Aug 20 2009
Sexy New Hunter 39 Sloop Makes Debut
The latest Glenn Henderson designed Hunter sailboat just looks swift and sexy to me! The all new Hunter 39 replaces the 38. I always thought the 38 was just too close to the 36 model and the jump from 36 to 41 too far. So now, the largest mid-size yacht in the Hunter line is this sweet girl! It is only my personal opinion but I see some subtle changes that I hope Hunter carries through the rest of their line in the coming years.
I think this model size is going to be very popular. It is going to have a good size to it but not be so large as to be unmanageable in its slip, maintenance and operating costs. Your first chance to see the new boat will be at the Newport, RI show, September 17-20 or at the Annapolis, MD show, October 8-12.
Looks like they moved the winches for the jib sheets and reduced the mass of the binnacle and moved the instrument pod. That’ll sure help us short people see where we’re headed. And the new winch location has got to be an improvement.
Also looks like we have two helm stations and a very handy and possibly comfortable lee rail to sit on.
Hope Sailtime doesn’t buy the funky dodger. Only Ken will be able to see over it and the rest of us would probably have to stoop to some degree to look through it.
The arch is sleeker, but doesn’t extend as far abeam. Theoretically, that’ll hurt downwind performance, but I doubt we’d be able to measure that.
I’d be interested to know how the cockpit dimensions have changed compared to the 36. This might actually be narrower and may have less linear space on the settees. There may not be enough room for a short guy with a pillow to stretch out.
When you go to the boat show, Chris, take a pillow and check it out.
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It’s hard to say for sure with the pic. There is another pic at the sailtime.com blog. Thats the factory dodger – remember Rainbow’s first one?
What looks different to me is lower freeboard. but that may be an optical illusion with the new deck treatment. I like their new window design more than the beenertoes and new FLatalina to be sure. Hopefully Hunter will see your comments and take them into consideration!
I hope Hunter has made some improvements in the 39 over their 38. I have had the opportunity to sail Hunter 33s and 36s quite a few times. Thanks to Sailtime’s recropricoty agreement, I have also sailed a 38 for several days out of San Francisco Bay and recently out of Newport Beach on a two day Catalina trip. I must admit that the 38 is a very spacious boat compared to the 36, but there were a number of things I did not like.
While a lot of people like a spacious interior, I think that the cockpit is where the attention should be focused, probably because I would rather be sailing than lounging below In this regard, I think that the 38 is lacking. There is a step in front of the companionway that interfers with using the forward winches. It’s very uncomfortable to sit in the cockpit seats because there is no good back support. Also, these seats are very low and difficult to get in and out of. The aft pulpit seats are not high enough and when you sit in them, your knees are almost touching your chin. At the helm, things are very open and there is nothing to grab onto if things get rough and you get tossed about.
I think that the 38 has too much sail area (or not enough balast) for CI sailing. In winds under 12 knots she is very fast compared to a 36. In Catalina we were making over 4 knots in 6 knot winds. But over 15 knots, the boat is much harder to handle than a 36. In San Francisco Bay in 23 knot winds, we had to reef the 38 like we would reef a 36 in 28-30 knot winds.
Maybe I am just not used to the 38, but this is what I have observed in the few times I have sailed one. I would be interested to see if Hunter has received similar comments and made improvements in their new 39. I would also be interested to hear from anyone else who has sailed a Hunter 38 to see if they have the same or a different experience.