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? asked in Cars & TransportationBoats & Boating · 2 months ago

Quality of Hurricane Boats?

I'm considering buying a used Hurricane boat (2017 model).  Generally speaking, what is the quality level of Hurricane and what are their virtues and pitfalls?

1 Answer

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  • Anonymous
    2 months ago

    That depends entirely upon the individual model.

    Generally they’re comparable to other brands at the same pricing points, but check carefully for gel-coat cracking, as that’s not unusual across the board on Hurricane models. Particularly so at the transom. Make certain that the previous owner is able to transfer the 10 year warranty to you. 

    Hull cracks can result in Hurricane replacing the complete boat. But cosmetic cracks to parts inside the hull like the instrument panel are excluded but are very common. You can prevent those by removing that panel, reaming the fixing holes a bit bigger to spread loads and to smooth the holes, and refixing the panel in place after fitting compliant bushings into the holes: make your own from rubber/silicone tubing or find rubber grommets of an appropriate size.

    Hurricane also use a low quality stainless steel: in my opinion it’s not a suitable marine grade as it rusts. What’s fine for cutlery or purely decorative purposes is not the same grade as needed for boat rails. Hurricane excludes those from their warranty as being cosmetic defects. If you only intend to use the boat on fresh water it’s not such a problem, but I’ve still seen rusty stains coming from Hurricane’s stainless fittings on boats which have only ever been used on freshwater.

    The only other universal truths seem to be that Hurricane electrical parts such as various pumps and wiring connectors are not very good. That’s a common fault on many other brands but Hurricane seem to be a bit worse judging by the disproportionate number of jobs he does on them at his boatyard, despite Hurricane not being a common model in my country. If the boat is big enough to have an onboard toilet then check thoroughly that works correctly as it’s another thing Hurricane have had a high number of warranty claims for: the toilet macerators are also not easy or pleasant to access and replace. Also make absolutely certain that the electric bilge pump(s) work. That does not mean just flick the switch to manual, but means run them for at least a few minutes even if it means deliberately pouring some water into the bilge to ensure that the pump does not run dry and overheat. Don’t forget to set the switch back to automatic afterwards.

    Also whoever’s been designing their hull profiles for the last decade or so seems keen to adapt and reuse the same basic design. That’s unfortunate as their hulls don’t track well when planing. It probably just needs a slight modification to the hull design such as adding or redesigning strakes, but that would mean replacing the existing hull master moulds and that’s expensive if they’re not already due for replacement. Most owners probably don’t notice it, or haven’t tried enough other boats to realise that an inability to stay on track without sawing away at the wheel is not normal. This problem is not unique to Hurricane but on others it’s often mostly correctable using trim tabs but some Hurricane hulls still won’t track correctly even with trim tab corrections. In my opinion, Hurricane are a little worse than competitors in that respect.

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