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Review of the Hunter 33 by Thomas Lindou

Year built 2009  
Location of boat Palm Beach, FL  
The boat is sailed on Open ocean  
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 2009  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? Absolutely NOT, I have owned many boats including two other Hunters and this has been without any doubt the worst boat I have ever owned. In just 6 months of ownership, I have had problems with every major system on the boat. For complete details, you can check out my thread on this forum: [url=http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=112759]The Real New Hunter Experience[/url]  
Gear that's been added I've added additional turning blocks and another rope clutch on each side of the cabin top to bring all lines into the cockpit. I've also added a dockside pressure water system, dockside cable tv inlet, and televisions in the forward cabin and salon.  
Structural or complex improvements No  
The boat's best features I thought it was a well laid out boat, until I found that having the refrigerator immediately next to the engine compartment prevents the refrigerator from being able to do it's job. The only positive thing I can say about the H33 is it's ability to sail upwind. It easily sails within 33 degrees to the wind, and can pinch upwards of 25 degrees without stalling.  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. Everything! I have had problems with the following systems: AC Electrical DC Electrical Fresh water plumbing Raw water plumbing Waste tank plumbing Air conditioning AC / DC inverter/charger (several problems) Engine Windlass Electronics Refrigerator Freezer I'm certain there will be more, but I've only had the boat for 7 months now. Without a single day with all the systems working properly.  
Sailing characterisitcs Good windward performance and good close haul. The Boat (in the factory setup rigging) does not sail downwind well. According to the owner's manual, the Jib Sheets should be run between the shrouds. In this configuration, you can close haul the sail with no problems, but you cannot ease the sail very far. If you run the jib sheets outside the shrouds, you cannot close haul the vessel. If the boat would work long enough for me to actually sail it, I would add a second set of jib sheets, one set run inside of the shrouds, and one set outside of the shrouds. This might solve the problem.  
Motoring characterisitcs With the optional 3 blade propeller and the optional upgraded 29 HP motor, the boat still feels slightly under powered and will not reach hull speed. However, this could be an issue with my boat. I believe I have a propeller out of balance, and I know now that the boat was delivered with a fuel contamination issue.  
Liveability There is none at the moment, and hasn't been any 80-90% of the time I've owned the vessel. Currently I cannot get any AC power to my outlets or microwave due to an inverter problem. I've had this problem before. I've also had air conditioning problems and refrigerator and freezer problems. I believe it has been 4 times now that I have had to throw out the contents due to failures. I've also lost DC power due to a faulty inverter/charger running the batteries flat. Other than that and the 2nd leaking faucet in the galley, I guess it's not too bad the remaining 10-20% of the time.  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) I deal with Hunter on an almost weekly basis. They do try to fix issues, but there are some design issues that just cannot be resolved. I'm also very concerned about future warranty work as I understand the state took it over and sold it off or something. I'm sure you can find more information about that on here. Also, the different departments do not communicate well with each other at Hunter. I purchased my boat with a factory incentive of Hunter making my loan payments for until September of 2009. It is now November, and I received a payment last month and I am still owed a payment. It took me 4 months and a call to the state attorney general's office to start receiving these payments. I was actually told at one point by Hunter that they were not doing well in the current economy and stopped outgoing payments not directly connected with building boats. This still concerns me greatly.  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any Read my thread. The dealer is the majority of the reason this has been the worst purchase I have ever made. They didn't properly set up and test the boat. They didn't even fill the propane tank or wash the boat originally. The boat was dropped in my slip and I was given no time to check out any of the systems. I didn't even get a sea trial when they first delivered the boat. The boat was delivered with contaminated fuel. Hunter told me that the problem was between me and the dealer. After not hearing back from the dealer with a fix or an explanation I contacted the attorney general's office again. I received an email stating that the owner had to talk to his partners and "see if they could help me at all". I still haven't heard any more.  
Other comments Hunter used to build a fantastic boat. They were never the best quality, but they were pretty good. They were very well laid out and provided a lot of boat for a little amount of money. In recent years with the economy falling, they have stopped caring about any quality in their product, or providing good customer service. It is such a shame to loose a manufacturer that used to do a good job to one that doesn't because of the economy. Please check out my thread.  

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