Hunter Minstrel / Liberty of similar

[Mandarin331]

Rather taken a fancy to one of these, or looking for something similar. Our requirements are something with lift keel, separate heads, capable of a two burner cooker, two comfortable berths, easily trailed with an on-the-road weight of max 1600ish kgs.

So far either of the Hunters fit the bill, but are there any others out there which we could extend the search to?

The thoughts of the assembled company would be much appreciate (or even if someone knows of one of these up for sale).

 

[mrming]

There’s a Minstrel and a Liberty for sail on Apollo Duck. Conveniently one is in Cornwall and the other in Scotland.

Depending on your style preferences you might also want to look at the Red Fox 200e.

 

[Concerto]

Dylan Winter of Keep Turning Left owned a Hunter Minstrel.
Hunter Minstrel « Keep Turning Left

 

[Blueboatman]

Dylan Winter of Keep Turning Left owned a Hunter Minstrel.
Hunter Minstrel « Keep Turning Left

Yeah, did he keep it ?

 

[DownWest]

Allways thought they were great boats for short cruises and local sailing.

 

[Mandarin331]

There’s a Minstrel and a Liberty for sail on Apollo Duck. Conveniently one is in Cornwall and the other in Scotland.

Depending on your style preferences you might also want to look at the Red Fox 200e.

Thanks, yes I know about those two and considering them - but may have missed the Cornish one. Oddly both are 400 miles from us !

The red fox200e is certainly interesting - thanks for the suggestion, they are now on our list of possibilities.

 

[Bilgediver]

Yeah, did he keep it ?

He kept it till all his left turns got him to Scotland and I suspect he wanted something beefier for The Pentland Firth so swapped to a Centaur. I believe like all of us he is getting older and has more recently seen sailing in a small Fisher. It has a convenient dashboard for the coffee mug and keeps him dry

 

[michael_w]

IIRC Dylan's Minstrel is lurking in his garden.

 

[Blueboatman]

He kept it till all his left turns got him to Scotland and I suspect he wanted something beefier for The Pentland Firth so swapped to a Centaur. I believe like all of us he is getting older and has more recently seen sailing in a small Fisher. It has a convenient dashboard for the coffee mug and keeps him dry

Ah, thx

Winters Wheelhouse is a very handy place for a coffee?.

iirc the liberty had 2 rigs to play with?

Dylan made some very astute purchases.

 

[bitbaltic]

Used to really enjoy KTL, pity Dylan no longer posts and the circumnavigation seems to have ground to a halt.

 

[mrming]

Used to really enjoy KTL, pity Dylan no longer posts and the circumnavigation seems to have ground to a halt.

He still posts on Sailing Anarchy. Not sure on the status of the circumnavigation but he’s been tinkering with a Fisher 25 he bought.

 

[GeeW]

Realistic weights for either the Liberty 23 or the Minstrel will make it hard to keep under your 1600kg road limit for towing.
The Liberty 22 is circa 150kg lighter and if you go with a light single axle trailer and remove outboard and anchor you should be able to achieve that...it will be tight though!
Great boats though, ours is a Liberty 22.
Empty single axle trailer weight as a guide for you is 380Kg

 

[Mandarin331]

Realistic weights for either the Liberty 23 or the Minstrel will make it hard to keep under your 1600kg road limit for towing.
The Liberty 22 is circa 150kg lighter and if you go with a light single axle trailer and remove outboard and anchor you should be able to achieve that...it will be tight though!
Great boats though, ours is a Liberty 22.
Empty single axle trailer weight as a guide for you is 380Kg

Thats fine I think and helpful to know the trailer weight, the car has a towing capacity of 2000kgs and kerb weight of 1700 but I want to keep a sensible margin, straying somewhat over the 1600 is not a problem (we pull a 1600 kgs caravan easily).

How easy is it to drop the masts on a liberty, we're planning on Norfolk broads part time so mast dropping will become routine.

 

[dunedin]

Thats fine I think and helpful to know the trailer weight, the car has a towing capacity of 2000kgs and kerb weight of 1700 but I want to keep a sensible margin, straying somewhat over the 1600 is not a problem (we pull a 1600 kgs caravan easily).

How easy is it to drop the masts on a liberty, we're planning on Norfolk broads part time so mast dropping will become routine.

As was discussed on a motor boat thread, published boat weights are often extremely optimistic. If buying a boat to tow, I would want to see it on a public weigh scale before committing to purchase.
And not sure what car it is, but 1,700kg kerb weight sounds on the light side of most vehicles used for towing large boats - I think my small 4x4 is heavier than that.

 

[wallacebob]

Sold my Lib22 last summer; I think I’m regretting it already. Excellent boats, not to everyone’s taste. Sailing is very relaxed, and easy going. They sail well off wind, but don’t point high. I fitted a bowsprit to heLp tacking, with a small foresail. She then developed a good turn of speed. Day sailing and occasional nights is suitable, but sitting head room gets tiresome if stuck below for days. Very comfortable big double berth at night tho’. The places you can sail, anchor or beach are varied. Very good HLMOA website, good forum and for sale area.

 

[Arcady]

Very easy to raise either spar on the Liberty 22. The mizzen is easy single-handed, but the main mast easier with two - only because you have to hold the mast vertical while someone fastens the bolt below. Having said that, if you improvise with a temporary forestay, it’s doable single-handed too. I might be selling mine come springtime …

 

[GeeW]

I agree with Arcady re mast raising. Lowering can easily be done on both masts single handed. The main is not heavy just unwieldy to move around as it needs to be moved forwards from its pivot point for trailing.
Bought new sails last year which really cheered up the speed and pointing ability/tacking angle
We (2 of us) usually manage a 2 week trip each year without issues. Sorting out a good cabin table helps a lot as well.
With regards to headroom, if you are 6'6" tall then your comfort will be a lot less than mine (5'6").

 

[Fantasie 19]

He still posts on Sailing Anarchy. Not sure on the status of the circumnavigation but he’s been tinkering with a Fisher 25 he bought.

He's also just released (or rather re-released) a whole load of content to You Tube.. 4K quality.. one hopes hat the Fisher is far enough advanced that he can take it to Scotland and recommence the KTL journey..

 

[Tradewinds]

He's also just released (or rather re-released) a whole load of content to You Tube.. 4K quality.. one hopes hat the Fisher is far enough advanced that he can take it to Scotland and recommence the KTL journey..

Courtesy of Cruising Anarchy - Apparently, he's got sponsors/patrons and he's converting the Fisher to electric propulsion and plans to be in the Hebrides for a lengthy period of time.

He still moans though.

 

[dunedin]

Courtesy of Cruising Anarchy - Apparently, he's got sponsors/patrons and he's converting the Fisher to electric propulsion and plans to be in the Hebrides for a lengthy period of time.

He still moans though.

Oh no! Look out for a Fisher with a Torqeedo outboard strapped to the stern. He was always keen on removing inboard engines