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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 25 Specific Forum

Hunter boats

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mashedcat
Navigator

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USA
194 Posts

Initially Posted - 10/31/2006 : 16:23:43

Every so often on this forum i see a sniper shot at Hunter boats. I probably have seen one or two, and I know ive looked at some on the web. What i wonder is why the bad about them on the forum here? What do you know that makes them so bad? Some of them appear to have some pretty nice features: better portlites, more solid wood than veneer, construction appears to be similar to catalina, etc. What am i not seeing? My apologies for not posting this on the general forum, my bad.

dave

Edited by - mashedcat on 10/31/2006 16:30:56

britinusa
Web Editor

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USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 10/31/2006 : 18:46:14

Dave, when Peggy and I visited the strickly sail boat show in 2005 in miami, we looked over the hunter 25, it just seemed vacant! When we boarded the C250, it seemed like night and day difference. (Of course, we looked at the fully tricked out hunter 27 for nearly $50,000 .. much nicer interior than the h25 but $Ouch!

Paul

Edited by - on

At Ease
Admiral

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672 Posts

Response Posted - 10/31/2006 : 18:47:29

Easy question, easy answer...this is a Catalina forum. I'm sure on the Hunter forum they talk about us and our boats as we talk about them here. If you are truly curious, check them out...you'll be back, very happy to have a Catalina. I own a one ton Chevy dually diesel truck...on the Chevy diesel forum not too many good words are directed at Fords or Dodges...same thing.

Edited by - At Ease on 10/31/2006 18:48:15

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 10/31/2006 : 18:56:14

I like Hunters better than some. My deal with them is how often they change their engineering. Boats do not get reinvented every 5 years, good design principles will hold up over time. Over the life of the 22, 25, 27, and 30 you will see so many different Hunter designs that is is hard to believe that each series wasn't abandoned for serious reasons. It is difficult to even discuss them. The Hunter 22 that was made during the early 80s had a lead ballast bilge and was so tender that it is almost unsailable. They replaced those with wings that look ok but they then brought out water ballasts which they no longer make. The rigs went from mastheads to fractionals to these new things with no backstay, like a dingy. They put SS flybridge traveler bars over the cockpit of the 29-30 and had to recall them for welds that would not hold up. It just sort of goes on and on. They seem like they are driven by fashion rather than the principals of nautical architecture. On one hand that is good because they respond to market desires but, does a teenager really show fashion sense with sagging pants? The Catalinas are slipping badly too though, they are yielding to market pressures from Hunter and Benneteau rather than providing a clear alternative. The 3 Hunter 26-260 are some of the most sailed boats at the lake, so it would be unfair to say the boats don't work, they just look and feel odd. One last point, Hunters seem to be built lighter than a prudent degree of over design would dictate.

Edited by - Frank Hopper on 10/31/2006 21:50:07

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 10/31/2006 : 22:02:55

At an indoor show one day, a Catalina dealer took me over to the Hunter booth (almost across the aisle) and told me to push my hand against the underside of the hull of a 260. It "oil-canned" amazingly easily. He told me to try the same thing on a C-250--solid as concrete. Inside and out, the Hunter seemed "glitzy" and the Catalina seemed solid and clean.

Then, in our town boat club, an H-240 was backing out of her slip at about .1 knot, tipped a little, caught a shroud on a piling, and snapped the mast in half. I helped them get the mast back on board, and in the process, noticed that the extrusion was about as heavy as a Coors can. That and (particularly) the lack of a backstay doomed the rig when contact was made.

I can't speak for every size, but the Hunters I've seen up close are more style than substance (if you like the style). And the models seem to last for only a few years. When we bought Passage (instead of the C-250), the then-new Hunter 240 and 260 (both gone now) each had wild graphics on the topsides that I would have had to scrape off. And when I visited their owners' forum, there were more problems and complaints than fun and ideas--a distinct contrast from this forum.

Edited by - Dave Bristle on 10/31/2006 22:04:58

oldsalt
Admiral

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USA
578 Posts

Response Posted - 11/01/2006 : 05:29:48

Go to the Hunter site and check out all of the the safety recalls and notifications.

Edited by - oldsalt on 11/01/2006 05:31:30

Gloss
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1916 Posts

Response Posted - 11/01/2006 : 05:54:11

A few years ago when I decided to buy my first sailboat I contacted the sales department at Hunter with some questions. They were not very helpful, and actually gave me a hard time when I mentioned the dirty word "used" to them. Not a good sign. I eventually bought a Catalina 22 swing keel.

I have no facts or figures to back this up, but I really don't want a boat without a backstay. Maybe I studied too much engineering in a former life and realize just what kind of stresses are put on a Hunter rig. Of course the older hunters have backstays, and three sidestays per side just like our boats. If I ever boght a hunter it would be an older rig.

You also need to consider getting parts. I bought a used 89 wing keel Catalina with a delaminated rudder. Of course I did temporary repairs to it right away. I called the Catalina parts dept and told them I was going on a trip to the Keys in a couple of weeks. They told me they didn't have a rudder in stock, but would build one for me right away. They did and shipped it to me in the Keys within two weeks.

You just don't see much whining here about Catalina problems, or quality issues, except maybe for the electrical work on older Catalinas. Almost never about structural integrity.

Edited by - on

Don B
Captain

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USA
317 Posts

Response Posted - 11/01/2006 : 07:20:57

A few years ago some of the sailing instructors at our local squadron gave a tour of the marina yard pointing out differences between the sailboats. Must have been at least one hundred sailboats up on the hard. They didn't speak badly of the Hunters but emphasized the constantly changing design, the high freeboard, as well as the beautiful interior.

Little did I know, off in the corner of that yard, sat a certain Catalina which would later honor me with the privledge of being her Captain.

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 11/01/2006 : 08:41:21

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Don B
 ...They didn't speak badly of the Hunters but emphasized the constantly changing design, the high freeboard, as well as the beautiful interior...<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Fancy interiors of boats are like fancy kitchens in houses--they're what sell The Admiral! ...and that can be a good thing! From the last show I went to, Hunter did have the edge over Catalina in interior appearance.

Edited by - on

crcalhoon
Captain

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USA
303 Posts

Response Posted - 11/01/2006 : 09:35:28

I sailed regularly for about twenty years from the 70's to the 90's, then was out of it from 93 till last year. When I was sailing before, none of us took the Hunters as serious boats. They were considered to be lightweight, and not very well made. None of us would have made bets that Hunter would still be in business all these years later. I think they made a conscious--and probably pretty bright--decision to appeal to a crowd which sails infrequently, on easy waters, and spends a lot time at dockside. You got to admit that the cockpit and interior of the Hunters lend themselves to Happy Hour. But I wouldn't want to be caught in a real blow in one.

Edited by - on

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3442 Posts

Response Posted - 11/01/2006 : 11:48:27

Interesting reading the details above as to the differences. As far as fancy kitchens (and cabins) selling boats, it works both ways. Actually, I was interested in a Beneteau First 23 and the Catalina. The Beneteaus would probably have been a lot faster but the cabin while making excellent use of it considering it was a 23 footer, was somewhat confining, lower and the boat I looked at was also a bit musty odor inside. Even though my wife does not sail anywhere as frequently as I, the Catalina had a much more open and comfortable cabin that I knew my wife and family would appreciate. But I spend so much more time in the cockpit/sailing, yet when you look at the whole package there are things that will appeal more to one than to another.

I still think that my ODay 23 had the best setup and felt it was built very well. In the cabin, the best feature it had was the table on hinges that allowed you to swing the table down. The Catalina table is a mild pian in the neck to set up and then keep it from tilting unless you buy those optional hinge locks. A future project will be to cut the table down and install swing hinges. The ODay also had a leak keel encapsulated in fiberglass with a fiberglas centerboard that had no maintenance thru the years that I owned it. It was a family cruiser. It served my purposes well. But...ODays are no longer made. I think the Precision 23 comes as close to the same design. Catalinas, Hunters and Benetaues have survived. they have the right niche whatever that is to attract the buyers.

Edited by - on

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 11/01/2006 : 12:22:10

My Spirit 23 was very similar to the ODay 23 and considering how much space the head in a Catlina 25 takes up the 23 felt bigger inside as long as the pop-top was up or you were sitting. I remember touring my first Catalina 25 in the early 80s, it was a dinette, and after coming back to our Spirit my wife and I both felt like we liked our 23 better. The Spirit table also worked in the cockpit, that was nice.

Edited by - on

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 11/01/2006 : 12:27:45

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by OLarryR
 I still think that my ODay 23 had the best setup... In the cabin, the best feature it had was the table on hinges that allowed you to swing the table down. The Catalina table is a mild pian in the neck to set up and then keep it from tilting unless you buy those optional hinge locks.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Sounds like you have the dinette interior (as I did). The "traditional" interior is probably more like your O'Day's.

Edited by - on

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3442 Posts

Response Posted - 11/01/2006 : 22:37:36

Yes - The ODay had a similar setup to the traditional Catalina setup. We had bought he ODay 23 new in 1980 and then sold it in 1985 coinciding with our move to Northern Virginia area. At that time, we had a second kid coming, relatives and friends in NY to visit,,,it was just not in the cards to bring the boat down ere since we would have made little use of it at that time. I then got completely out of boating for over 20 years. Not sure when, perhaps 5 years ago, I learned that ODay went out of business. I was shocked. I guess it is also shocking that I would not have known about this sooner. But...I had other interests thru the years. Now I'm baaaack !

Even back in the 1980s, I was always envious of the Catalinas...I saw a number of the Catalina 22s in Huntington Harbor with the popup tops. They were also very popular, Looked good on the water. When I went looking for a boat last year, I really did not consider the ODays. I felt that the strong point for Catalinas, besides being interested in them a long time ago, was that they had a large population out there, mfr was still in business andit seemed that getting parts for them would be easier than for a boat that was no longer made. Anyway, overall, I am very pleased with my Catalina 25. Also, I think it is normal for each of us to consider improvements especially as specific areas need attention. It is a sport, hobby, family activity and a vacation spot...even if it is sometimes for only a few hours.

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