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Review of the Hunter 37.5 by Lee Urbani

Year built 1990  
Location of boat Rock Hall, MD  
The boat is sailed on Bays, sounds, or protected salt water  
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 1991  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? Our boat was the 1990 Annapolis Sail Boat Show boat that introduced the line. She was a beauty then and she's a beauty now. There were a lot of "extras" added to this vessel to catch your eye, such as teak grab handles, and cockpit floor boards, wine glass rack, custom bed spreads and full canvas to name the ones that come to mind. Since she was the last 37.5 built with a fore and aft owners bunk (vs the Port/Starboard arrangement in subsequent boats) she was considered a leftover and therefore we got a great deal. So to answer your question, yes we would buy her all over again.  
Gear that's been added We have added relitively little to her because of the way we sail. We believe in the K.I.S.S. system when it comes to our leasure activities. I grew up as a dingy (my friends still may call me that) sailor and came to learn to sail with the elements. Therefore, we are not gadget people and have very little in the way of electronics (I don't even like to use the depth sounder that came with the boat because the damm thing makes me nervous, I do use charts.) We have however added some items. The first thing we did was to add a Bruce anchor model BR44 along with 30' of proof coil stainless steel chain and 250' of 5/8" line. I read somewhere in a sea story that "only fools and passengers drink onboard a vessel at sea," I think this is a great motto. Since we are not tea totalers(sp) when we anchor we want to be secure, this has proven to be a great investment. We have also added a spinakker to our sail inventory for those downwind passages. We had this sail made buy Gleason Sailmakers in Hilton Head. Since we sail shorthanded we also have a Chutescoop for dousing. As anyone who has looked at this type of vessel knows there is not an over abundance of storage so, while sailing, we keep the spinnakker on deck in a "turtle" bag ready to launch. We replaced the little round nav. station seat with a comfortable cushioned seat with a back rest, this required that I make a mounting plate, but that was simple. This has become the most sought after seat on board. Oh yea I almost forgot, we also made a stick arrangement out of teak to hold the nav. station lid open. You know like the kind of thing you see in the back of those sailing mags with all the great homemade improvements for cruising around the world.  
Structural or complex improvements The only structural improvement that we had to make was somewhat serious in that the steering quadrant started to warp and required replacement. It was evedently the result of the time our vessel spent as a demo. model you could see rust on the fractures. Anyway when we replaced it the Edson rep said that the stopping blocks (my term, not his) were out of position and therefore the problem would keep occuring. So we devised a fix and had the yard cut two solid stainless steel plates to fit over the quadrant. These were then through bolted in place as added support against any future shock loads. This fix has been in place for five years and there is no sign of the problem.  
The boat's best features This is the best bay boat we could have purchased. She moves well in light airs and when those unexpected summer thunderstorms hit she can ride them out. For a family crusing/racing (we also do some club racing)this is an ideal vessel. Everyone feels safe and comfortable. She's a great sailing sail boat.  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. In my opinion there are two design flaws. One is the lack of storage space. However, as stated earlier we are not interested in draging our stuff along all the time. On a 37' boat you need to make some sacrifices to gain the living spaces. The second is the lack of battery power, on our boat we have a bank of 2 twelve's and at times feel the need to closely manage the electrical usage. It would have been nice to see an additional battery dedicated to starting the engine. Having said this, we have learned to cope.  
Sailing characterisitcs We are sailors and every weekend and for at least two weeks each summer we go sailing. We have had our boat in all types of conditions the Chesapeake bay can kick up. We move as well as anyone in the typical light airs of late July and August, the spinnaker is great for this. We find that beating to weather in about 15 to 18 knots she sail best at 25 degrees of heal. More than that angle tends to slow the boat down, so we reef to accomodate the "sweet spot." Due to the fact that we sail the bay we have not experienced large waves the most we have seen in the bay were about 5 to 6 feet off of Calvert Cliffs, and she handled that short interval slop well. We never felt out of control or in danger.  
Motoring characterisitcs We use the engine only when its absolutly necessary. The vessel handles well underpower but its noisy. Docking is no problem, even when we must back in. Of course every vessel backs differently but once your used to these characterisitics its easy. I would rate the motoring as no problem.  
Liveability We do not live aboard. However, we do every weekend and each year we go out on a ten day cruise with our family, including grandparents, that's six for a week plus. Of course this is family so its easier but still tight. There is plenty of room on board for our purposes, the girls tend to spread out on deck during the day. When it rains or we need to stay on board we dose or play games its fine for the way we use the boat.  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) I have dealt with the parts department at Hunter and they did what I needed, what else are they to do? I have not needed factory support beyond some simple questions or parts. That says a lot by it self. If you need to speak to the factory may be you bought the wrong boat.  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any I purchased my boat from Tidewater in Havre de Grace, MD. Their support was fine, they still remember me when I see them at boat shows and the like. As mentioned earlier, after the sale I never needed much support.  
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