Things I don't like so much....

Having graduated from the school of grumpy olds recently, this list is mainly about those irritating things that will pop up in your life and cause a drama when you least expect them to! 

Water Tanks.  5x plastic, which are fine, but I don’t know how you would ever get them out if ever they needed to be replaced ie they are largely covered by furniture.  One of them has lost its intake fitting and I have had to block it with a (screw-in) plug however seems ok since I can fill the tank via its neighbour.  All tanks are interconnected and have individual cocks (neatly together and easily accessible in a central console under the floorboards) but, from my experience, you also need to keep them open otherwise the water pressure system seems to malfunction.  The forward tank seems to empty first and can’t be isolated, which I would like to do to help keep the weight forward for hull trim.  I’m still learning. 

Cruising lets you see new places

Fuel Tank.  Aluminium 100 gallons but there is no inspection port so can’t clean it that way. In the event of grunge getting established you would have to use one of those expensive cleaning pumps which swishes the fuel around, pumping it in and out while cleaning it.  So far, I haven’t had that problem and this could be because the boat is a previous charter boat so that fuel was turned over relatively frequently and I also treat any fuel I put into it.  If the tank cracks at, say, one of its welds then one would have to cut out a substantial portion of the stern to get the tank out.  We have also used a fair amount of fuel so it has been turned over a fair bit and I also routinely check and clean the primary filter.

Complexity.  The boat’s systems appear to be complex but, if you want all the bells and whistles, then one probably has no choice.  The owner’s manual helps a lot too however it does mean that there is more to go wrong, as it inevitably must.  See my ever-growing list of stuff I have had to repair/replace or upgrade along the way.

And chat to a few locals about good fishing spots 

Rudder.  One aspect of these balanced rudders – like most production boats – is that the rudder base is almost level with the bottom of the keel and they have no skeg in front of them so could be quite vulnerable in a grounding.  This fact has made me very careful whenever I approach an anchorage – I watch the depth sounder like a hawk.

Stern Cleats.  The Hunter 460 stern is quite unique in that there is no side deck at the stern that one can walk around when handling docking lines – you need to attach lines from the cockpit.   The mooring cleats are a little small in my opinion ie they can really only take one dock line comfortably, although there are three each side, which is good.

Improve your diet

Deck Lining.  The internal deck lining is a mixture of rigid plastic and soft coverings that are easily marked and/or distorted.  One day I will rip out the soft covering and replace it with something like timber battens or ply so that I can easily access all the bits and pieces attached to and under the deck - wiring, etc.

Internal Moulds.  They are good when it comes to keeping clean and cleaning showers, etc but also some will need partial destruction if and when I have to replace water tanks, etc.  Fortunately there are quite a few internal access plates that can be unscrewed for access to electrical junction boxes, winch bases, etc.

Access to Engine.  See above, generally good except that the port side is, to an extent, covered by one of the galley benches.  The bench can be only partially removed and it is a bit of a chore, not assisted by the plumbing pipes to the sink.  The raw water pump is also located in a very inconvenient position on the port side of the engine and faces aft so I’m not looking forward to having to replace the water pump impellor when next I should have to.  I have also had to reinforce the bench mountings as it moved around a bit in a seaway ie the screws that should have attached the base of the bench to a wooden stringer were not in fact in place ie they had never been fitted as indicated in the owners manual.

Thru Hull Fittings.  There appear to be hundreds when you first look although, at last count, fourteen.  Most sea water intakes could be via one or two fittings I would have thought – one back one front – although outlets might have to remain.

Enjoy a little music

Stern Pushpit and Stern.  Not as large as some other boats this size and now a bit crowded with davits, Lifesling, lifebuoy, barbecue, flag holder, fishing rod holders(2), outboard & bracket and an outboard crane.  Windvane self steering gear also takes up one side of stern when fitted. 

Attention to Detail. Such as screws on interior furnishings!  Initially I was constantly replacing wood screws on interior furniture because they had become loose and no longer held.  I am using more substantial self tapping screws as I replace the older ones.  Some of the screws didn’t actually attach to anything eg occasionally they missed the piece of beading, etc they were supposed to be attached to.  The galley centreline bench was not attached at all to the stringer at its base – I had to do that after the bench started shifting while in a seaway!

Portholes.  The rear portholes in the aft cabins seem to line up with the deck overflow.  If it rains, and a really silly crew member/guest forgets to close those ones in particular, water just flows over the side of WJ3 and floods into their cabin.  On to the mattress - never a good thing!

Then go shopping for staples