful information
Mistress of Grand Traverse
h260.com
Another is the manufacturers resources.
Index of /wp-content/export/Model-Information/260_1997_2005
www.marlow-hunter.com
Index of /wp-content/export/Wiring-Schematics/Older_models_misc/260/z-Service Manual
www.marlow-hunter.com
Keep the centerboard down for sailing or motoring. I tried motoring once with it up. It was like driving an empty Clorox bottle.
... AND I always brought mine up when tied off at the slip. That will lessen the wear on the pivot pin and pivot hole.
Thanks, good tips. Is there a benefit to EVER pumping out the water ballast while at the dock, like to raise the hull 6 inches to scrub easier? What height would removing water ballast change, 1 foot, 6 inches?? Herre is Galveston I gotta hand scrape off the barnacles every 3 months. . . . . I wonder if for hurricanes would be worth it to pump water INSIDE the hull to make a less movable 10,000 pound boat , haha.. A
There was someone on here (I forget who now) who was able to use an air mattress pump to push air into his ballast tank and raise the boat up. He was doing this to get the boat on the trailer more easily. But I would never leave a boat in the water with ballast removed from the tank. The ballast is what keeps your mast pointing UP.
You could add salts (like NaCl or NaNO3 or NH4NO3)... that would increase the density of the water in your tank in addition to the added mass from the salts. The issue here is that things like ammonium nitrate are also fertilizers and dumping that into your marina waters is not very environmentally sound.
The Macgregor 26x was often motored with water ballast out, and then 1 wavy day the boat flipped and killed people. They redesigned to add 300 pounds lead ballast so that's unlikely to happen. That was motoring at 30mph.
I doubt on calm day in Hunter 260 going 6 mph one could flip this boat. But its probably a pain to air pump out water, and the seal may let water back in. . .. . . . But it would be nice if removoing water in h260 let me go even shallower, hmmmmm, are we talking 6 inches or 1 foot? BY DEFINITION THE DESIGNERS KNEW THE FIRST 1 MINUTE THE BOAT COMES OFF THE TRAILER THERE IS NO WATER BALLAST YET FILLED IN, WITH PEOPLE JUMPING ON THE BOAT AND DROPPING EQUIPMENT UP TOP, SO THEY MUST HAVE DESIGNED IT TO NOT TIP SO EASILY WITHOUT WATER BALLAST. .. .. . Or who knows.
I do wonder if having it dry occassionally will help kill mold and algae in the water ballast tank. .. . The h260 Im buying in Galveston doesnt come with trailer. . . . . I wonder how much fuel efficient is h260 if motoring without the water ballast.. . .
I once had a Macgregor 26c the old pure sailboat version and some maniac before me cut a hole and filled the water ballast area with gravel after fiberglassing the bottom drain. I removed the gravel and motored it plenty on the Mississippi in MN. Again I think they designed in a safety cushion so CAN removed the water ballast. But probably not worth the 1 in trillion risk I guess.. .
I doubt on calm day in Hunter 260 going 6 mph one could flip this boat. But its probably a pain to air pump out water, and the seal may let water back in. . .. . . . But it would be nice if removoing water in h260 let me go even shallower, hmmmmm, are we talking 6 inches or 1 foot? BY DEFINITION THE DESIGNERS KNEW THE FIRST 1 MINUTE THE BOAT COMES OFF THE TRAILER THERE IS NO WATER BALLAST YET FILLED IN, WITH PEOPLE JUMPING ON THE BOAT AND DROPPING EQUIPMENT UP TOP, SO THEY MUST HAVE DESIGNED IT TO NOT TIP SO EASILY WITHOUT WATER BALLAST. .. .. . Or who knows.
I do wonder if having it dry occassionally will help kill mold and algae in the water ballast tank. .. . The h260 Im buying in Galveston doesnt come with trailer. . . . . I wonder how much fuel efficient is h260 if motoring without the water ballast.. . .
I once had a Macgregor 26c the old pure sailboat version and some maniac before me cut a hole and filled the water ballast area with gravel after fiberglassing the bottom drain. I removed the gravel and motored it plenty on the Mississippi in MN. Again I think they designed in a safety cushion so CAN removed the water ballast. But probably not worth the 1 in trillion risk I guess.. .
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The boat was designed to dump the water out for less weight to tow. Hunter had a design team superior to most other manufacturers. The boat was then seriously tested but followed the success of the 26. I told my customers always fill the tank regardless sailing or motoring. Never heel over 12-14 degrees by controlling the sails as you have the B&R mast with no backstay plus you have a larger mainsail than a standard main for more power in the main
As a dealer who sold nearly 25% of the 260’s and was very much involved in the development of the 260’s.
As a dealer who sold nearly 25% of the 260’s and was very much involved in the development of the 260’s.
I guess I will learn, but for finer control do people hand move the outboard on a H260, even if they have a wheel? I've never had a steering wheel. Is it called a "steering wheel", haha?
Connecting the outboard to the rudder is a fairly common modification. Also fairly easy to do in a variety of different ways. This gives “Vectored Thrust” which is a tremendous aid to low speed handling. The difference is very dramatic as without it you have little to no directional control until you have reasonable water flow over the rudder. There should be several versions in the mods section for both the h26 and the 260. There is a section on it in the mistress of grand traverse site I had linked to previously.
As others have mentioned - don’t use under power or sail without the ballast tank full. 2000lbs of water makes a dramatic difference in stability.
shallow water operation With centreboard and rudder up - if motor has a trolling position even better you should be able to get into waters around one and a half foot deep. We get ours in to waters that are about knee deep, even with ballast tank full and gear for a family weekend aboard. With rudder up - use in quiet waters at low speeds only as steering inputs put a tremendous load on the head of the rudder.
As others have mentioned - don’t use under power or sail without the ballast tank full. 2000lbs of water makes a dramatic difference in stability.
shallow water operation With centreboard and rudder up - if motor has a trolling position even better you should be able to get into waters around one and a half foot deep. We get ours in to waters that are about knee deep, even with ballast tank full and gear for a family weekend aboard. With rudder up - use in quiet waters at low speeds only as steering inputs put a tremendous load on the head of the rudder.