Hunter Owner Reviews

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Review of the Hunter 37.5 by Ken Harty

Year built 1989  
Location of boat Waukegan ILL  
The boat is sailed on The Great Lakes  
How the boat is used Weekends and longer  
Normal wind strength 10-15 knots  
Average size of crew 2-4  
Liveaboard?  
Owner bought the boat in 1990  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? Probably  
Gear that's been added GPS, Chart Plotter, Air Conditioning, Max-Prop, Engine water cabin heater  
Structural or complex improvements None So Far  
The boat's best features Speed, Light and medium Air Performance, Cabin space, livability, manuvering, and good ride with the bulb keel, Max-Prop added 1 full knot, Looks fast as it is. Perfect for the great lakes  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. Quite honestly it doesn't seem to be holding up as well as it should, many areas of cracking on the cabin top, water leaks via the mast, water in the rudder which delaminated the skins, Electrical panel loose connections, and less than first line standard equipment like winches. Things are starting to need replacement. This is a value boat, not that expensive, good performance, quality and construction a bit lacking.  
Sailing characterisitcs Great for the most part. Tracks well and has a comfortable ride when the waves start to build. Seems to be quite fast as I beat a local h42 all the time and all but the real racers. It is quite tender in any wind over 15, calling for a reduction in sail, but reefed will still stand up in 25 MPH and not be over powered  
Motoring characterisitcs Motors well at a reasonable RPM 6 Knots @ 2000. Fuel econonmy is great. Engine noise is quite high in the cabin.  
Liveability Quite comfortable, thougt the headroom is lacking in the rear cabin. Has all the creature comforts, Air conditioning/ Heat pump a must for early spring/ fall use, Microwave and CNG for cooking is great.  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) They give phone numbers but is hard to talk to a real person. Tech info like mast tuning is poor. They clearly want you to talk to a dealer.  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any Brokered from a Hunter dealer was fine though his level of interest died quickly after the sale with agreed upon things left to do. I didn't expect much from them and wasn't disapointed.  
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