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Review of the Hunter 54 by Jessica A Rolfe

Year built 1982  
Location of boat Maalaea, Maui, Hi.  
The boat is sailed on Bays, sounds, or protected salt water  
How the boat is used Day sailing  
Normal wind strength 23-30 knots  
Average size of crew 5-6  
Liveaboard?  
Owner bought the boat in 1993  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? Most definitely, we love our old girl, she is perfect for what we use her for. We run a snorkel charter business here in Maui, and we have the opportunity to sail her in flat water with plenty of consistent wind.  
Gear that's been added We have beefed her up quite a bit for hawaii, She now has a bridled hydraulic backstay, a deep triple reef in our fully battoned North main and a 180sq. foot staysail. We never sail her a a cutter, intead we just swich back and forth between a masthead and a fractional rig depending on the wind. She seems to prefer 18-22 knots of wind with a double reef and the staysail, althoug she will go on a wisper of wind.  
Structural or complex improvements She was set on the reef about ten years back and suffered extensive damage to her starboard side so the owner at the time had the actual Hunter manufacturers come here and fix it. She actually prefers her port tack now.  
The boat's best features The fact that she is lightweight, and can sail in very light winds, in flat water, the narrow hull (11 ft beam) slices threogh the water like a blade, and with the fractional rig, we get extremely goo weatherhelm. Not to mention the fact that the interior is such that you would never guess the beam of the boat, she is very roomy.  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. The major design flaw that I have notoced is the pkacement of the rudder. It was placed nearly 12 feet forward of the absolute stern in order to make room for the "garage" in diong this, the rig was heightened, the boom was shortened, and it makes for very squirrely downwind sailing. Also, when we do encounter big seas, she tends to go right through the waves rather than rolling voer the top of them, and when she does go over the top, she tends to pound alot, but like I said, we are rarely in big seas.  
Sailing characterisitcs  
Motoring characterisitcs  
Liveability The boat is very liveable. She is very spacious and with two working heads, a very large v-berth, and a not so large aft stateroom, two working showers, a stove, refridgerator a tv and a great sterio system, what more could you want?  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) we dealt with the owner directly on the sale, but when we decided to get the boat certified for chartering, Hunter refused to give us the nessesary paperwork.  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any  
Other comments  

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