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Review of the Hunter 35 by Bryan Cleveland

Year built 1988  
Location of boat Miami Florida  
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 1999  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? Yes. I have no regrets about having bought the 35. I sail mostly in Biscayne Bay with occassional jaunts to the Keys or the Bahamas and it is a great boat for this use.  
Gear that's been added The boat had new electronics, autopilot and head when I bought her. Previous owner had built companionway doors, added a heart inverter and interface, 3 blade prop, and had done some wood work. I have added a transom shower, Nicro vents, a splash guard for the galley sink, and an extra house battery. Based on a tip I learned on this site, I put a gas line squeeze bulb (like small outboards use) in in diesel hose line after the primary filter -- makes bleeding a snap.  
Structural or complex improvements Transom shower is not hard to install, and great for rinsing off after swimming. Put a solar nicro vent on the forward hatch and a passive vent behind the port cockpit bench seat to get some ventilation going -- it was completely deficient in that area.  
The boat's best features Love the walk thru transom -- boarding from swimming or dinghy is easy compared to having to scale the older vertical transom styles. Roomy cabin and well mannered sailing characteristics make this a great family boat for weekend cruises or spending the afternoon in the bay.  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. Skylight leaks are apparently a perennial problem on this boat, mine are starting to leak too. The aft cabin could be better ventilated. 3 port lights had to be replaced because of retaining bracket cracks, but that was probably prior owners dogging them done too hard. The Hood continuous line roller furler has become almost impossible to use, probably because the bearings are going. I don't like the continuous line furler anyway, so we are going for a single line furler upgrade Hood sells for about $450. Have some gel coat chipping and crazing, and a few blisters, but nothing unusal for an 11 year old boat. I wish the cabin table dropped down so you could make an extra berth, but it is welded in place. Don't know why Hunter did not add this feature when other boats at the time had it. Some might find the lack of teak on deck a negative, but I've already had as much fun sanding and varnishing as I can stand, thank you.  
Sailing characterisitcs I can't say I'm the most experienced sailor in the world, but the boat handles very well in the 25 knot winds I've been in, and on a beam wind, I can get about 1/2 wind speed. Gets pretty close to hull speed (7.3 knots) in about 15 knot (beam) winds. A more experienced sailor could probably do a little better. Sails OK in light winds, even with a 110 jib. Really moves when winds pick up a little. My partner thinks he can feel the winged keel give a little lift when the wind picks up, but I think he's full of bunk. I don't find her tender, handles nicely with full sails in 20 knot winds, though it's smarter to reef about that point, if not earlier. Sail controls all lead aft, making it easy to control. Fractional rig with 110 jib makes tacking a breeze. Big rudder gives good stearing power. On a recent Bahamas trip with 4-6 and occassionally bigger waves, the motion was nice and the cockpit very dry (except for the part where it rained 6 straight hours). I like the wide gangways on deck for ease of moving around.  
Motoring characterisitcs Handles well on the motor, backs well (3 blade prop probably helps) and does about 6-7 knots at 2800 RPM, depending on the waves. Yanmar 3GM3F runs great and so far has been very reliable, despite some questionable past maintenance practices. (I changed all the filters and rinsed out the gas tank when I bought her.) Engine, stuffing box and battery access is good.  
Liveability At almost 6' 4  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) Have not dealt with Hunter except to order some new gel-coat. This web site was a big reason for my decision to buy a Hunter. (Are you listening, Hunter? We want Bohart back!)  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any N/A.  
Other comments  

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