Hunter Factory Tour! (Lots O Pics)

[scottbr]

Originally Posted by sailordave

Great photo essay and lots of good material for newbies.....

But they shore 'nuff are an UGLY boat.

I was going to say it was good to see a positive thread on Hunters but someone had to be an a$%......... looked in the mirror lately ???

[scottbr]

Originally Posted by Brezzin

I chalk it more up to marketing/webmasters not keeping up with the design decisions. Is it right? no, but then I didn't buy off of the web I bought from a dealer that explained all of the different options and changes.

This is how they describe it on the website ... no mention of material used in the keel...

• HKT Kevlar Hull Reinforcement
• Hull, FRP/ Balsa Sandwich Above
Waterline, Solid FRP bottom
• Hull, Structural Grid Reinforcement
• Keel, Shoal Draft

[NCC320]

Reference my previous post on this thread regarding Hunter and Caliber:

The beginning post seems to me to show some good work by Hunter and I think that the other production boats also have good work. (If they didn't do most of what they do correctly, including keeping costs and selling price in line, Hunter, Catalina, and Beneteau wouldn't be the largest producers. i.e., if you get it right, you stay in business and grow, get it wrong for very long and you're gone).

As to the Caliber boats. As far as I know, they are fine boats and I've never heard anything negative about them. And with the large tankage and rugged construction, they seem well suited for long distance sailing. As to having internal ballast, one could argue that this is a more expensive and better way to do things vs. a bolt on keel. While I don't like the idea of steel pellets, the same approach with lead pellets would seem to be fine. I guess they never have problems with leaking keel bolts either.

As some others said, every boat is a compromise and every owner's needs are a little different. It just seems a shame that one's pride and joy has to get trashed by others. If you've bought a boat, small or large, production or custom, old or new, it really can take the edge off your pleasure to have people trash it.

[KeelHaulin]

Originally Posted by eMKay

Well, on the hull there is no hardware or through-hulls in the balsa, it's above the waterline.

Look again eMKay... Based on the layup photo don't think those portlights in the hull are through solid FRP.

k1vsk- Any portion of the boat below the deck joint is considered the "hull"; so yes the hull is partially balsa cored. The concerns with moisture getting in or crush damage from hitting a dock or pile is high on boats constructed with cored hulls. With the way these boats are constructed; how would you deal with core replacement? It looks to me like you would have to cut the outer hull away and re-glass it on as if you were re-coring a deck. But I don't think I would trust that type of repair to a hull.

[k1vsk]

Originally Posted by KeelHaulin

The concerns with moisture getting in or crush damage from hitting a dock or pile is high on boats constructed with cored hulls. With the way these boats are constructed; how would you deal with core replacement?

I guess your preference for steel hulls is showing as there are very, very few FRP boats made these days with solid core topsides. Bur then, repairing a damaged section of steel would be harder still.

Replacing a damaged core section on a cored hull would be equivalent to that done on a cored deck - something I suspect you already know... and these typre repairs are usually stronger than the original build.

[Brezzin]

Take a look at those pictures. The Balsa core is laid up in 4"x4" blocks. Each block is laid up with the grain in an alternating direction from it's neighbor. In addition each block is individually sealed. The benefit here is that if hull leakage does occur the moisture won't wick over a large area and the balsa won't rot because it's been sealed. Why a cored hull in the first place? Insulation, stiffening and weight reduction. Personally I think hunter has done a good job with the cored hulls.

[KeelHaulin]

Originally Posted by Brezzin

Take a look at those pictures. The Balsa core is laid up in 4"x4" blocks. Each block is laid up with the grain in an alternating direction from it's neighbor. In addition each block is individually sealed. The benefit here is that if hull leakage does occur the moisture won't wick over a large area and the balsa won't rot because it's been sealed. Why a cored hull in the first place? Insulation, stiffening and weight reduction. Personally I think hunter has done a good job with the cored hulls.

Well it's no different that it has been done since the '60s; balsa core is made by gluing rectangular sticks of balsa into a big block and then slicing it across the grain. My '79 has decks that are cored and it looks exactly the same from underneath as what is shown in the side of the Hunter. While end-grain balsa can reduce the potential for core-rot it does not stop it and unfortunately once balsa gets wet it decays more rapidly because it has very low density (it's mostly air to begin with). When a core gets wet or has delaminated if it is not noticed early it will spread regardless of the fact that it is end-grain wood. Spongy decks are easy to spot; is a soft spot on the hull as easy to detect?

I would prefer a boat not to be cored anywhere in the hull; but if I wanted a new racer/cruiser and it is built with coring I think I would want an Airex core or whatever the latest and most resilient core material is.