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. 
For the price you have to pay for one of those I think you would be better off with a Thunderbird or a Soling. Hoods tend to be a tad slow.
Six of us went for a weekend cruise on a Diamond with an engine and cabin fitted to it and it was a really exciting boat to sail.
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
Sleek I used to build them in Sydney and they are a fine little boat good size keel and they are suitable for a few people to experience un-complicated sailing they are good valve level entry yacht. A diamond will be far more expensive to run and not good in a blow you have to be a hard arse gun racer to contemplate them they are only suitable for enclosed waters and not strong breezes nor ocean passages.
Good Luck
Anthony
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,
Here is a Top Hat not far from you, well, not too far anyway Geelong http://www.boatpoint.com.au/boats-for-sale/details.aspx?R=2991788
Admittedly the Hood is a little cheaper, but as Whiteout says, they are uncomplicated and easy to sail. I ended up with the Top Hat, just because it suited my varied needs more than the Hood.
Good luck with the hunt, it took me over 8 months to find what I wanted, and was within my limited budget.
Michael
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
Hey Guy, I am sure if i was smart i would be looking for a boat like yours, but I havent that sought of money at the moment although it sounds like a very good price for something that doesnt need work.I am thinking at the moment to buy something cheaper that i can sail now and fix up as i go along. Would be a good delivery trip though except if i was looking at yours i would be heading north instead of south.
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.
Thanks mate good to here from someone thats owned one. Going to have a look at one this weekend, is there anything you can think of to look at while its still in the water? ie did they have any structural problems or anything anyone can tell me to check? then i can decide weather the expense of slipping to give it a real going over. cheers everyone for help.
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.
You will find the deck over the cabin and bow berth spongy. It is like that on Hoods.
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.
Hi Robyyy,the one i looked at is exact same colour. Decided against it because the deck was soft and someone had put a dodgy mast support in it and it had broken the floor molding. I think that its pretty common to support the mast better in these boats. The main thing was he didnt except my offer because i was prepared to cope with fixing it. But not for the price he had on it.
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 .
