Am I crazy for even thinking this? If you would sail your hunter 34 to Hawaii what kind of mods would you do to the boat befor making the trip?
- Status
Many cruising books that recommend a smaller...
There are many cruising boats that recommend a smaller cruising boat for international cruising; the Pardy's book being one example. There is no reason you can't take your Hunter 34 to Hawaii given proper preparation and skills.
There are many cruising boats that recommend a smaller cruising boat for international cruising; the Pardy's book being one example. There is no reason you can't take your Hunter 34 to Hawaii given proper preparation and skills.
Robert
It's not about the size, it's about the strength of the equipment (rudder, hatches, rigging) being the main concern. We don't know the strenght of your equipment but if you give us the year it was made, then maybe somebody here can give you an idea as to the weakpoints for that year/model.
It's not about the size, it's about the strength of the equipment (rudder, hatches, rigging) being the main concern. We don't know the strenght of your equipment but if you give us the year it was made, then maybe somebody here can give you an idea as to the weakpoints for that year/model.
Yes BUT
I dont know the condition of yor boat my conconers would be a new rudder and standing and rigging. Deck and window leaks would be next. Heavy weather sails, sleep lee boards and all the other things a new boat also need. Wish I was going.
I dont know the condition of yor boat my conconers would be a new rudder and standing and rigging. Deck and window leaks would be next. Heavy weather sails, sleep lee boards and all the other things a new boat also need. Wish I was going.
"blue water"
"The Pacific Cup Handbook" is available from WM at the link below. It is the guide for preparing to race from California to Hawaii, and is also an excellent checklist for you. Search the archives of this site using "blue water" for a number of interesting, opinionated, and even informative threads on this topic. David Lady Lillie
"The Pacific Cup Handbook" is available from WM at the link below. It is the guide for preparing to race from California to Hawaii, and is also an excellent checklist for you. Search the archives of this site using "blue water" for a number of interesting, opinionated, and even informative threads on this topic. David Lady Lillie
My Thoughts On A 34
I sailed an 83 H34 for six years before moving to the P42. My main concern with the 34 was how much the hull flexed in big water. We ran into a situation when traveling from Detroit to Sandusky where we were running in 12 foot waves. I walked on the side of the cockpit half the time because we were rolling from 55 degrees starboard to 55 degrees port. The hull at the bulkhead between the head and the main salon was flexing an inch or more. I did not have any concern about damaging or losing the boat but it gave me pause just the same. I know many 34's have made long ocean voyages but I am not sure I would try that. The difference between the 34 and the 42 (beyond the weight) is huge. The 42 hull is so stiff that I have not been able to detect any flex at all. You would most likely make it just fine but I would want an excellent life raft and a top quality EPIRB. David, if you read this my P42, KANDU, is at Sandusky Harbor for the winter and at Battery Park along the Meigs St pier in the summer.
I sailed an 83 H34 for six years before moving to the P42. My main concern with the 34 was how much the hull flexed in big water. We ran into a situation when traveling from Detroit to Sandusky where we were running in 12 foot waves. I walked on the side of the cockpit half the time because we were rolling from 55 degrees starboard to 55 degrees port. The hull at the bulkhead between the head and the main salon was flexing an inch or more. I did not have any concern about damaging or losing the boat but it gave me pause just the same. I know many 34's have made long ocean voyages but I am not sure I would try that. The difference between the 34 and the 42 (beyond the weight) is huge. The 42 hull is so stiff that I have not been able to detect any flex at all. You would most likely make it just fine but I would want an excellent life raft and a top quality EPIRB. David, if you read this my P42, KANDU, is at Sandusky Harbor for the winter and at Battery Park along the Meigs St pier in the summer.
Going There isn't so bad, it's the....
....return trip! Seems a lot of people have problems on the return leg around 600 to 800 miles off shore. Not that the other parts of the trip are easy, it's just that by the time they get into this area it can just plain get nasty. There has been many a boat that made the trip south (from the Northwest or San Francisco Bay), across the South Pacific, back to Hawaii, and then had problems in the last part of the last leg. Something to think about. The boat is 20 years old now so what Franklin said about rigging and rudder is good advice. The rudder is the weak link on a lot of boats and one that's 20 years old is likely to have crevice corrosion (at the worst place!) - not exactly what you would want to have on this trip. Other than that, a H35.5 (similar to the H34 in displacement) won it's class (double handed) in the Pacific Cup (San Francisco to Hawaii) back around '92 or there abouts. Gary Baillargeon of H&H Yacht Sales in San Diego was the skipper.
....return trip! Seems a lot of people have problems on the return leg around 600 to 800 miles off shore. Not that the other parts of the trip are easy, it's just that by the time they get into this area it can just plain get nasty. There has been many a boat that made the trip south (from the Northwest or San Francisco Bay), across the South Pacific, back to Hawaii, and then had problems in the last part of the last leg. Something to think about. The boat is 20 years old now so what Franklin said about rigging and rudder is good advice. The rudder is the weak link on a lot of boats and one that's 20 years old is likely to have crevice corrosion (at the worst place!) - not exactly what you would want to have on this trip. Other than that, a H35.5 (similar to the H34 in displacement) won it's class (double handed) in the Pacific Cup (San Francisco to Hawaii) back around '92 or there abouts. Gary Baillargeon of H&H Yacht Sales in San Diego was the skipper.
I'll check out Kandu
Richard, we are meeting friends in Sandusky on the 28 to check the boats, do some minor work, and party. Maybe we'll see Kandu on our drive-through tour! Another plus for the 42 is that the capsize screen is well below 2.0, while the h34 is around 2.03. Not a bad number, but not indicative of a blue water design. David Lady Lillie
Richard, we are meeting friends in Sandusky on the 28 to check the boats, do some minor work, and party. Maybe we'll see Kandu on our drive-through tour! Another plus for the 42 is that the capsize screen is well below 2.0, while the h34 is around 2.03. Not a bad number, but not indicative of a blue water design. David Lady Lillie
Where is Fred when you need him?!?
He's done this, or at least similar, trips on his H34 hasn't he? Maybe somebody can post his website until he joins the discussion.
He's done this, or at least similar, trips on his H34 hasn't he? Maybe somebody can post his website until he joins the discussion.
HERE I AM!!!
I was going to post here yesterday but when Robert said his boat was an '83, I backed off. Don't know about those except what I read here. There have been reports here from guys like Daryl of early hulls oil canning. You know, flexing. But I didn't know. Mine is an 86 and has never shown any flex while underway or the telltale signs of flex such as cracked jell-coat. As far as suitability to the passage, that boils down to the skippers knowledge. The H34 is going to take work to get ready for a passage to Hawaii. These are production boats that were never built, equipment wise, for ocean travel. That's up to the skipper. Size wise, sure, go for it. And a couple of ideas are on my web site.
P.S. After our boat survived the ravages of the North American coast and was safely being used out of Trinidad, we had occasion to be in Hawaii. The view of the ocean from the mountains on the windward side of Maui was incredible. The trades were up. I can't imagine any boat out there in those conditions. And I HAD to imagine. No one was out there. Never even saw a ship. The waves were short, curling, and breaking for as far as you could see. No doubt in my mind why the last part of that passage is infamous.
I was going to post here yesterday but when Robert said his boat was an '83, I backed off. Don't know about those except what I read here. There have been reports here from guys like Daryl of early hulls oil canning. You know, flexing. But I didn't know. Mine is an 86 and has never shown any flex while underway or the telltale signs of flex such as cracked jell-coat. As far as suitability to the passage, that boils down to the skippers knowledge. The H34 is going to take work to get ready for a passage to Hawaii. These are production boats that were never built, equipment wise, for ocean travel. That's up to the skipper. Size wise, sure, go for it. And a couple of ideas are on my web site.
P.S. After our boat survived the ravages of the North American coast and was safely being used out of Trinidad, we had occasion to be in Hawaii. The view of the ocean from the mountains on the windward side of Maui was incredible. The trades were up. I can't imagine any boat out there in those conditions. And I HAD to imagine. No one was out there. Never even saw a ship. The waves were short, curling, and breaking for as far as you could see. No doubt in my mind why the last part of that passage is infamous.- Status