Martin and Liz Mitchell

I was looking to buy a boat back in Autumn 2015…having owned 2 Sports Boats previously by Sunseeker – a Super hawk and small Portofino I was intrigued to discover the merits of a Hunton RS43… having admired their looks in Marina’s previously.

So on a sunny September morning you kindly offered to demonstrate the sea keeping ability of your own personal boat to Liz (virgin boater) and myself, together with another couple of guys looking to purchase a boat from you.

Well what can I say … simply an excellent boat, handling and build quality… I was smitten… as was Liz…. Albeit she couldn’t quite bring herself to believe she was going to sea with me!

From then on it was a simple decision to buy Hellfire 3 … yes it needed a little work to bring back up to scratch and with your help, passion, contacts and general encyclopaedic knowledge all was made painless and easy to accomplish…..

Having had the boat surveyed and the purchase of Hellfire 3 complete without issue… all was good and ready for launch ….…..Liz’s anxiety at being alone on a boat with me for the 1st time on the water was put at ease with your offer to assist on a debut drive and general awareness day on the boat … this was much appreciated by Liz….

All went well hurtling down the Solent at 40knots + on a cold March morning… wind with us and tide slightly choppy…. The boat cutting through the water with ease …. Turning towards the Needles the swell and waves were a little more daunting as I remember and we throttled back and turned around to make the trip more enjoyable…… Well thank goodness we did … the alternator charge rate dropped and the engines started to cough and splutter…. At this point we opened the cockpit door to investigate the mains panel only to find a great plume of what we thought was smoke pour out of the cockpit… the horror on your face was a picture….. However in complete confidence and without panic you opened the engine bay hatch to investigate… gallons of water spilling around in the engine bay..

The cockpit had cleared of smoke … actually steam and there was no evidence of fire.
A quick call on the radio to the coastguard, and within minutes coastguard and a police launch there to tow us back to shore, where upon the mechanic was waiting with pump and tools to investigate…

A split hose beneath the engines… sods law… all was fixed within an hour or 2 and we were back afloat, engines washed down and all spick and span and no long term damage save for the invertor which got drenched.

From then on the boat has proved to be a joy, we must again thank you for your ongoing assistance … far more than an after sales service, recommendations for maintenance, repair and service contacts all from within the Marine industry and Hunton fanatics.

It was therefore with great reluctance that we put Hellfire up for sale this Summer due impending new house build project making it difficult to use the boat with any certainty in the next year or so.

The professionalism, passion, enthusiasm and dedication from you towards the Hunton brand and its owners is un questionably the best thing we have ever come across … a true statement to service from you and your long suffering wife Nikki… (How does she cope with you!).

Hellfire sold within a few weeks at a price which was fair to all parties, the process of buying and selling with Martin Payne Marine has been by far the best I have ever encountered with any broker.

We hope to see you both again in a year or 2 or even sooner and re acquaint ourselves with another Hunton 43 … or if they ever build a 50 then perhaps one of those maybe…?

Martin and Liz.