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Review of the Hunter 260 by Jay Williams

Year built 2001  
Location of boat Middle River, MD  
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 2001  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? Yes. We are first time boat owners, and the experience of buying the Hunter has been great. We bought the H260 without ever sailing it or the older H26s. We found our dealer at the Atlantic City boat show and took delivery from his dealership in May. He was very helpfull and took the time to answer every question we had during the months we waited for delivery.  
Gear that's been added Well, the boat is only two months old but I did put in a steering link between the rudder and the Honda 9.9 outboard. I went with the EZ Steer and in retrospect paid WAY too much. But it works flawlessly. It only took about an hour to install & helps with getting into and out of our slip. I also easily installed a 12V accessory "cigarette" outlet. I wired it to the same switch as the cabin lights. I didn't order the companionway cover from the dealer and installed it my self with no problem.  
Structural or complex improvements Not yet.  
The boat's best features The amount of space below for a 26 foot boat. We looked at other brands in this size and very few had room for 4 (I know they say it sleeps 6 but in reality it sleeps 4) AND had a fully enclosed head. The ease of the mast rasing system was another factor. The first day we raised it in the marina, someone came to help because he had never seen ONE person raise a mast before! Also, the boat has been proven to be easily upgradeable. In seeing other H260s, my list of future upgrades is growing. I was orginally concerned about the water ballast but it too has proven itself. It is a little tender initailly but is stable underway.  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. I believe it was a dealer prep problem, but the mast was rigged poorly when we picked it up. The mast supports were not adjusted properly and this lead to a bind in raising the mast that bent the mast pin & the mast crutch. After some tuning and swapping out the pin & crutch, this was solved. Then the rig was very loosly rigged and took (in my novice, first-boat-owning opinion) fairly major effort to get rigged properly.  
Sailing characterisitcs We ran out of gas one day (don't ask) and the boat sailed great downwind under very light conditions. We got her thru a channel and right up to the fuel dock in tight quarters and in 1-2 knots of wind. In heavy winds, if you don't reef early, she tnds to round up, especially in puffs. Yet she still does this gently and we have yet to "stall" the rudder.  
Motoring characterisitcs We have a Honda 9.9 outboard with the controls on the wheel pedestal. Before we put the steering link arm on, we had difficulty getting in & out of our slip at lower tides. With the outboard locked straight and the board up, it is VERY difficult to turn in a x-wind until you get effectivness out of the rudder. Prop walk dominates. But with the board down and the steering link connected things are much better. We get about 5-6 knots out of her at about 3/4 throttle, and that is with a heavy load. (We use her for mini cruising, so she is well stocked). At that setting we can go about 4 hours, not including a reserve, on 3 gal of fuel. I may upgrade to a 6 gal. tank.  
Liveability When we sail, we are on it for 4 to 5 days at a time. It has proved to be incredibly liveable! That is one of the characteristics that attracted us to it. Again, we are first time boat owners and have found all the ammenities easy to use and maintain. The manual pump water system is a pain sometimes but beats draining the battery. A elec pump for the galley is on the upgrade list. The butane KISS stove is great for its size and burns hot! But you only get about and hour of continuious cooking out of one can of fuel. We bought a Magma grill to supplement it. With blocks of ice (and frozen 2 liter bottles) the cooler will stay cold for more or less two days depending on the weather. In the Chesapeake, we have numerous places to stop to re-ice so this has not been a problem. The holding tank will sustain 4 people for a weekend or so, depending on how much it is used of course. And pumpouts are also numerous around the bay.  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) Not yet.  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any Our dealer was great but also lacked in motivation at times. He answered our questions and got the job done, but tended to slack off at times. I'm not sure if he had too many orders and was over worked, but he tried to farm some of the leg work onto us. Such as coordinating with the engine shop to put the motor and remote controlls on as well as set up someone to do the elec work we needed, which was minimal. We refused, and he eventully got this done for us, and on time. We ordered the boat in January and had it in the water by Memorial Day weekend.  
Other comments This web site and the kindness of the other owners has greatly improved our experience and had helped us get through our "growing pains" of being first time owners.  

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