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Review of the Hunter 33 by Doug Perkins
| Year built | 2005 |
| Location of boat | Lake Champlain NY |
| The boat is sailed on | Lakes |
| 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 | 2006 |
| If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? | Definately. Boat came with Mariner package, pleather interior, extra freezer, instrument up grades incl. ST 60 wind. TV with antenna. Furling with vertical battans. Inverter. Folding leather wheel.Helm sheeting and upgraded winches. |
| Gear that's been added | Custom dodger & bimini, Doyle Gennaker, cockpit cushions, extra propane tank, larger anchor. Will add davits and dinghy over the winter months. |
| Structural or complex improvements | No |
| The boat's best features | Spacious interior for the length of boat and very good sailing characteristics. It looks good under sail. It is solid in a blow. |
| Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. | Raymarine autopilot has been a problem since day 1. Not resolved as yet. A few leaks with hot water tank but solved quickly by dealer. The cockpit table is weak. |
| Sailing characterisitcs | I have sailed with gennaker in only 2 kts of wind and kept the sail full and up to 25-28 kts of wind where I would say I was triple reefed. Hard to judge due to furling. Have not sailed gennaker in more than 10 kts. Summer sailing on the lake tends to be variable early in day, light in mid day and blows in the afternoon. Mostly though it is aggressive sailing with my sailing buddies or light cruising with the family. |
| Motoring characterisitcs | I am a die hard so I will only motor if no choice. The engine has a lot of power and is very efficient. 3000 rpm 6.5 kts. No shake. I am very happy with engine (29hp). |
| Liveability | Our family is three and I would say that is about the max for any length of time. As a single person, or even a couple, I would have no qualms about living on the boat, if in a climate that allowed such a thing. |
| The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) | No I have not because the dealer has done his job. |
| The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any | BoatsRFun, Willsboro, NY. Dealer did a great job and was aggressive with pricing. After commissioning follow up was excellent and we have become friends. |
| Other comments | I believe that I was one of the early boats with vertical battans. I suspect the sail may have been a prototype. I had quite a lot of furling problems early on however after a couple of times with the dealer, furling, unfurling, etc. it was decided to return the sail to UK. They trimmed a bit of sail in the head and reinforced it so since there I have had no problems. I am very happy with the sail now. |
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