Chrysler Sailors Forum

I got a sweet deal earlier this year on my Chrysler for $2500, It was in great condition and it came with a harken roller furling. Now when my Uncle and I came across a 1985 Hunter 23 for $1500 we jumped on it even thought it was incredibly dirty and was sitting in someones back yard for the past 7 years.

We sorted everything out, the boat is solid, the sails were in great condition, but the ropes are shot and the hardware is marginal. We got the motor running, cleaned it up really good and buffed out the hull, it is now just about ready to drop in the water:




(My uncle is "captain crab" and his 3 year old daughter is Emily)



Differences between this boat and the Chrysler:
Much thinner fiberglass make it lighter even though it is a bit larger than the chrysler, the chrysler feels a lot more solid in comparison, the Hunter almost seems cheap.

The fixed wing keel is kind of cool, only draws 2.5 feet of water and it doesnt have to be cranked up and down.

It has a 3 foot higher mast and longer boom so a much larger main sail.

Has a longer cockpit to fit more people on the outside.

I like having easy access to the rudder that just hangs off the back.

It does have some cool design details I like, for example you can see how the edges of the cockpit are sloped at an angle that make them a perfect seat when the boat his heeling. Also the little anchor compartment at the tip of the boat is nice.

Havent sailed it yet but I suspect it isnt a heavy wind boat, probably very fast though in a slight breeze.

Which boat would you rather sail?

Sweet deals on both! Congrats on a good find!

When I walk the dock I like to look at the different boats and there rigging...

What do you see when you compare the C-22 with the Hunter 23? Maybe the C-22 is a bit heavy on it's rigging, but I like that when the wind is blowing at 30+, and I'm kinda liking that range in my C-22, it's exciting It's comforting to know the mast will stay upright when heeled over in those winds. I've seen Pam looking up at the rigging when it's like that and she's told me she can't help think of all the stresses,,, and is glad it's heavier then some of the boats we see walking the docks too.

Now some of those other boats are prettier, have some things that would be nice to have, but I don't see them out on the lake when the winds pick up. There more like a fair weather boat, nice for a picnick and a gentle breeze. That may be why they have a larger sail area, for the lower force winds?? I've seen some of them camping and they do enjoy them for sure... But I like knowing I'm safe in my C-22 when caught out for a weekend and unpredicted, local weather turns nasty.

I don't race at all on my boat, and I have it in a slip, so the keel pretty much goes down all the way, then about 4-5 cranks back up and just stay's there. That keeps it from swinging fore and aft when punching waves and stressin the cable, just raises the pitch of the hum an octave or whatever. But I could crank it all the way up and go right onto shore if I wanted, (I don't tho, don't like the stress on the keel brackets) or over some really shallow water to get through a tight spot, or up next to a cliff and step off to check something that caught my eye... options ya don't have with a fixed keel anyways.

I like all the sailboats and have had fun on every one I've been on. Ya just have to know what there limitations are to keep outta trouble, which I seem bound to get into from time to time

Like Billy said.

Last weekend I took a new sailor for his first sail on Lady Jo. BLowing 25 kts plus gusts. We hit the water taking some waves over the bow and had a blast. The seas on Possession Sound get pretty big pretty fast. We sailed out and around Hatt Island in this stuff. Stan commented several times on how fun it was and kept asking why we were literally the only boat on the water. I generally ignored the question but the last time he was pretty confused and asked yet again why only us. I smiled and said "Because it was to rough for other boaters"! He laughed at me knowing I'm a bit of a smart a$$ and blew it off! After about an 18 mile round trip we headed back. Spying another sailboat on a trailer we hurried Lady Jo on her trailer in hopes of getting a hand unstepping her mast.


Like all sailors the guy with the 21' Saun Juan immediately said he'd love to help! He eyeballed Lady Jo and was surprise to find she was a Chrysler! He wanted to know if we had taken her out of the river channel into the sound. Yes we did, in fact we went out around Hatt Island. He was amazed at our guts to sail in such conditions and literally bombarded us with questions about how she handled, were we scared, did we broach at all, etc etc etc. We answered all his questions and asked where did he and his crew go. The went down the river and came right back in.


As Stan and I were driving home towing Lady Jo back to my house he looked me square in the eye and said " you weren't kidding". I said about what? He thought I was joking when I told him other boaters thought it was to rough. He'd had a blast and had complete confidence in the boat and Captain. The Captain had complete confidence in the boat also!

Seriously, these 22'ers are built like tanks. the easiest things to see a difference is we have toe rails. No other smaller boats have that feature. Also compare the mast to other boats our size and you will see ours is MUCH beefier! Yes, there are many things but these two alone are extremely visible and easy to compare.

Nothing wrong with the Hunter or other boats but if I'm in a blow with a 22'er I'd prefer a C22 and even more specifically MY C22 because I have her rigged the way I liker her!!!! She's tried and true.

Scott

PS Congrats on the Hunter find!!! I always LOVE a great deal on a sailboat!!

Got to sail both boats this weekend and try out the new Hunter.
These pics are from Saturday, on Sunday we sailed the Hunter in winds as high as 23 knots. Just having the main sail up was enough to heel the boat all the way over but it handled really well in the choppy water. Not bad considering it was sitting on a trailer outside for the better part of a decade. The boat feels a lot different then the Chrysler because the keel is not as deep so you can feel it slide sideways, it also seems to fight the rudder a lot more than the Chrysler. I think having the swing keel sitting lower has a lot of handling advantages but it was nice not having to crank it up and down when docking. The hunter was a much faster boat in very light wind but as soon as the wind got heavier the Chrysler was faster since I have a Genoa sail.
Some brief video clips from Saturday, I may have some more from Sunday on a different camera. Sunday was pretty nuts out there, there was one burst of wind that nearly dumped everyone out of the boat

http://www.youtube.com/user/heekee#p/u/3/Bqv0fK4HAZs
http://www.youtube.com/user/heekee#p/u/2/HYkJkYJ1Vas
http://www.youtube.com/user/heekee#p/u/2/HYkJkYJ1Vas
http://www.youtube.com/user/heekee#p/u/0/G-UgVIwz80E
(They do look silly sailing with the fenders down)

Well, the Hunter is nice in the pics and vid, but how about the Chrysler ?

EmergencyExit wrote:Well, the Hunter is nice in the pics and vid, but how about the Chrysler ?

Ah yes, still waiting for my brother to send me some of the pics he took of my Chrysler in action, he was in the other boat, so far I only have pics of the boat sitting on the dock

Looks sharp!!

Cool to be out there with a friend along side sailing too eh!

Bhacurly wrote:Looks sharp!!

Cool to be out there with a friend along side sailing too eh!

Yea it is a ton of fun with another boat because it gives you something to chase or run from

Another pic, Chrysler 22 in action



Here is my Chrysler with full sails and a slight breeze on Saturday
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_evRQIMGIs

Then the next day my outboard died again so we all piled into the Hunter for some 25 knot winds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSIxsWM6eBg

At one point when sailing downwind we almost completely tipped it and we only had the main sail up

Hey Heekee,

What was up with that mainsail trim on that hunter? Looks like either the sail was not up all the way, or you have a loose downhaul.



In high winds, you want that sail nice and flat. Get those wrinkles out!

kokezaru wrote:Hey Heekee,

What was up with that mainsail trim on that hunter? Looks like either the sail was not up all the way, or you have a loose downhaul.



In high winds, you want that sail nice and flat. Get those wrinkles out!

Good point, even though the sails appear to be in good condition on that boat they actually seem a bit blown out and loose. Im pretty sure they were up all the way.

heekee wrote: Good point, even though the sails appear to be in good condition on that boat they actually seem a bit blown out and loose. Im pretty sure they were up all the way.

You might consider having a cringle added a short way up the luff, and then rigging a cunningham. It is a racers tool of adjusting a sail for max performance, but crusers us the technique to get some more life out of older sails. (though you would benifet also from better performance)