FOR SALE: HUNTER 49 CRUISING YACHT
This is the second Hunter 49 I’ve been lucky enough to review, and I can’t say enough good things about these yachts. I have found them to be an extremely comfortable and safe bluewater cruising yacht with a great design emphasis on ease of sailing.
Foxy Lady II is a pre-loved Hunter 49 that has just completed a Pacific Ocean cruise from the USA to Australia, in the experienced hands of its owner, a professional large-yacht captain. He had to return to Australia and had always wanted to sail the Pacific.
See this Hunter 40 yacht for sale
It says plenty that the Hunter 49 was his boat of choice. And why not? In 2008 it won Cruising World magazine’s Best Full Size Cruiser award.
The owner’s original aim was to then head to South East Asia, but a commission to build a 200-footer overseas forced a change of plan, so this well-equipped boat is reluctantly on the market.
HUNTER YACHTS
Hunter Yachts are easily distinguished, thanks to a trademark rubbing rail that covers the flanged deck-hull joint. Closer inspection shows another difference: a rig that has a slender mast section and no backstay.
The B&R rig was developed in the 1960s by Lars Bergstrom and Sven Ridder, for use on shorthanded, around-the-world racing yachts. This proven rig design has swept-back spreaders, with the shrouds and forestay spaced at 120-degree intervals, triangulating the mast support. Hunter adopted the B&R rig in 1993 for all its benefits and, interestingly, Beneteau has now adopted a similar rig for some of its new-generation First yachts.
BUILD AND LAYOUT
Construction is state-of-the-art, with Hunter hulls and decks built in a production line process, using a combination of solid FRP and Baltek and plywood sandwich materials. Below the waterline, the hull is monolithic FRP and above the waterline, it’s end-grain balsa sandwich. The forward section of the hull, from the keel sump to the stem, is reinforced with a Kevlar layer, to strengthen the hull against an object strike.
The outer hull skin is Ashland AME 5000 modified epoxy, for maximum osmosis resistance.
The chainplates are attached by massive bolts and a belt of reinforcement runs around the hull, from chainplate to chainplate. Deck walking areas are plywood sandwich laminate, and Coremat reinforced FRP is used for vertical surfaces, with aluminium plates embedded in the laminate at deck hardware attachments.
The Hunter 49 has a solid stainless steel bar rudder stock, in concert with an isolation transformer to address any corrosion issues. Steering is by rod draglink, from twin wheel stations.
MASTS
Foxy Lady II is a Hunter 49 performance model, with in-mast furling main, furling genoa, furling self-tacking jib and asymmetrical spinnaker with whisker pole. The large cockpit area features an offshore dodger and can be totally enclosed for wet-weather sailing.
Foxy Lady II comes fully loaded with more than $250,000 in extras that include a spare rudder, Hydrovane wind steering, Kyocera solar panel charging, D400 wind generator, forward-looking sonar, bowthruster, four-blade Max-Prop, Spectra watermaker, generous 1200amp/h battery storage, Fischer Panda generator, as-new Yanmar 100hp diesel with 120 and 200amp alternators, AIS, fibreglass-floor RIB with 18hp outboard on the davits, six-person liferaft, three anchors and full Icom electronics package.
Bluewater cruising reassurance comes from long-range fuel and water tanks, plus full Raymarine navigation and autopilot setup, including radar. The entire system can be controlled by a wireless remote control. Also included is a Jordon series drogue, SeaKits damage control kit, EPIRB, safety lines, mast steps and Oceanmedix Marine 3000 medical kit. There’s also a large inventory of spare parts and service items, including a propeller.
THE VERDICT
The standard Hunter 49 is luxurious, as befitted the company’s flagship yacht, but Foxy Lady II is optioned to the max. Further additions to standard fare include leather upholstery, a washer-dryer, two fridges, two freezers and an icemaker, hydronic heating system, air-conditioning and 12V, 110V and 240V power circuits...indeed, as mentioned earlier, more than $250,000 worth of extras.
The phrase “nothing more to spend” surely applies to this Foxy Lady II.
HUNTER 49 SPECIFICATIONS
FOR SALE Reduced to $475,000
YEAR BUILT 2007
MATERIAL Solid FRP and FRP laminate
TYPE Sailing monohull
LENGTH 15.2m
BEAM 4.47m
DRAFT 2.13m
FUEL 850lt
WATER 485lt (plus watermaker)
ENGINE 100hp Yanmar
CONTACT Phillip Burke Phone 0413 623 222 or (07) 5529 2040
Email: captainphillip@optusnet.com.au
Originally published in Trade-A-Boat #454, July 2014. Why not subscribe today?