hunter boats

[ericflint]

We are thinking of a Hunter 23 as a sound boat to cruise the solent in. Could it safely cross the channel on a good day?
Also how do we join the Hunter owners as any tips will be appreciated as we fly up the learn curve.

Thanks

 

[marhaba]

Excellent little boat. I had one a couple of years ago, sailed it out of Portsmouth harbour. Our cruising area was generally between Chichester Harbour and Poole Harbour, with one trip as far as Plymouth. It's perfect for Solent cruising and for longer trips if the crew experience is appropriate. It could certainly "cross the channel on a good day" but you really need to ask yourself if you and your crew have the necessary skills to handle the situation if the weather deteriorated and it became a "bad day". I would strongly recommend that until you are well up the learning curve you stick to the Solent and adjacent estuaries. There will be lots of fun to be had (and challenges to be met) in these relatively sheltered waters.

My Horizon 23 was factory built but you are probably aware that many were home built from kits. While looking for my boat I came across some very poorly finished home built examples. These should be cheaper than a factory finished example but if the finish looks botched you will need to look carefully at the structural bits.

Good luck.