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Review of the Hunter 25.5 by brian

Year built 1984  
Location of boat tarpon springs, 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? No  
Owner bought the boat in 1997  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? absolutely!! the "delta dawn" was parked in a canal in 1989 and sat untouched until bought in july 1997 for $1000. we put her on the "hard" in january 1998, and launched her as "empty pocket" in march 2001, and we would do it again!  
Gear that's been added complete new rigging including new baby fore-stay, profurl system, new medium duty cruising sails, anchor roller assembly with 22 lb. delta anchor with secondary 15lb, forward pop-up cleats and rope guides, harken two speed traveler, 2 harken 32st two speed and two 16st winches, swiveling power pole with 2 positionable 55w solar panels and 400w aerogen wind generator, 2 battery banks of 2 6v (450 amp hours total), 2 bank 12v battery maintainer/charger, digital volt meter, 30 amp shore service, cable/phone jacks, 15 hp. honda four stroke, engine hoist, 15 gal. fuel tank with analog gauge, 9 gal. holding tank, jabsco marine head, frigoboat refrigeration unit, marineair 5k btu air conditioner (mounted in inboard engine well), 1.0 gpm fresh water pump for galley, 2 rule 1100 gpm bilge pumps with high water alarm ,deck washdown pump with port in cockpit, cockpit saltwater shower, (but we still prefer the "sunshower" method), propane system including 2 burner stove and force 10 rail mount grill, ge 700w microwave, philips 9" tv/vcr combo with mast mount ufo antennae (also used for weatherfax), jvc cd/cass combo unit, boston acoustics pro series and subwoofer, halogen lights throughout interior, low amp draw l.e.d. lights along sole and cockpit for night sailing, plastimo contest compass, horizon spectrum vhf, remote access mic in cockpit, garmin 185 chartplotter/sounder, navico tillerpilot 3000, gateway solo for nmea interfacing and data entry, epirb, hand held vhf and gps for backup navigation, weems  
Structural or complex improvements encapsulated the keel with fiberglass and added stainless steel grounding shoe along bottom of new keel, new rudder and tiller assenbly, new aluminum toe-rail made of 1/4" T-bar (added substantial strength), new stanchions, 4" diameter tapered aluminum power pole mounted to transom on port side, reinforced with support arms, solidified pop-top with resin (added approximately 20 lbs), new baby fore-stay on mast helps control the mast sway during heavy weather, modified rear railing with new rail seats, new forward railing to accomodate furler/anchor assembly, removed all teak padding from deck hardware and replaced with starboard, new cabin sole, forward hanging locker converted to cedar clothing storage, added forward water tank under v-berth (20 gallon), rebuilt head area to accomodate plumbing for holding tank located under forward salon seat, added four reinforced 1 1/2" thru-hulls below waterline (for head, ac unit, sink drains, and deck washdown/shower), removed all aluminum hardware from boat (locks, hinges, latches...etc), and replaced with stainless whenever possible, installed thru-deck fishing rod holders on port  
The boat's best features by far the best feature is the liveability for it's size. there are more accomodations and room in our 25.5 than there are in most 30 footers... the trick is to utilize it properly. we have undertaken an extensive refit on our boat and it has been expensive, but we are profoundly content with her. she is not only extremely comfortable, but sails very well. we have spent weeks at a time on her and have proven that we can be self- sufficient and not be pressured to seek port. she can get us into tight spaces with shallow draft not accessible to boats in the 30 ft range.  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. the V-berth is only big enough for one adult to be comfortable, we have had to construct an extension to give us more sleeping room in the v-berth. the location of the mainsheet and traveler car also presents a problem with the traditional bimini-dodger installation.  
Sailing characterisitcs "empty pocket" points and sails very well. we are happy with the way she can maneuver in light winds as well as in 25-30 knot winds (although it is a very wet ride above 25 knots!) we do experience some weather helm as the winds become stronger but the auto pilot handles the boat easily.  
Motoring characterisitcs we cannot say enough about our honda 15 four stroke... she barely sips fuel and pushes "empty pocket" along at hull speed with ease, no matter the conditions. we mounted the honda on a 40hp engine bracket with a full 60 degrees of travel, so it is easy to keep the prop in the water even while heeled over (to a certain extent, of course). the addition of a sheeting system as a hoist mechanism mounted to the power pole on the rear of the boat has made raising and lowering the motor super easy! (...even SHE could do it!) the honda is quiet and reliable... and very easy to maintain.  
Liveability remarkably comfortable... we don't live on her full time... yet!  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) we have had no dealings with hunter.  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any  
Other comments we still have some work to do... our goal is to make the final push this winter to complete "empty pocket". we are currently researching 4 items for her: a tender, an 1000w inverter, new dodger/bimini configuration, and watermaker. we will be putting her on the "hard" in december for a bottom job and routine maintenance. we will update out progress then.  

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