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Review of the Hunter 31 by Wally Hammons

Year built 2006  
Location of boat Redondo Beach, CA  
The boat is sailed on Bays, sounds, or protected salt water  
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 2014  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? I love this boat but - probably No. I would probably have bought the H33 for the extra space/ storage, and larger sail area.  
Gear that's been added 16x10 Feathering 3 blade Max-Prop, Asymmetrical Spinnaker, LED Lighting throughout, added a dedicated starter battery, new engine instrument panel with actual temp, oil pressure gauges (no more dummy lights), added fans to the main cabin and to both cabins, 3020 Seawatch HDTV antenna, new Alpine sound system (Ipod) with wireless remote, Stainless Steel 22lb plow anchor, and quiet flush head, upgraded the small 36\" folding Lewmar wheel to a 42\" one.  
Structural or complex improvements I am the second owner of this boat and am aware of no previous structural or complex improvements other than the custom dinette table that was made for the boat. The table is made of teak and now smaller that the original one without the folding part/ half. It actually looks better than the factor table. It makes passage through the cabin alot easier. The boat has held up nicely and has/had been well maintained.  
The boat's best features The cabin space is amazing on this boat. Its hard to believe when your in there that this is only a 31 ft boat. I love the laminate (foe) teak & Holly flooring. Its easy to clean and looks great.I love the counter top fridge. It works great. This boat is easy to single handle and handles amazingly well without hardly any effort. I love the inmast furled mainsail but do miss those battens I had on my last boat (a Catalina 30). I did notice (at least) a .9 or 1+ knot difference in the boat speed after adding the new feathering prop and would recommend it to everyone. The Yanmar 3YM20 is a great engine for this boat and easily powers this boat 6+ knots at 2600 rpm. The boat turns and handles easily and has no more prop walk than any other boat I have sailed or personally driven. Lastly, I love the arch traveler/ speakers. I never have to worry about me or someone else hitting their head on the boom and as a younger guy I love to crank up the tunes when I sail so the overhead speakers are great. My kids love the stern rail seats. The cushions for the stern rail seats are a MUST though. All in all this is a great pocket cruiser and I love sailing it ALL of the time.  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. When raising or lowering the sails the cockpit is a bit tight with 4 adults. Once everything is set up the space is fine. The larger port and starboard windows had about a million fine cracks/ glazing issues; however, I replaced both via oem Hunter parts for about $350. and they look like new. There is a lack of any adequate storage space in the cockpit Lazarettes. I have gotten used to removing some cruising items and placing them into the dock box for my day sails and vice versa. In addition, on my week long cruises there isn\'t really any space to store my portable Honda generator and cooler. You have to get creative. Like the other owner reviews the B&R rig is difficult going down wind.  
Sailing characterisitcs The boat sails amazing and is nimble getting to 5-7 knots in 11-13 knots of wind. I do miss the larger headsail and will likely update to a 120 Genoa (about as large as I can get on this B&R Rig) shortly. Once thing about the small (100%) headsail is that no matter what the wind speed, while tacking, you can winch it in without a winch handle everytime. This is a great boat for the family/ weekend sailer.  
Motoring characterisitcs Again, the Yanmar 3YM20 is a great engine for this boat and easily powers this boat 6+ knots at 2600 rpm. I did notice that I cannot reach hull speed with the motor with the new feathering prop but the sacrifice is worth the extra knot under sail. In addition, the engine access is great on this boat. It could be even better if you removed the hinges and shock and put in pins that would enable you to completely remove the staircase. Maybe a future upgrade for me?  
Liveability Its great for a weekend trip to Catalina but do to the lack of storage areas in this boat I could not see myself living aboard this boat for more than 3-5 days max.  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) I haven\'t dealt with Hunter.  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any Boat this boat through a broker and thought it was a complete waist of money (for the seller). They had no specific knowledge of anything on this boat and spent my valuable time with the surveyer talking about local social activities.  
Other comments I love this boat and find myself as anxious to get to the Marina every day, as I did the first day I bought it. The Hunter Owners website has been great for little upgrades and replacement parts, as well as tech advice and/or just simple questions about this boat. I would recommend this boat to any family of 4 or couple that like weekend sailing or coastal cruising.  

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