1979 Hunter Cherubini 33' or 1977 Columbia 29' (8.7)

sailguy40 · #1 02-17-2013

Maybe someone can help out on my decision here. I am looking at the above two boats, I am interested in both but leaning towards the Hunter. They are both in good condition. Although the Columbia is 2k less. I will be living aboard off and on during the summer. I plan to sail from New Orleans to Florida keys or Bahamas maybe once a year. Most times 2 to 3 other people will be with me so 4 of us total. Also I will be doing a lot of single handing. Mostly I will be sailing to the barrier islands along the gulf coast. I am thinking the Hunter will fit the bill but from what I read around, Columbias are some sturdy and capable cruisers but this one is not as big as the Hunter. The displacement of the Hunter is 10,400 and Columbia is 8500 so I fairly large difference there. Any advice based on this info?

chuck53 · #2 02-17-2013

There's no question that Columbia's are the better built boat, but the living space for the Hunter will be much larger. There are tons of boats for sale, why just these two?

sailguy40 · #3 02-17-2013

I must have looked at thousands of boats on the net and narrowed it down to these two. They are right here in my area and in the price range and size I am looking for, plus the condition. I did indeed find others but wow the cost to transport them back was really high and I am not seasoned enough to sail back from Florida or east coast just yet. I was also considering an Alberg 30 a few weeks ago but it seems the cabin space is more limiting on that one but the seaworthiness was unmatched.

chuck53 · #4 02-17-2013

The internet is a wonderful tool, but sometimes you just have to go walk the docks and boatyards and actually go aboard to make comparisons. Only then can you really decide what features are must haves, like to haves, don't really need and don't want.

Faster · #5 02-17-2013

What's your budget? That goes a long way to limiting your list of options, but as Chuck says there are a lot of boats out there, to limit yourself so specifically at this point is not doing yourself any favours. I'd guess that neither of those two boats would 'pop up' as the average sailors' 'top picks' in that range.

MastUndSchotbruch · #6 02-17-2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by sailguy40

Maybe someone can help out on my decision here. I am looking at the above two boats, I am interested in both but leaning towards the Hunter. They are both in good condition. Although the Columbia is 2k less. I will be living aboard off and on during the summer. I plan to sail from New Orleans to Florida keys or Bahamas maybe once a year. Most times 2 to 3 other people will be with me so 4 of us total. Also I will be doing a lot of single handing. Mostly I will be sailing to the barrier islands along the gulf coast. I am thinking the Hunter will fit the bill but from what I read around, Columbias are some sturdy and capable cruisers but this one is not as big as the Hunter. The displacement of the Hunter is 10,400 and Columbia is 8500 so I fairly large difference there. Any advice based on this info?

Columbias are not Hinkleys but they are well built for production boats. The 8.7 is a classic, designed by Allan Payne. See Columbia 8.7 Specifications for specs. There is also a very active owners group (for all Columbias) at columbiasailingyachts : Messages : 138417-138446 of 138446.

sailguy40 · #7 02-17-2013

I should have mentioned that I did look at these two in person for the first time yesterday. They are both nice looking boats and seem to be in good condition but a survey and trial sail will show more. My limitation is what is available in the area I live in (New Orleans area to Mississippi gulf coast) in my price range. This will be my second boat so budget would be around 10,000 add or take a couple thousand.

Faster · #8 02-17-2013

I'm sure you've done this already.. but here's a Gulf Coast YW search for boats up to $10K/35 feet. Three or four decent candidates here..

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listi...dedSelected=-1

jameso · #9 02-18-2013

spend some time on both boats, in th cockpit and down below, to see which one of the two is more comfortable. I own a Columbia 8.3 and I can't see forward over the cabin trunk well enough while at the tiller, puts me in a bit of a stain after some time, now I'm not a tall fellow at 5'10". I sail on the TN river and have to keep an eye open for buoys and such, but comfort is very important on a small craft.

hamburking · #10 02-27-2013

Having owned a hunter...I would recommend going with the hunter.
The yanmar is a good engine, and the layout is good too.