Serving sailors online since 1997
Hunter OEM Parts
General Marine Parts
Review of the Hunter 240 by Tim Osborne
| Year built | 1997 |
| Location of boat | Southampton UK |
| 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? | No |
| Owner bought the boat in | 2000 |
| If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? | As a first cruising boat - definitely, but I think you would benefit from a fair amount of sailing experience beforehand. Having previous experience also helps you how to plan additions and improvements to enhance the sailing performance of the boat. |
| Gear that's been added | Headsail furling and new headsail ( cut properly ) Headsail tracks and cars to adjust sheeting angles. Autohelm. ( plus extra battery ) Solar panel charging More power clutches ( Spinlock XA doubles )- as all lines are now lead aft for sail control. Extra reefing point in main, plus cunningham to act as a flattener. The single reef supplied is too deep in my opinion. The extra reefing line is infact the old topping lift which is now more or less a static line. Lazy Jacks - own design - couple of pulleys, 4mm line and some knots. Spinlock powercleats for cleating off and releasing headsail - fantastic invention! Teak cockpit seat tops. ( Coming soon ) Teak laminate cabin sole ( as above ) |
| Structural or complex improvements | Running all the lines aft took a while to get right. A fair amount of thought went into to fixing the Genoa Tracks - ensuring that they don't part company with the coach roof!! |
| The boat's best features | The space ( Cockpit and cabin )you get for the money - and considering the hull shape, sail plan etc the performance is great. Ability to potter up creeks and dry out if necessary. Mast raising and lowering is a piece of cake. Great owners Forum!! |
| Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. | Concerned about water mysteriously appearing - particularly as I am going to leave the boat on the water next season - hope the auto bilge pump works fine - and the battery stays topped up from the solar panel. The head sail control was hopeless - needs much better cleating arrangement - see above. I also thnk the table fixing is pretty weak. |
| Sailing characterisitcs | Generally very forgiving - will heel quickly then 'stiffen up'. Broaches are not violent. Points well to windward thanks to the long keel. Downwind is OK - watch out for spreader damage - usually fly a cruising chute to keep the opposition behind me!! Great light airs performance - avoid gale force winds - leave the boat tied up and head for the pub!! Found launching and recovering a pain in the proverbial this year - we're too tide dependant over here and it gets really busy. Hence the swinging mooring for next year. |
| Motoring characterisitcs | Motor very little - sail off the mooring and onto it if possible. Has a Mariner 8hp which gives ample power and responds well to the helm. Will rig a connection between to motor and tiller to aid turning in a hurry. Does have a tendency to lift out of the water if someone is up at the bow - or it's chopping up. |
| Liveability | No problems for weekends or a week if you're using marinas for overnight moorings. Regularly sleep four aboard ( good friends! ) |
| The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) | Bouth secondhand privately |
| The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any | Nothing to say |
| Other comments | All said above really |
Copyright 1997-2025 SB Owners, LLC
All rights reserved.
All rights reserved.
Other Sailboat Owners web sites:
CatalinaOwners.com | HunterOwners.com | MacgregorOwners.com | OdayOwners.com | SailboatOwners.com | 10,000 Boat Names |