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Review of the Hunter 30_88-94 by Linda Giovingo

Year built 1988  
Location of boat Racine, WI  
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 5-6  
Liveaboard?  
Owner bought the boat in 1989  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? Yes, definitely. We have raised 4 children on this boat in the past 10 seasons. They are now 23 - 12. I lived on board for 3 summers with 2 of them. Now we are on board weekends. We are just recently thinking of moving up. We have had no major problems with the boat ever.  
Gear that's been added Installed some creature comforts: microwave, refrigeration, reading lamps on port side of aft cabin, shelf for TV/VCR above nav station, auto pilot, gps, loran.  
Structural or complex improvements None  
The boat's best features Stiffness (I don't like excessive heeling); high freeboard; easy access for deckwork. There is enough room to move around quickly on deck.The aft cabin bunk is what sold us on this make/model. We had looked at other 30's and didn't find the space we needed for 2 adults and 4 small children. This model worked perfectly. Friends were amazed that we lived as comfortably as we did on a 30. Of course, close quarters aren't for everybody - but it worked fine for us.  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. We have only had small hairline gelcoat cracks around the port side winch. Those have been there since almost day 1 and have never gotten any worse. We had a problem with the most forward bow compartment holding water which turned out to be a blocked drain hole. We drilled a hole where the drain should have been and haven't had any trouble with it.  
Sailing characterisitcs We are able to keep up with our friends who have an '88 33.5 - we are not racers but do enjoy  
Motoring characterisitcs  
Liveability As I've mentioned, I lived on board for 3 summers and in the past 10 seasons we haven't really missed that many weekends either. I think that is a pretty good testament to the liveability of this boat. It is our retreat. Even if the weather is crummy we drive the 1 1/2 hrs. to spend the weekend - fixing her up, visiting with friends, and just plain vegging out.  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) My husband has and he received a very prompt response. We even dealt with them on getting information on replacing our cushion covers after the 2nd season. They were the beige color and with 4 little kids at the time anything they spilled stained. Hunter directed us to the people they use for upholstery and we were able to purchase an entire set for $640 (1990). These have held up extremely well (light blue/multi color, cut corduroy).He's called a couple times just for information and was always helped.  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any We bougth from Darfin Yachts which was a Hunter dealer in Chicago (no longer deals in Hunter). Overall, the experience was a good one. We were surprised at all  
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