Seat differences between 23.5 and 240

[kevgrn114]

The cockpit seats on a 23.5 wrap around the cabin bulkhead giving more seating towards the front. The 240 seats wrap around the back of the cockpit creating a helm seat.

It seems the helm seat would not be very usable due to the tiller swing. but the forward seats may be hindered by the main sheet.

What are some opinions on the uses of each?

I'm drawn more towards the 240 but the 23.5 are much lower in price....

Thanks,
Kevin

 

[VT Fitz]

Comes down to $$$

I've never set foot on a 240, let alone sailed one, but facts like that never keep me from holding forth an opinion!

I think you are correct in that the 240 tiller would impede some of the utility back there under sail. On the other hand, at anchor or in the slip, you can spread out back that way. We lounge in the front area, mainly with our backs resting against the cabin bulkhead, legs extending aft, but sometimes stretching out athwart the companionway exit. The main sheet is occasionally an issue with crew seated in that area generally, but not that we've ever thought about it. Mostly, people sit on the high side, so the sheet is not in the way.

I believe there are a couple of owner-feedback improvements Hunter made when moving to the 24. If I'm not mistaken, that aft seat also is a locker, no? Assuming yes, that's a nice convenience. (We added a hatch back there to access that storage room, albeit less easily and less room than a locker.) There is a port facing into the cockpit from that dark area down below to improve with light & ventilation. (We added that same feature to our 23.5.)

Mainly I think it is a question of the $$$. They are similar to the point of being the same boat, IMHO. The 240 is likely to be in better condition merely due to its younger age, but that difference is beginning to fade away. We only looked at the 23.5s in fall '06 because the premium on the 240 was just too rich for us at the time.

However, I'll presume you have perused the thread nearby on upgrades to this class of Hunter. There is a suggestion that it is better to step up in $$$ to get a better appointed boat than to go cheap & upgrade yourself. There is merit to that position. Some of the best advice I ever got when shopping was: Buy the best boat you can for the money you have. Don't buy a beater thinking you'll save money because if you add up the time & expense of repair, you would have been better off buying a better boat to start... Plus you will have been on the water instead of on the hard!

 

[kevgrn114]

Thank you for the input. I do want to avoid doing upgrades myself. My last boat was a handmade 24 that took me about 5 years to build (Procrastination included). I'm ready to be lazy.

 

[jblersch]

I purchased a 240 after looking at both 23.5s and 240s. I chose the 240 mainly because it was in the best condition of any of the boats I saw and it came well-equipped. I wound up spending a little more than I originally was hoping, but isn't that always the case? I'm glad I made the decision I did.

There are a few design differences between the two models, one of them being the cockpit design. It's true that the rear cockpit seat is not really a seat while under sail, but it can be used in the dock or under anchor. But it is a locker - really intended as a gas locker more than anything else. I keep a couple of emergency lines in there as well, but it's not as easy to access items in that locker as it is deeper than the other cockpit lockers. But, it is a nice feature to have. We have younger children and my wife liked the fact that the cockpit design on the 240 was more "enclosed" - made her a little less nervous with my 5-year-old daughter on board.

The fore seating in the 23.5 by the companionway would be more useful under sail, but after trying both I preferred the more open feel of the 240 cockpit. But, that's just more what I was used to on previous boats. I also preferred the main sheet rigging on the 240 to the 23.5

I'm just finishing my first season with the 240 and love it. If you want any more info from a rookie 240-er, let me know.

 

[VT Fitz]

Mainsheet?

jblersch, I wasn't aware of the mainsheet difference. Could you please describe that a little more? Thx!

 

[jblersch]

Both 23.5's I looked at had the mainsheet on a traveler (which would be a nice upgrade to the 240 - see a few other discussions on the forum about that), but the traveler was on the bulkhead by the companionway. Since there is no front seating on the 240, it gives you easier access to the cabin. I'm not sure if all 23.5's came standard that way or if these two had just been modified. It might seem like a trivial difference, but with 3 smaller kids the admiral and I liked the easier access in and out of the cabin. With the mainsheet a little further aft it also seemed as though it would be a little easier to single sail.

 

[VT Fitz]

Traveler not standard

Both 23.5's I looked at had the mainsheet on a traveler... I'm not sure if all 23.5's came standard that way or if these two had just been modified...

The 23.5 does not come with a traveler standard. As you mentioned, there is a recent thread in which there has been some discussion on travelers. The standard main sheet attachment point is just aft of the seat area. There is a mounting post there.

For what it's worth, the main sheet is a complete non-issue for us passing through the companionway.