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Review of the Hunter 460 by Blanchard, Maxwell

Year built 2000  
Location of boat Marina del Rey, CA  
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 2000  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? yes, but not from the same dealer  
Gear that's been added gps, autopilot, radar, spare halyards, stay sail, cruising spinnaker, roller furled jib, full batten main, custom s.s.traveller brackets,custom stern seats, custom sail controls for reefing, custom sail track with ball bearing cars, bracket for outboard motor & crane for lifting motor, mods to fresh water plumbing system to stop water leaks, replaced & relocated water pump to stop leaks & reduce noise, mods to starboard fresh water tanks because they moved & separated from fixed plumbing lines, re-built floor of anchor locker & base of solar panel.  
Structural or complex improvements 1. Designed new brackets for traveller controls & relocated them in less problematic place. 2. Designed new stearn seats that are much deeper & more comfortable. 3. Designed outboard motor bracket & added Gauhauer outboard motor crane. 4. Replaced most butyl fresh water plumbing fitting behind bulkheads & beneath floors to stop leaks. 5. Replaced shower heads to stop leaks. 6. Replaced PVC elbow on salt water toilet outlet that was cracked & leaking salt water into bilge 7. Replaced fresh water pump that failed & relocated pump with new plumbing & sound proofing 8. Rebuilt starboard fresh water tanks that moved & pulled their fittings out of the walls of the tanks by adding new access ports & new side wall thru tank fitting & more plumbing lines. 9. Replaced UK sail main sail glide with Harken System B track & ball bearing cars. Added 2 more battens to main sail. Original UK sail not gets stuck when lifted or dropped. 10. Added several more sail control blocks, winches, & lines to enable reefing reefing of main sail. Original UK concept doesn't work. 11. Rewired power into battery charger because it charged start battery all the time (i.e. impossible to stop the charge). 12. Modified electrical system to accept: GPS, Radar,& Autopilot. 13. Added more storage in galley with additional oak cabinets on port side along entire counter. 14. Added a splash guard in between galley counter & the salon seats to prevent food & liquids from splashing onto upholstry. 15. Added additional storage in work room beneath work bench. 16. Added fire extinguisher brackets at 4 locations inside & on deck. 17. Added a total of 12 handles in heads, shower, staterooms, solon, galley, companionway, nav station. 18. Lifted floor in anchor locker about 2" so it would drain. It was growing algae & slime because it couldn't drain. 19. Redesigned mount for solar panel because it didn't drain water & grew algae & slime. 20. Installed 2 Adler-Barbour air cooled refrigerators rather than the AC grunet with water cooling. Solon is quiet from water circulation pump noise.  
The boat's best features 1. Great looks from side profile 2. Great interior layout & well done wood working 3. Handles exceptionally well when motoring around tight quarters in marinas & slips 4. Sails well with little weather helm when properly trimed 5. Very sound construction of hull & bullkheads 6. Lots of cockpit room 7. very reasonable price  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. See the 20 improvements above for many problems that needed to be fixed. Remaining problems include: a. inadequate access to port side of engine. Cannot replace raw water impeller with out many hours timed out. Cannot even reach starter & starter solenoid to replace or repair. b. No room at front of engine (because of hull cross brace) to upgrade single V-goove pulley to a dual belt for driving a high output alternater. This owner finds the Hunter 460 more soundly built than his prevous sailboat.  
Sailing characterisitcs Winds 4- 28 knots. Seas 1-4 ft. Boat handles well on all points, except down wind when main sail interferes with shrouds, providing the sails are reefed & trimed properly. Tacks well, even in high winds. Weather helm is not especially problematic. Boat handles much better, under all conditions that we have sail it in, than out previous sail boat.  
Motoring characterisitcs Steers incredibly well in tight quarters in marina and when entering slips.  
Liveability Great comfort & style  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) Greg Emerson & Eddie Breeden are first class! They care about their customers.  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any Voyager Marine is the worst dealer I have ever encountered (owned 5 boats, 4 were purchased from dealers). Hunter may be injuring their reputation by having Voyager Marine as a dealer. Rumor indicates that Voyager Marine has closed. I say, "I about time".  
Other comments The H460 is an excellent sail boat. Just like any boat, the owner has to spend some time shaking it down (i.e. find the components that break, or quit working, & then add upgrades to make the boat useable for their kind of sailing).  

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