Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Hunter 707 Keel Boat ‘Little Red Rooster’



'Little Red Rooster'


Here she is again


Following on from yesterday’s article about J 80s, here is a smaller, but similar ‘flyer’ at 23’ 8” LOA. First built by British Hunter Boats in 1995, the 707 is a one design keel boat. She came from the board of David Thomas who also drew the lines and construction plans for the his very successful Sonata and Impala, both of them manufactured by Hunter.

A bit of ‘googling’ revealed several links to websites offering information about Hunter 707s. It wasn’t difficult to discover who the owner of ‘Little Red Rooster’ was, not that I deliberately sought him out. His name popped up in racing results published by a certain yacht club at Burnham-on-Crouch.

Hunter 707s will appeal to the sporty sailor who enjoys racing on an equal basis. Being a one design boat, they are almost identical, apart from minute differences that may have occured during the manufacturing process. All of them must conform to the Hunter 707 class rules before they can be raced in official events. They are able to take up to five crew members, which can be helpful when conditions are boisterous, because they can act as mobile ballast for trimming the boat. In less windy conditions, fewer crew will help reduce a boat’s actual displacement and reduce her wetted surface for optimum performance.

As with the bigger J 80s, 707s are excellent for family day sailing. They can also be cruised by hardy types who make light of her minimal facilities and accommodation. They have been used by Banff Sailing Club and the University of St Andrews Sailing Club for tutoring beginners. Apparently they are excellent boats for match racing. A fixed draught of nearly 5 feet may limit where they can be sailed, and they must be kept on a deepwater mooring. A YBW Forum commentator said his 707 engine arrangement was better than the one with his current boat, a Jeanneau Sun 200. If I remember correctly, Hunter have a system for fully retracting an outboard engine from an access box near the stern of a boat.


Links

707 Class Association

707 Details at Sailboat Data

707 National Championships at Burnham-On-Crouch

Hunter 707s for Sale

Hunter 707 Sold, but good photos

707 sports boat action Windermere 2009 Winter Series 

707 Sailing Fast

Hunter 707 Class Rules

David Thomas - Designer of the 707 

Banff Sailing Club - Keel Boat Training with 707s

University of St Andrews Sailing Club - Seamanship Training with 707s

YBW 707 Forum

Hunter Association

British Hunter

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