Hunter Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997
Contact us
Hunter OEM Parts
General Marine Parts
 
 

Review of the Hunter 27_75-84 by Dick Litchfield

Year built 1981  
Location of boat Portsmouth VA  
The boat is sailed on Bays, sounds, or protected salt water  
How the boat is used Day sailing  
Normal wind strength 10-15 knots  
Average size of crew 2-4  
Liveaboard?  
Owner bought the boat in 1995  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? We bought our h27 in June of 1995. My father-in-law helped me check out theboat. It was clean, in good condition and the wife fell in love withit. My father-in-law felt it was a great "starter boat" (otherwise interpreted "smaller than His"). I wasconcerned about its small diesel, but other wise liked it. The price was right, so we bought it. After two seasons of sailing it as skipper,I still have some mixed feelings. Skippering is a whole lot differentfrom just being rail meat or crew.  
Gear that's been added At this point I have not added anything other than small nice to have items. I dohave 4 new large ports in the garage to install this spring. I'll also be replacingthe gate valve on the galley drain with a ball valves. I've already replaced thewater supply gate valves on the head and engine cooling.  
Structural or complex improvements I haven't made any real structural improvements other than replacing the forward and mid hatches. Previous ownercame up with an ingenious way of makinga queen size berth between the two mainsalon side berths. This works great sincethere is usually just the two of us.  
The boat's best features Lots of interior room. I've got more room than the father-in-law's Morgan 33. Mom-in-law likes the interior of ours better too! Opening portlights....giveme air! It has a nice cockpit arrangementfor an older boat. Ours is the "T" shapedcockpit. I love the internal main and jib halyards and the way they are led back tothe cockpit. I haven't gone single handedyet, but believe I could. Also like the doghouse winch. There is Easy access to the little Yanmar diesel. The diesel isreliable and easy to maintain so far. I like the jiffy reefing system. Some boatsdon't even have a jiffy system. Only used it once, but it worked great. The boat isfairly easy to sail. We are most comfortablein 10-15 knot winds. The price was right!  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. The Yanmar one lunger is only 6.5 HP. Thats a bit small and under powered forfighting the current/winds in and out ofthe James River/Chesapeake Bay at times.She's a mite TENDER. Got one heck of a weather helm. Pulls toweather helm in the slightest puff. This seems to be characteristic of lotsof Hunter models. We supposedly have an improved version of the rudder for h27s.It's supposed to have more surface areaand give better control. She will turnon a dime though. That damn bridle/yoke (what ever you call it) main sheet control system won't let you hold the main on center and you can't sheet it to windwardif needed. This really irritates me sometimes.I think the winches could all be "up'd"one size, maybe two sizes for the doghouse winch. I have Lemar #6 and #7s.I think the cockpit drains are on the small side. The companionway door is cut deep into the cockpit. There is only abour 4 inches of cockpit depth forwater to accumulate before it flows intothe cabin. I think the companionwaythreshold should be up at least to 8-12inches considering the small cockpit drains. Hopefully I'll never see thatmuch water in the cockpit anyway. Notmuch chance of it in the rivershere, but the bay is another story!  
Sailing characterisitcs I think I"ve covered the sailing characteristics, but just to reiterate, she's tender as heck...one heck of a weather helm. It won't point well, duemainly to the yoke/bridle main sheet arrangement, in my opinion. A real traveler is in order and planned.Reef early on this one.  
Motoring characterisitcs I've already mentioned the small Yanmar.When the hull is clean she moves smoothlyin easy water. She does struggle with heavy seas and against the strong river currents/wind combinations coming back intothe river from the bay.  
Liveability We've overnighted only a few times. For the two of us there is ample room.I do need to make provision for showeringwhen we are anchored out. The old Kenyon alcohol stove has served us well, but Ithink a microwave is in order before wetry cruising to other marinas for longerthan a weekend.  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) With the exception of Jim here on the forum,it has been a little frustrating. I'veasked about hatches and ports only to ferret out the information through the Thomas Registers at work. An email regarding info on the emergency tiller went unanswered. I did get help here on the forum.  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any  
Other comments  

Contact
About
Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Limited Liability
Advertise Here
Copyright 1997-2024 SB Owners, LLC
All rights reserved.

Other Sailboat Owners web sites:
CatalinaOwners.com | HunterOwners.com | MacgregorOwners.com | OdayOwners.com | SailboatOwners.com | 10,000 Boat Names |