Hi, first post here. I just sold my compac 16 and I'm trying to pick between an 86 hunter 23 with wing keel and an 81 Tanzer 22 with swing keel. I'm looking to keep the boat in the water and sail day trips in fishers island sound with some overnights in the area. I hope to sail with my wife and my two kids, who are 6 and 2, so stability and safety are paramount, but I want a boat that will perform and have decent room for a weekend with the family. Both boats are on trailers and the price is comparable. Any advice will be greatly appreciated!
Tanzer 22. Vs Hunter 23
- Thread starter Bkraut
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http://www.tanzer22.org/ has all the info on the Tanzer. I'd go with it over the Hunter 23 for sure. About 1000 lbs more boat for your buck and significantly more ballast. Tanzer's are generally recognized as higher build quality too.
You should ask if you can take them on a test sail. My wife and I are the original owners of an 1986 h23. We raised 3 kids sailing on it, with many overnights, spending up to a week at a time. The h23 has good performance, is easy to trailer, launch and recover, and it fits nicely in our carport during the off season. With netting on the lifelines, we were comfortable letting the kids use the relatively wide side decks to sit on or go up to the bow (obviously wearing either a lifejacket or a harness clipped to the boat). It worked well for us in all respects and I can easily recommend the h23 for your described use. A note, we set up the main cabin bunk(floor boards in slots, seat backs laid across them) for the kids to play in underway, which they loved, but you have to fill in the void at the forward end by the bulkhead. Leaving the keelbolts exposed cost us a trip to the ER when we forgot to one time and one of the kids managed to go head first into that space. Just toss in some soft stuff like towels, blankets, pillows or sleeping bags (always good to have on board with kids anyway). On the flip side, I don't have personal experience on a Tanzer 22, but a friend who's owned one for many years seems pretty happy with it. I understand they also have good performance. So it comes down to personal preference. Good luck and enjoy.
Jim Kolstoe, h23 Kara's Boo
Jim Kolstoe, h23 Kara's Boo
Trailer
In that size of a boat take the one with the trailer, even though you say you’re going to keep it moored. With a trailer you open up many more possibilities for sailing, storage and repair. Then there’s the resale value, without a trailer you have just another boat like all the rest in your marina and the marinas next to yours with boats for sale.
If the quality of each boat is comparable then look at all the features or add-on, they cost lots of money to add later and upon resale they add no additional value.
Older boats were built more for sailing and the newer boats are built for the captain of the family.
In that size of a boat take the one with the trailer, even though you say you’re going to keep it moored. With a trailer you open up many more possibilities for sailing, storage and repair. Then there’s the resale value, without a trailer you have just another boat like all the rest in your marina and the marinas next to yours with boats for sale.
If the quality of each boat is comparable then look at all the features or add-on, they cost lots of money to add later and upon resale they add no additional value.
Older boats were built more for sailing and the newer boats are built for the captain of the family.
Go with the TANZER if equipment is equal (Especially Rigging, Sails, & Motor)?
There are a couple of O'Day 25's in NY listed on the site - the interior is quite large for the $$$...
There are a couple of O'Day 25's in NY listed on the site - the interior is quite large for the $$$...
Brought the Hunter home yesterday. Ended up being 1/2 the price, with a dinghy. Thanks for the advice!
I think you made a wise choice with the Hunter 23. The Tanzer 22 is a real fast boat with the Gennie and mainsail but the head room down below is lacking. The swing keel on these boats is cast iron and can have issues. You can't raise the mast on these boats with the side stays connected or you'll bend the chainplates. We found this out one day at the club, and nobody bothered to check the owner's manual on this because it says in the owner's manual to connect the side stays after raising the mast. Good luck with the Hunter.
Joe
I was refering to the Tanzer 22. I had helped my friend raise the mast on his Tanzer 22 years ago and the chainplates got bent. He happened to have an Owner's manual to this boat but never check it out before he raised his mast. His Owner's Manual stated specifically that you should not connect the side stays until the mast is all the way up and I guess we found out the reason for this on that day.
On my O'Day 222, I can raise/lower my mast without touching any of the turnbuckles on my stays with the exception of the Johnson Handy-Lock on my backstay. This device allows me to throw enough slack into my fore stay to disconnect my CDI Roller Furler.
As far as mast raising on other model boats goes, I really can't speak to that. My friend Wayne has always loosened his side stays on his Seaward 22 when raising/lowering his mast but just recently, he tried lowering the mast without messing with his turnbuckles, and it created no adverse problems with the chainplates or the stays. The next time you take your mast down, try lowering it easy and keep a close watch on what is happening to you chainplates as the stays slack off. If you have no problems with the mast coming down, you should have no problems with your mast going up.
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