Hunter Owner Reviews

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Review of the Hunter 23 by paul schimel

Year built 1986  
Location of boat oshkosh wi (winnebago)  
The boat is sailed on Lakes  
How the boat is used Day sailing  
Normal wind strength less than 10 knots  
Average size of crew 5-6  
Liveaboard? No  
Owner bought the boat in priv  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? YES! this is the best little boat for the money. its wood work and desighn are pleasing to the eye. the winged keel is VERY forgiving to the in experienced.(in a dumb moment on winnebago, I was under full sail when a front came in! the boat healed almost 90 deg. untill we pulled the sails down! this boat WILL NOT tip over!) my family of five spends the day, weekend, and an occational week on the boat.(my children were very small) we've been to the appostle islands in six foot waves and it sailed ok. (the weather was very co operative most of that week) the previouse owner had it in the keys of fl. for about a week Also in 5-6 ft waves. The boat is becoming too small as my family grows :( Ive pulled the boat with a ford windstar mini van without problems. (looks funy though!) the boat sits high on the trailer so you can see while changing lanes.  
Gear that's been added replaced the standard vhf with a dsc radio that has a remote mic option. navico tiller piolot garmin portable gps with mount (very handy) lighted compass, lighted knot meter. Hummin bird depth finder with in hull mount at the bow and no holes. Those little hanging solar yard lights work good on a sail boat. 5 watt solar panel charger for thwe batt works good for average power consumption. 150% genoa sail from the sail maker of oshkosh . radio and cd changer with speakers in and out. a omc motor mount (adjustable) a rail mount grill a small cooler rplaces the steps because of space. automatic bilge forpeace of mind  
Structural or complex improvements the boat was previousely(two owners ago) damaged in a storm so fine crks in the gel coat are visible if you look hard. under the cockpit and the doors for the ankor locker were reenforced because of flexing. the previouse owner said he did it for preventative purposes. He also says there were a lot of blisters he chiped and filled. (this is a factory defect) plan to install doors on the strage under the seats so you don't have to remove cusions to use the space.  
The boat's best features stable, fast (for a boat its size), trailerable 3 ft draft  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. the swim ladder is usless! fiber glass seems thin but sufficient. the galley is usless and was removed for space.  
Sailing characterisitcs mostly calm days,but trust worthy in mildly bad weather. have succesfully avoided storms so far with only the one exeption.  
Motoring characterisitcs 8 horse evinrude longshaft goes about 6 knots seems suffitiant.  
Liveability two people on a weekend most practical.  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) n/a  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any n/a  
Other comments love there desighns they seem very practical.