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Review of the Hunter 340 by Wayne Estabrooks

Year built 1997  
Location of boat Washington, NC Broad Creek  
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?  
Owner bought the boat in July  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? Very Definitely! I am very pleased with my choice and actually more satisfied than I thought I would be.  
Gear that's been added Option ordered with the boat are;Mainsheet Traveler, Refrigeration, Cockpit Cushions, Bimini, Dodger, Spinnaker Winches and Spinnaker Halyard. (Did not purchase spinnaker yet) Probably will purchase cruising spinnaker or gennaker.  
Structural or complex improvements Nothing major. Minor plumbing modification to shower drain and refrigerator drain.I plan to add an accumulator to the pressure water system and a VHF in the interior cabin at the nav station.  
The boat's best features We really like the roominess, the layout, the large head and shower, the cockpit with the bimini attached to the arch is great. The steering in very nice, no quadrant and cables, but a rack  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. We have had no real problems. There were some minor problems, none engine or structural related. I actually expected to have far more problems than we had. The screens in the hatches were hard to install but some washers solved the problem. (Thanks to Jim Russell 340 # 35) We plan to install an accumulator on the water system to prevent the pump from excessive cycling. We tend to be conservative with water and if you run the water slow the pump cycles on and off rapidly. I imagine this is not good for the switch contacts after awhile. A few other minor things. The stereo radio had static hash from the battery charger when plugged into shore power. We found the batteries were not quite adequate to run refrigeration, anchor light, interior lights, stereo, and pressure water for a long night anchored without running the engine for awhile to charge the batteries.. We will be adding another large house battery. I have a minor problem with the jib sheet stoppers doing damage to the sheets. Hunter responded immediately on this with a suggested fix and said they will send materials to fix.  
Sailing characterisitcs So far we have only sailed in winds of 10 knots or less. Great for getting familiar with the boat and sails. It sails great on all points of sail and tracks well on a reach. It sails close to the wind. (Points well). Also is very well balanced. The downwind sailing has been much better than I expected. (I know this might be hard to believe, but I passed a Catalina 36 that was flying a spinnaker while sailing downwind. We were both going in the same direction,)I would expect some weather helm in a heavy blow but Im sure we will find out soon. We plan a trip in October with a short offshore passage. I will let you know what we experience then.  
Motoring characterisitcs We only have 11 hours accumulated on the engine and havent really pushed it yet. (Still breaking it in) It seems to motor fine and turns on a dime. Very maneuverable!.  
Liveability The main salon is very nice. Nice table lots of storage and room. The 5 hanging lockers are really nice. The aromatic cedar lining of the hanging lockers was a surprise. The aft cabin is extremely roomy even for a giant. I am only 5 ft 3 so I am lost in the aft cabin. We usually sleep in the Vee berth and reserve the aft cabin for guests. I am not as happy with the roominess or comfort of the Vee berth. I bang my knees on the anchor well. My previous boat had a cavernous Vee Berth and even though it had a large anchor well it did not interfere with my knees. (My previous boat was a 1982 Seidelmann 29.5)  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) I have only had very limited dealings with Hunter as my dealer has been responsive to my questions and needs. Hunter was fast to supply some missing manuals. The owners manual is far better than I expected. It is complete with numerous drawings of all of the systems and manuals for all of the equipment. Hunter sent the most thorough owner questionairre that I have ever seen. I hope they use the information I provided. I hope they at least read it.  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any Very good experience with dealer. Dealer is American Marine  
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