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Review of the Hunter 30_74-83 by Earl Sandford

Year built 1980  
Location of boat portsmouth, nh  
The boat is sailed on Open ocean  
How the boat is used Weekends and longer  
Normal wind strength 10-15 knots  
Average size of crew 2-4  
Liveaboard? No  
Owner bought the boat in 2004  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? yes  
Gear that's been added gps, auto pilot, dvd player, head replacement, solar panel and 3rd battery, refurbed data marine wind-depth-speed.  
Structural or complex improvements replaced rotted fir compression post with 4"x4" dense mahogany from local lumber yard, shimmed deck under mast with west system to remove dip and positively drain deck away from mast base. major horizontal cracks in starboard side of rudder were ground out, filled with west sytem epoxy and barrier coated.  
The boat's best features headroom, sails well, handles multiple pasengers comfortably  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. marine head, hose, and tank were rank beyond repair, replaced with high end porta-potty which works well. fir compression post had rotted out in bottom 18", but had only compressed about 1/2" due to the support of the 1/2" teak cladding with infinate number of brass screws. still can not get water system to work consistently. sliding door broke into six pieces while beating south through buzzards bay in 4 to six footers. breaks were all at the seams, so it was not a big job to glue it back together. hot water heater (110v) was rusted through so was removed, with no short term plans to replace it. Fuel gage was under deck next to the pedestal, added modified clear fire port to allow reading fuel level without raising engine hatch.  
Sailing characterisitcs sails better on port tack than starboard, have been using an asymetric spinnaker with great results in sub 10 knot winds. have been poling out with the boat hook, but it snapped in half when I lashed it to the mast. Am trying to develope a good system for poling out while single handed.  
Motoring characterisitcs My prop is prone to barnacles and has to be cleaned periodically or else the already bad prop walk gets multiplied to the point of major strain on the wheel to keep straight. The yanmar has been great and pushes along at a comfortable 6 knots  
Liveability fine for the weekend cruises, and will be great for longer when the bugs in the water system are ironed out.  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) good  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any  
Other comments you can't beat the amount of boat and performance you get for the price (I paid $6500, put 1 to 2k into it and have had relatively little trouble in the 300 to 400 miles of coastal cruising done this summer.  

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