Was looking for some info on them and cant seem to find any, One i am looking at is a 23, price is good but dont know anything about cruising capabilities.Thought i might leave it to the wealth of knowledge here.No need to coment big dollar cruiser/racer types because i have to buy it myself.

Sleek, I too looked briefly at Hoods, there are always a few about, but they weren't quite as stiff and solid as the Tasman, or the Top Hat, which is what I ended up with.

Cisco is correct about the Thunderbirds, great looking yachts if you can find one without any rot, and there was a converted Soling on Boatpoint a while back that looked really interesting.

Guess it depends on how and where you want to sail..... check www.hood23.com as well, very interesting....

Michael

Thanks for replies, I looked at the thunderbird but i think i would prefer fiberglass. the website is a good one. Has anyone done any offshore cruising on a hood or coastal? I live on the Gippsland lakes and would be sailing it their for a while but wouldnt mind doing some coastal cruising. I have been looking at some tophats but havent found one close enough yet. Does anyone know how much to transport by road? say a 25ft tophat from Sydney To Melb?
Cheers

Hey Sleek,

You never emailed me for photos of the Pacific 27. Sounds like your shopping for something a little smaller now. (Unless the price was bit steep??) It's a shame, it's a nice boat. Hope the distance didn't frighten you, I would have delivered it for you free of charge. Good luck anyway and safe cruising.

Guy

Mate, hated yachts, till a mate took me sailing. Then without any knowledge bought a Hood 23 off ebay for $4000.00. Raced it on Lake Macquarie, won the winter handicap on it. Sailed it to Sydney. in a 20 kt N/E wind. Had two experienced crew on hand and had the time of our lives under spinnicker.
Sold it back on ebay for $5,300.00 and bought my Adams 8.
The Hood 23 is a great boat, seaworthy, easy to handle, good learning boat. Great bang for your buck. Endeavour 24 are the same.
I have seen the Hoods all prettied up and over $10,000.00.
I would love to have another Hood, just for the kids or single handed racing.

Hi Sleek, over 20 years ago, I bought a fixed keel Hood 23 in Bowen and sailed Whitsundays/Lizard island/back to Whitsundays/Cape York/Thursday island/Bamaga/Jardine river/back to Cairns, over a couple of years. Ok, all of that is inside the reef, but I sailed in some big blows. The boat is seaworthy and forgiving. Look out for osmosis below the waterline.
Good luck with it.

hi Sleek i have Hood 23 I bought it from pittwater and 3 of us sailed it to port stephens.
they have a good following here at PSYC (port stephens yacht club) as a first boat a hood 23 is a good choice there a stable boat, when i was looking for boats of this type.. i was looking at Top Hats Endeavor 24's Tritons.... the Hood is what i ended up with. but in saying that all of the above boats are proven designs.

Yes Sleek one of the Hoods in our club has a mast support its done quite neat ,its the only one in the club with a mast support tho...how much did he want for the boat? Ones i seen 4 sale were going 4 around $4500 to $10.000 i suppose it comes down to how much you want to spend on a hood 23.myself i would not spend $10.000 on a Hood 23. Depends on how much you like the hoods i suppose... a $10.000 Hood 23 wouldnt want ANY work done to it...most hoods do have soft decks... they have a ply between fibreglass and water enters in deck fittings. My plan was not to pay too much spend a few $$$ and get some good use out of it:))) I go out 3 to 4 days a week in Port Stephens The main reason i went for a hood23 is there is quite a few Hoods in PSYC and they have a Hood Cup .