This is a story of a Hunter 23 and friendship. This 1986 beauty aptly named God’s Giftwas leftto us by our dear friends Steve and Marcia after Steve’s untimely passing. We had sailed with them over the past 17 years on this boat, and in fact wrote about her twice before in these pages: issues #49—Jan/ Feb 2008—Places:Mooselookmeguntic Lake, Maine and #56—Mar/Apr 2009 – Places: Lake Cupsuptic.
My wife Kathy and I were reintroduced to sailing back in the late 90s, when our friends took us out for a daysail. Soon after, we purchased our own little boat—a Sailstar Meteor 14 that fit our lifestyle perfectly. We trailersailed the Meteor for about five years—including several two-boat tours with our friends. I think it was the cabin (and accompanying Porta-Potti) in the Hunter that pushed us over the edge to sell the Meteor for a bit larger boat with a cabin. That is when the Sailstar Orion-19 came into the family. Sadly, we never finished that restoration project, and spent the next four years scratching our sailing itch aboard the Hunter with our friends.
I never considered the Hunter 23 a “small craft.” In fact, I thought it belonged moored with the big fixed-keel wheel-steering boats which I vowed never to move up to. I considered 19 feet the perfect size, and promised my wife that we would never build a barn to store our boat—if it doesn’t fit in the garage, it’s too big for us.
Of course that all changed when we were asked to carry on the legacy of God’s Gift. Now I think it’s the perfect-sized boat! Not that we would be able to trailersail all over the place like our previous boat—this thing takes a good two hours to set up. Once a year is quite enough.
Bu hikaye Small Craft Advisor dergisinin July/August Issue #106 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Small Craft Advisor dergisinin July/August Issue #106 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
A HEAD FOR RUBATO
I dislike port-a-potties. I'm not too fond of poop in any form, really, being non-scatological by nature.
THE ARTFUL SAILOR
Ain' nothin' new about using sails as nautical billboards. The ancients painted all sorts of signs and symbols on their sails.
Twin Keels
OUT WIHUEIRIJE with Howard Rice
Cedar Key 2022 Windy Boat Meet
Cartop Cruising
A New Trailer
THE BIGHTS
PLAN STUDY: Fancy Free
If you're looking for a simple and inexpensive cruising sailboat with traditional character, our FANCY FREE should fill the bill. The sharpie-dory hull with flat-bottom, hard-chine form is ideal for the amateur.
BOAT REVIEW: Rhodes 22 Revisited)
Overlooked by the masses, admired by owners—there are good reasons the Rhodes 22 has been in production for over a quarter century.
Another Favorite Mod
The always creative Tom Luque sent us details on one of his favorite modifications
BLOODY TUESDAY
“Although the author if indeed he even used his real name) calls this story fiction, we arent so sure. You be the judge. Eds
CRUISING ISLE ROYALE
I sle“ Royale on Lake Superior is one of my favorite places to cruise. Established as a National Park in 1931, Isle Royale is located about 20 miles off the North Shore of Lake Superior near the Minnesota/Canadian border.