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Review of the Hunter 380 by Jack

Year built 1999  
Location of boat Gasprrilla, FL  
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 2000  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? Absolutely...! We bought this boat to be a coastal cruiser (perhaps beyond), to fit out to the point where we can be nearly self-sufficient. We plan to coastal cruise on weenends, holidays, and Summer in the near term as we learn about the boat and what gear we'd like to add. Later, we plan to live aboard for months at a time. If we like it, we'll live aboard permanantly.  
Gear that's been added Since the boat is so new to us, No, very little. We did buy a sailing dink to use as the tender and as a 'fun' toy while we're at anchor. Other than that, the boat was fairly well equipped for near coastal cruising. It came supplied with reverse cycle heat/air, refirgeration, roller main and jib, and electric windlass.  
Structural or complex improvements No  
The boat's best features Primarily, the living space - extremely spacious and comfortable for two and the occasional guests. The overall 'eye appeal' of the boat. We've had comments like: "Now, there's a boat"; and "What a beautiful boat"; from other boaters as we've passed them at the marina. We love the pulpit seats and the overall spaciousness of the cockpit. We also like the instrument panel and the way that the throttle and shifter are not only combined into one lever, but outside the circumfrence of the wheel for easier control. We love the all wood inside and the NO WOOD OUTSIDE design - low maintenance.  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. The Gunert cold plate has given me problems from the start. I'm never sure that it's going to operate when I need it to. It is now awaiting the service technician. I have trouble with the the reverse cycle heat/air system. The raw water intake is difficult to remove to clean and the system air locks and is difficult to get primed. Hunter should consider installing an air bleeder valve. I hate the two-handled fawcett design in the galley and head. The water is so hot that just turning on the hot valve scalds the Hell out of your hand. Trying to turn off the valves with soapy hands is impossible; and, you always wind up with a mess of water on the counter top. Hunter should supply a mixer valve like those available in almost every kitchen in America. There are some annouying leaks that we have not yet tracked down. Most are (or seem to be) intermittant, so ar difficult to find. The quality of the workmanship (mostly hidden items, like the cutouts for the hatches) is very shoddy. The hatch openings are so 'rough cut' that some of the screws holding them in place were driven into 'air'. I've also noticed that fasteners and vibration dampers are not all the same for a given component's installation. Small potatos mostly, but it shows a lack of quality control at the Hunter factory.  
Sailing characterisitcs The boat sails like a dream. Totally balanced. In light air, you can step away from the helm and the boat will steer itself. We had some heavier gusts recently, some that drove the rail almost to the water; and, still, the boat handled without apparant negative steering input. We have more (much more) sailing experience to get under our belt to be able to give a full evaluation; but, at first glance, We're quite pleased. We're less than pleased with the mainsail roller furling system in one respect... Striking the main requires a lot of effort and (it seems like) 2000 rotations of the winch to roll the main into the mast - way too much effort. I'd like to have an electric windlass in this one location.  
Motoring characterisitcs I love the Yanmar, which purrs along at any RPM and runs flawlessly. It does tend to 'lope' at idle speeds and perhaps I need to adjust the lower setting. The boat handles well under power (I havea three-bladed prop) and will accelerate and stop where I desire. Prop walk is minimal if you plan ahead. I like to use it to 'snug' up to a port side tie-up with a little aft trrottle, just as the boat comes to a stop. I was told by one dock attendant in Charlotte that "I handled the boat like it was a sports car"... I brought the boat from Massachusetts to Florida last year, mostly under power. I averaged about 6 kts. The only negative is that you have to watch the helm at all times as the the boat will wander off course easily. An autopilot would have been a definite advantage.Q  
Liveability I lived aboard during my trip from MA to FL. The trip took over two months and I was aboard almost all of that time. I felt that the boat was extremely comfortable and quite liveable. In fact, I was a bit reluctant to leave the boat once I got it 'home' - I stayed on it another couple of days.  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) In my experience, Hunter builds 'em and sells 'em to a cadre of 'yacht brokers'. Hunetr pays a ton of 'lip service' to the owners. but, otherwise, are quiet ineffectual on solving dealer/owner problems. I've had no warranty problems, for which I've had to contact Hunter though; so, Hunter may be quite a bit better in that area. I have no experience to evaluate.  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any We did buy the boat from a dealer and the experience boardered on fraud. It was a very nasty and difficult deal. Had we to do it over again, we would (should) have engaged a lawyer to look over the contracts. Hunter was totally unable to intercede between the owner and dealer, and it seemed that the dealer was free to do anything he wanted. If I had to make a comparison, I'd say that the dealer was worse than the worst used car dealer I've ever heard about. "Caveat emptor" was definately the rule in this deal.... If the dealer we bought from in MA still sells Hunters, I'd look elsewhere.  
Other comments Overall we love the 380. We've sailed on several other Hunter models and felt that the 380 was the best coastal cruiser on the market. We did like the new Catalina models as well, but we felt that the Hunter was just 'that much' nicer.  

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