Sailboat- a dream or a nightmare? Hunters... Which?

Sep 8, 2014
13
Hunter Ledgend We'll see
These are trying times. The days just before a purchase of a large luxury item as a sailboat. I am soon to be the owner of a 1996 40.5 ledgend. I am soon to make an offer today on the boat that I would've prior to my search thought undesirable/unseaworthy or at least I was told. Then the search was on and the boats came and went with no love to be found. Why are there no wonderful boats for sale. I have found one... What is the story with the Hunters? I have heard that they were purchased by a Japanese company and then the company's quality increased is this a story or truth? If someone could point me in the website of truth an not propaganda.
 
Jan 22, 2008
101
Hunter 40.5 New Bern NC
These are trying times. The days just before a purchase of a large luxury item as a sailboat. I am soon to be the owner of a 1996 40.5 ledgend. I am soon to make an offer today on the boat that I would've prior to my search thought undesirable/unseaworthy or at least I was told. Then the search was on and the boats came and went with no love to be found. Why are there no wonderful boats for sale. I have found one... What is the story with the Hunters? I have heard that they were purchased by a Japanese company and then the company's quality increased is this a story or truth? If someone could point me in the website of truth an not propaganda.
GEEEEEZ, I don't know who you have been talking to or what you have been reading, but you have been given a lot of misinformation, especially in reference to the Japanese Company,???? I don't think so.
I currently own a 1997 Legend 40.5 and have for the past 4 years, now granted its not a Hinkley, Passport, or Island Packet, but its a hell of a lot of boat for the money, this is the 3rd hunter I have owned, ( previously a 37.5 Legend, a great boat) I sail in coastal NC the rivers, sounds and off shore, when I bought the boat in Ft. Lauderdale, 3friends and myself brought the boat back to NC 2nd night out off SC a Northeaster blew up with 25 to 30 knots while we were in the Gulf Stream ( it was not forecasted ) so we endured 12 to 15 foot seas on our nose for about 10 hours, until we could come in at Wrightsville beach, and I will tell you that the boat stood up much better than the Capt. and the crew did without any issues, so depending on how you are using the boat.... I'm not planning to circumnavigate to globe, but do plan to take the boat to Fl., and or the Bahamas this winter (as other have done) I do know of one 40.5 that has sailed through out the Pacific from California to many Islands in the Pacific like Tahiti, Fiji, ect.,. and I'm sure there are others.... in summary it is a great sailing (performance)boat but not a J boat, with a lot of creature comforts for the $$$$
Hope this helps,
Fair winds and calm seas
Capt. Ron
 

Rick D

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Jun 14, 2008
7,188
Hunter Legend 40.5 Shoreline Marina Long Beach CA
Not Quite

These are trying times. The days just before a purchase of a large luxury item as a sailboat. I am soon to be the owner of a 1996 40.5 ledgend. I am soon to make an offer today on the boat that I would've prior to my search thought undesirable/unseaworthy or at least I was told. Then the search was on and the boats came and went with no love to be found. Why are there no wonderful boats for sale. I have found one... What is the story with the Hunters? I have heard that they were purchased by a Japanese company and then the company's quality increased is this a story or truth? If someone could point me in the website of truth an not propaganda.
Hunter was purchased out of a structured bankruptcy of the parent Luhrs Corporation which made several lines of powerboats also. Marlow Yachts purchased Hunter sailboats and Mainship trawlers. The company is also producing Gemini catamarans. For what its worth, I have owned mine for 15 years, sailed her in all conditions, and am perfectly happy with it. My neighbor's 40.5 sailed to AU two years ago, and there are many around the world, many of which got there on their own bottoms. Relax, you'll be fine. Here is a link to articles regarding Hunter and Marlow:
http://www.tradeonlytoday.com/manufacturers/marlow/
 
Jul 27, 2011
5,134
Bavaria 38E Alamitos Bay
Every boat is a compromise. I've heard this to be true even if you build your own from scratch. I never had expected to have either of the two "large" sailboats that I've owned; a Pearson 30 (former) and the Bavaria 38E (present). In all honesty, both were opportunistic purchases based mostly on the price that I could buy each for plus a clear view of how I would use the boats most of the time (i.e., short-range cruising and PHRF racing). There are many "wonderful boats" out there for sale--it's just that many of those are much more expensive than the ones toward the lower end of the price range. Realistically, if I was going to cruise the world, I would not do it in a Hunter, Catalina, Beneteau, or a Bavaria. I'd pick something like a Swan, a Hylas, a Tayana, or a Taswell, etc., just to mention a few. But I don't need a Taswell 43 to motor sail across the San Pedro Channel (23 n. mi.) for weekends on mooring balls at Isthmus Cove (Catalina Island) or to enter the annual Newport to Ensenada Race. Just get a good price on the boat and if your needs change; trade it for a different model later.
 
Mar 20, 2012
3,983
Cal 34-III, MacGregor 25 Salem, Oregon
IMHO.... 99.5% of what you hear is ALL propaganda. because its all just someones opinion.

and a boat is both a dream and a nightmare, just at different times.... if you buy right the first time, it will be a dream for a much longer periods, but if you buy without any experience in boat buying, especially when purchasing a larger boat, the nightmare periods can be freakishly long periods, and possibly without any dream time left a week after you take delivery of it.

there are some boats that are more seaworthy than others, and some of the most seaworthy ones do not have the creature comforts that most of us desire in our pleasure boats.
a family cruiser seems to need more comforts than what a singlehanded round the world boat would be equipped with, so we compromise and buy what seems like should work for us.... and sometimes it doesnt for very long... so we move up, over or down to a different boat. it can be a vicious cycle for some people:D
its all a matter of personal preference in what you want your boat to be for you, and than find the closest fit.... it may or may not be affordable, but then you will have to make decisions and adjustments to your "ideals" so that you can find what you want within your price range....
and some of the most comfortable boats are not seaworthy at all.... but its good to have options.

most all of us have dreams of owning a perfectly "seaworthy" boat, but then the word seaworthy is often misinterpreted.... and im not going to give my interpretation of it here as it is only an opinion that i have formed based on all I have read on the subject.

most, but definitly not all of the liveaboard/cruisers are coasters, and a seaworthy coaster is a bit different than a seaworthy "bluewater" boat.

you can google the reasons and make up your own mind, but I know for myself, as much as I would like to cut loose from the lubberly life and visit more places by boat, I would/will always be a coaster and not a bluewater sailor.... not because im scared of the deep blue sea (having worked there), but because im fairly certain that I will never be able to see all there is to see within the next several years in the several thousand mile of coastline without ever getting 50-100 miles away from it....

I think as a coaster, the hunter would work fine in most waters.
and usually, its not so much the boat as it is the operator of it.... lack of experience and poor decisions can wreck/sink even the best boat.
and on the other hand, some very skilled people have made ocean crossings and 'round-the-world trips in craft that left a lot of folks wondering how they did it and why they even attempted it.


in my case, I couldnt find a single ideal boat, because it doesnt exist, so I bought two of them. they seem to work well for my needs at this time, but im sure my needs will change sometime in the future, just as yours will also.
 
Jan 13, 2011
94
Hunter 33 (78 Cherubini) Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD
I Have Spent More Time...

...working on my boat than I have spent sailing her. She needed someone to appreciate the beauty of her design and I needed something productive to do after an ugly divorce.

I rarely travel far from my home port. My new wife is a physician who started her own practice after her own ugly divorce (everyone should have at least one).

We carve out time in our busy schedules (never as much as we want) to get to the boat. Often she is on deck updating patient charts. I am happlily busy fixing something not quite perfect, or installing the latest "do-dad/gadget" recommended by everyone on this site.

I have no meter for time sailing or spent at anchor. I don't track dollars spent, miles traveled, or ports visited. Each year as I prepare the boat for winter I remember my family, OUR whole family, and the moments we took the time to share together.

I don't have the boat to travel the world. I never wanted it. I wanted a boat to show me my family.

I don't want to sail the seven seas. I want to bridge the generation gap and get to know the young adults my children have become.

Dunlookin has done just that. Next year we plan to find the time to sail to St. Michael's (baby steps). When I retire (again) in six years...the ICW.

Until then, a boat I love to maintain, a beautiful woman beside me, all our grown children demanding to know when do we will all do it again...and I remind myself I do have the perfect boat...

...for me.
 
Oct 26, 2010
2,161
Hunter 40.5 Beaufort, SC
Re: I Have Spent More Time...

I second all the thoughts above. What you want to do and what you are capable of doing will most likely dictate what gets done, not the boat itself.

Like captron we took delivery of our boat, but in our case in New Rochelle NY and delivered it to the Annapolis area for a short sojourn and then on down the ICW to Beaufort SC. The trip from NY proved that the boat could handle more than we could, and we could handle alot. Offshore from NY Harbor we hit cresting waves of 12ft+ nearly on the bow. We took a lot of wave crests over the bow and even occasional blue water over the bow. We had all we could take after the overnight portion and pulled into Atlantic City to rest. I am sure the boat could have plowed on without a whimper but the crew wisely decided we needed to recharge before we moved on. I was actually amazed at how well the 40.5 handled the transit and it gave me a lot of faith in what it "could do." Not that I would do blue water sailing in it without some more equipment (like a life raft, etc.) but I think with the proper weather window it could make about any transit I'd certainly be willing to do. Does that mean its a bluewater boat - no - but could it and have similar boats make long distance voyages - sure. I thinks its more a matter of the skill of the captain and crew, the maintenance and condition of the boat in all respects (running and standing rigging, chain plates, hull and deck condition, engine, etc) which can be good or bad for any boat depending on the previous owners attention to detail. All in all, the Hunter 40.5, if well maintained and in good condition is a lot of bang for the buck. Can you by a Hinkley or Swan, sure, for about 4 times as much and will you really use those capabilities? Only you can decide. As for me, I am more than pleased with the performance, comfort, and general capabilities of my 40.5. I am always "fiddling" with something, but that's just the engineer and Navy Sailor in me and I enjoy it, at least for the time being. When I finally part with Song of the Sea, and that may be many years from now, somebody is going to get a heck of a boat for the bucks. Just my 2 cents.
 
Jan 12, 2011
930
Hunter 410 full time cruiser
This a sad thread, having to defend owning a Hunter on the HUNTER owners site :doh:
 
Sep 27, 2011
71
Hunter 40.5 Long beach CA - Manly Australia
Hey. I am the one (one of the ones) that sailed a 40.5 from the USA to Australia. Read all about it here.

http://knottyladypacific.blogspot.com.au/2012_02_01_archive.html

I also know someone else who done the same trip in a 40.5.

The boat is faster than 8 out 10 other cruising boats that done the same trip, and more comfortable too. People rave so much horseshit about Hunters etc. These type of people are usually doing up a double ender that couldn't sail out of its own way with the comfort of a hobbit hole.

Maybe one day after they have fitted their life rafts, radar, wind vanes etc (which will never happen as they always need just one more thing before sail around the world) they might get up the courage to sail further than catalina island.
 
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Jan 12, 2011
930
Hunter 410 full time cruiser
Hey. I am the one (one of the ones) that sailed a 40.5 from the USA to Australia. Read all about it here.

http://knottyladypacific.blogspot.com.au/2012_02_01_archive.html

I also know someone else who done the same trip in a 40.5.

The boat is faster than 8 out 10 other cruising boats that done the same trip, and more comfortable too. People rave so much horseshit about Hunters etc. These type of people are usually doing up a double ender that couldn't sail out of its own way with the comfort of a hobbit hole.

Maybe one day after they have fitted their life rafts, radar, wind vanes etc (which will never happen as they always need just one more thing before sail around the world) they might get up the courage to sail further than catalina island.

That's the truth. Hunter bashing on forums is some kind of sport :cussing:

On the other those of us with Hunters who got past the pasting like our boats :dance:
 
Oct 26, 2010
2,161
Hunter 40.5 Beaufort, SC
I'd rather have some money left over for scotch!

That's the truth. Hunter bashing on forums is some kind of sport :cussing:

On the other those of us with Hunters who got past the pasting like our boats :dance:
Couldn't agree more. I love my Hunter 40.5 and it proved it can take a lot more than I can! If you have it and want to spend the money then go for the Swan, Oyster, etc. If you can do that then go ahead and get the on board option known as a "captain and crew" like I've seen others have with boats of that ilk. They can sail the boat for your. I'm not bashing those boats, they're beautiful just like a Victoria's secret model, but as I tell my son, those type of women are "high maintenance" and you really don't want that kind of job for the rest of your life.

On the other hand the rest of us want to sail. I can't think of a better way than in a quick boat, with lots of room, my wife as the Admiral/first mate and still having a few bucks left over for some good wine and single malt scotch than having a boat that is affordable. Did I just use the word affordable and sailboat in the same sentence? :eek: Now that's an oxymoron for ya!! :D
 
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Jun 8, 2004
285
Hunter 49 60803 Lake Erie
I've owned three Hunters... all have been a dream (not to say I didn't do some occasional maintenance)