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Review of the Hunter Vision-36 by Roland Moritz

Year built 1992  
Location of boat Coronado, CA  
The boat is sailed on Bays, sounds, or protected salt water  
How the boat is used Racing  
Normal wind strength 10-15 knots  
Average size of crew 2-4  
Liveaboard? No  
Owner bought the boat in 1993  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? Yes. I went to a boat show to see the Legend 35.5 and 37.5. Neither was at the show, but the Vision 36 was, and after a successful sea trial and price negotiation, we bought the boat.  
Gear that's been added At purchase I had dodger, bimini, cockpit cushions, auto pilot, GPS and refrigeration added. Since purchase I have added Autohelm Wind, a 39% genoa including track alongside the cabin sides,an asymetrical spinnaker, and a Flex O Fold two bladed folding prop.  
Structural or complex improvements The genoa track I added was to the raised part of the side decks alongside the cabin. I removed the center bullseye for the original genoa sheet lead, and finding aluminum backing below, I was able to install two 2 foot long 1" genoa tracks one behind the other. Since the location was somewhat curved, I ground the adjoining ends of the track segments to accomodate the curvature. The new cars have a 4' adjustment fore and aft as a result.  
The boat's best features This boat is very comfortable both down below as well as in sailing. Since it is basically a cruising boat, it is very fast off the wind - enough so that while we don't point with most of the competition close hauled, we can make up the difference off the the wind in our local racing. As a result,we have done very well for the past several years, and all with the original main sail.  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. Have had no problems with this boat. The only problem is perhaps in the use of the shoal draft wing keel. The boat would probably point better sailing close hauled with a different keel. But "too late now", and as noted previously, it is not too bad a trade off. We'll see how a new main will address that situation - hopefully, coming soon.  
Sailing characterisitcs This boat is a great pleasure to sail, whether singlehanded or with racing crew. In the ocean we have no problem with Pacific Ocean sailing from Catalina Island to the north and Ensenada, Mexico to the south. The majority of our sailing is in south San Diego bay, and our Vision 36 is in her element either in the bay or offshore. The taper in the mast allows the mast to bend off toward the top, allowing us to delay reefing to the extent of almost never having to reef. The Flex O Fold prop is wonderful, we motor in flat water close to 7 knots, it backs up with full control  
Motoring characterisitcs The Flex O Fold prop is wonderful, we sail faster, motor in flat water at close to 7 knots, and the boat backs up in full control with very little loss of power - a most excellent addition to our boat.  
Liveability Below decks on the Vision 36 is very spacious feeling due to the mast being so far forward that the mast does not intrude into the main cabin. The aft cabin is adequate for two adults, but the forward cabin is cramped for more that one adult. I have thought of filling in the part of the forward cabin on the short berth side with a removable extension. If we did more cruising, it would be more important to consider such an addition.  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) Have had none, except to ask if there were aa set of polars for the boat. The answer was no, but I would assume that when the boat was designed the engineers must have calculated hypothetical polars. So, the answer I got wasn't helpful.  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any The boat we bought from Voyager's in Marina del Rey, CA, was very accomodating and did good work in installing our requested equipment.  
Other comments We have some newer hunters in our area, and I am sorry to say that they don't seem competitive at all when we have seen them enter local races. I assume that Hunter is only designing boats for cruising at this point. I am very glad that I bought my boat which is a true cruiser/racer, since being able to be successful at both aspects of sailing is so much more rewarding.  

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