Hunter Owner Reviews

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Review of the Hunter 34 by RICHARD ROHM

Year built 1983  
Location of boat Sarasota, Fl  
The boat is sailed on Open ocean  
How the boat is used Multi-week coastal cruising  
Normal wind strength 10-15 knots  
Average size of crew 2-4  
Liveaboard? Yes  
Owner bought the boat in 1996  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? Yes. When I purchased the boat it had just come to Florida from Michigan. It had seen very little use, was a freshwater boat, and was very well equipted. The prior owner added a lot of custom features and was done in good taste.  
Gear that's been added reverse cycle heat/air, furuno radar, auto-pilot, chartplotter, electric windless, 110 amp alternator, 1000 watt inverter, 13" color tv/vcr combo, microwave, 4 gel cell batteries, 6 speaker am/fm stereo with cd player, adler barber super-cold machine, bimini/dodger with connector, firdell radar blipper, harken roller furling, teak cockpit floors, teak swim ladder steps, teak plexiglas/screen companionway doors, bbq grill connected to twin 10lb propane tanks, dockside fresh water system, wired for phone/cable tv, teak cockpit table.  
Structural or complex improvements removed table in salon, created u-shaped settee. had all cushions recovered. by doing so it really opened up the salon, gives the feel of a 37'.  
The boat's best features nice fast cruiser. steers excellent.  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. companionway leaks when it really poors.  
Sailing characterisitcs circumnavigated Florida, parts of the Bahamas, Florida Keys. 8-9 ft waves in the Atlantic Ocean and near gale force winds when outrunning a possible Hurricane approaching the Florida Keys. after double reefing the main, and reefing the jib to the size of a blade, the boat took off like a rocket of a port tack heeled about 30 degrees and to this day remains 4 of the most exhilerating days of sailing in the 5 plus years and 10,000 plus miles I've put on her. Points well, likes a close or beam reach, doesn't sail very well downwind due to the swept back spreaders.  
Motoring characterisitcs just fine as long as the wind isn't blowing over 25 knots, in which case the boat is underpowered with the 20hp Yanmar.  
Liveability excellent for one person especially now that the table in the salon has been removed and turned into a u-shaped settee (cut the table down to fit in the u-shaped area by retaining the table pedestal. the table stowes if the aft cabin when not in use.)  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) excellent, very helpful  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any Purchased the boat from Cape Yacht Brokerage in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Randy Weston, the broker, handled all of the paperwork, including the survey and had the marine-air system installed all while I was still living in California. He did a great job and would recommend him to anyone looking for a boat.  
Other comments It's really been a great boat, it's handled some adverse conditions in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. I'd feel confident enough in the boat to sail her to the Virgin Islands from Florida. not to sound redundant, but a lot of boat for the money.  

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