Its a Mystery.....

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to me why Mathew Shehan is sooo complimentary about the Hunter Mystery 35 in the July YW .
I am sure he knows all there is about performance and no doubt she sails wonderfully but....
Bow roller looks very small and anchor stowed in locker, presumably because it appears to foul the roller reefing. Maybe he never anchors ?
Handrails stop about a third of the way along the coach roof. No need to go forward exept to anchor and he dos'nt ?
Sweep of tiller so long as to make all but helm sit with legs out of cockpit.He sails alone ?
Use of heads requires trip full length of boat in dripping oil skins. He's under 40 and can hold on longer ?
Rudder is not skeg mounted. He never cruises near pots ?
I could go on but maybe I have missed the point.
If I wanted this kind of yacht I'd go for the beautiful Co32 AND save 3' in mooring charges.
Or am I wrong ???


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You are not wrong, I actually was praising this boat last week, but have since noticed for myself the hideous and totally impractical location of the furling in the anchor locker. Yes, no skeg too, but I thought we'd accepted these days that all designers were off school the day the teacher talked about skegs!!
As for the heads, well, the Co is the same, but you can buy a bucket cheap enough.
I actually think you are correct about the CO, you can pay as little as £20 K ( yes really its a fact )and get the real M'coy, or pay best part of £100 K and have a modern imitation, is this an unfair slant..?? ( tell me if it is)

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You gets a Co32 (nice boat) and you get overtaken going upwind by a man in a Mystery going 2 kts faster. So you turn to go downwind. He overtakes you again, going 4 kts faster.

To compensate, on the Co32, you do have the exhibitionist pleasure of sitting on the seat of easement, hidden only from your admiring onlookers by a curtain.

On the Mystery, that anchor well with the furler in is a nonsense, that'll be full of water in big seas. Told 'em so at Earls Court, but would they listen? And the tiller does need a rethink

PS If you want a new Co32, you'll have to pay that nice Mr Rogers the thick end of £70,000, and then find some more for the Vatman.

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.writeforweb.com/twister1>Let's Twist Again</A>
 
Yes, but the CO isn't the only boat of that style from the 60's and 70's - there are many alternatives - this just happens to be the best known. As has been said before people who buy this boat (or the new JR CO's) are looking for a traditional boat without the problems associated with a 30yr old boat. I'm sure there are buyers out there, but enough to make it finacially viable? Who knows?

Jeff.

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Its a pre-production Mystery.....

I think that things like the handrails and maybe the anchor locker are "sortable".

Look at the AVS and the balanced hull form. She should sell well after test sails.

I do hope that people who buy new boats will look at this one - if they have a non-sailing partner in life they may have an uphill struggle, but I hope they will persist.

Incidentally, like the Co32, she is in the "mainstream" price range, which shows it can be done by a UK company.

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It's even more of a Mystery to note that it's reviewed in YW , YM and PBO , in same month , and it gets funny comparing these reviews as at some points they are not really in agreement , not to say that I find them contradictory at moments....but will hush up now , years ago I dared to remark that the AVS charts of the Rustler42 as shown on YM and YW were pretty much different , as a result a disclaimer was added to all AVS graphs on the IPC magazines....don't want them to have disclaimers on the reviews too /forums/images/icons/wink.gif

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I guess they can't win. We read so much criticism of the modern BenJenBav AWB's, yet when someone does something different, they still get criticised. It's not my sort of boat, 'cos I'm not a good enough sailor to get the best out of it (and SWMBO would blanch at 35 degrees of heel, though maybe that's only testers bravado). Seems to me to be perfect for those who prefer sailing ability, style and something a bit different. It is light in displacement, but has good ballast ratios and stability curves. It deserves to succeed, but it's lack of interior space may not suit the AMSF (average modern sailing family)

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I hope they do win

I cannot afford one and I have my lifetime boat anyway. But it would be an awful shame if people who ARE looking for a new boat, with about the price of an "average white boat" burning a hole in their pocket, were to be dissuaded from this boat; the lack of interior volume is a very relative thing - she has a lot more space in her, and, I would think, more performance, than a Contessa 32, for instance.

It is not really fair of people to look at this boat and compare her with the Rustler 36, at an extra thirty six thousand pounds or so; of course she is going to need a bit more sorting out, but her performance should be pretty good and British Hunter have a reputation to protect - they don't commonly make bad boats.



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Testers

I thought JJ's test was by far the best and most comprehensive/objective of all. Especially when knowing of his preference for boat types.

It is not a boat for us at this moment in time but I hope they sell plenty of them just because it is a British build, design etc.

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Re: I hope they do win

Looking at the YM review - there is really very little more room than a Co32. The beam is very similar, and the waterline length only a bit greater.

That really for me is the issue with the design - someone who wants the space would go for a AWB, while someone who wants performance with less regard for comfort would be more likely to go for an out-and-out racer.

The Mystery should be great at making fast, safe offshore passages - but that really is the domain of the cruiser, and most cruisers would probably want more space.

I'd like to own one, but if I had that amount of money to buy a new boat would it be a Mystery? I'm really not sure.

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Not a trundler

One big thing in it's favour is that it seems to be damn fast for something that is far removed from a dedicated racer. So you can cruise further, or get there sooner, both big plusses in my book. As to stowage it has lots - I crawled all over the boat show prototype and was impressed. Less body space but more stowage space than an equivalent sized/priced AWB. Which is not good if you want 6 aboard for a weekend's solenteering, but is great if Ma and Pa are going off for a months' cruising.

Horses for courses, I guess.

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.writeforweb.com/twister1>Let's Twist Again</A>
 
You might be missing the point. Below the water line she is a very modern boat, nothing like a Contessa or Rustler,Twister etc and she sails nothing like these boats. She's got more of a racing performance but is designed to hark back to an earlier era when it comes to looks. She's peculiarly British when it comes to looks - looking backwards not forwards. That's to me where the concept fails-the older generation who like the looks because it reminds them of various 70's designs might not like the performance.People who appreciate it's undoubted performance might not like its looks.I'd love to have a sail in her because I'm sure I'd love her performance, bit I wouldn't go for one. She is a bit of a looker if you like that sort of a thing but my personal preference for looks alone would be the Victoria 34.

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Twister Ken has asked if I have any comments following the two long posts on the Mystery 35.

I am glad the boat has created such interest - it deserves to. If nothing else it is a brave design and build exercise which shows what can be done when you set out to take the best of traditional sailing values and marry them to modern research and production methods. Does it work and will people buy her?

The Scuttlebutt review team has made some very valid comments about the details of the boat - mainly critisisms, of course but I don't think any of these will put off people for whom the overall concept is right.

This is undoubtedly a sailor's boat. Handling her is a joy; she rewards skillful trimming, responds to the wind almost like a dinghy, yet has the directional stability and ballast ratio of a blue water long keeler. The accommodation is unlikely to appeal to families or charter companies but for couples or boys'-only cruises she has a lot going for her.

My worry, on Hunter's behalf, is that there are too few of these people around and some of those will be put off by the price. I would say to anyone who has the slightest feeling that this boat might suit them: go for a sail and experience her at first hand. I guarantee you will be impressed.

One final point. She has been compared to a Contessa 32 - understandably - and if you have £20,000 to £30,000 to spend, then it would be a good alternative. But the Mystery is a far better sailing boat and the accommodation, once one or two wrinkles have been ironed out, is well ahead of the game as well. Also you will have a new, leak-free boat with good upholstery, new sails, shiney hull and everything in working order - something you would have to spend up to £10,000 to achieve on a moderately good Contessa.

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would Hunter consider making it DIY package like their other yahcts ?? THAT might be appealing to the Contessa32 mob looking for an alternative that is not too costly .

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I hope they sell lots and lots, so that in maybe 5 years time they start to come on the second hand market. That's where they will show their pedigree (or not).

I couldn't afford one new, but second hand could be a different story.

We dont have an aft cabin at the moment and having slept in some much prefer to sleep up forward anyway.

Space? Well if you have space, you fill it. On my fathers 33' boat there is 8' beam, 5 of us holidayed for 5 weeks each year. I have a 30' boat with 10' beam. Two of us now fill it. In fact its time for a B***dy good clearout.

Horses 4 courses.

Regards

Donald

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I recently discovered that I know somebody who had a deposite on a Mystery 35 - but has ultimately bought a She 31 - so people are already make this choice. It will be a difficult time for the Mystery.

I hope she does well, otherwise there will be a shortage of 2nd hand boats like this eventually......

Jeff.

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Re: Isn\'t it..

...and i just thought you were writing posh

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