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Review of the Hunter 26 by Mike Manchester

Year built 1994  
Location of boat Colorado  
The boat is sailed on Lakes  
How the boat is used Weekends and longer  
Normal wind strength 10-15 knots  
Average size of crew 2-4  
Liveaboard?  
Owner bought the boat in 1994  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? Yes. The boat has everything that isimportant to us. Lots of room, good headroom. Plenty of storage for weekends needs. Easy to trailer and sail. Goodconstruction for the price.  
Gear that's been added VHF radio, Stero system, compass. CurtainsMisc hanging bags for storage of hatchboards and other items. Dousing linefor jib. Bottom paint. Twelve volt recepticals by V-birth for Tv  
Structural or complex improvements Added spray foam under teak cabin floorfor additional support.  
The boat's best features The room in the cabin and cockpit areasIt's easy to rig, one person can rig itwith the rigging system that comes withthe boat. The cup holders in the cockpit.The two burner alcohol is great for those cool mornings for making coffee.It also works good for general cooking.The large head, with it's own sink. The material that is on the walls worksgreat with velcro. We have hung such things as small clock, barometer and some small bags by attaching the hookpart of the velcro on the item to be hung and sticking it to the material on the wall.  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. The biggest problem we have had is withcracks in the gel coat. Though they don't appear to be structual they suredon't look good an a two year old boat.We have had excellent help from Hunteror their dealers in taking care of ourproblems. The lines are not top qualityand after two years I'm looking at replacing them with better lines. Thebiggest problem with the lines are whenthe inside comes through the outsidecasing and snags on things. We have notexperienced the leakage problems that other have had, with the exception of thesliding hatch. After a heavy rain stormwe had about three inchs of water insidethe cabin. Hunter replaced the teak floorand added a longer stop to the rear ofthe hatch. This problem was only with theearly Hunter 26.  
Sailing characterisitcs The hardest thing to get used to was thequick heel for about the first 10 degreesuntil the water ballast finaly takes hold.Once we over came this fear, we have found the Hunter to be a boat that willsail well in moderate winds and will not get you wet in the heavy winds. Upwind the Hunter can point higher thanmost boats and has good windward performance. However with the locationof the shrouds (swept back) the downwind performance is really lacking without the use of a whisker pole.  
Motoring characterisitcs The only motoring we do is into the slipand sometimes around the lake to chargethe battery. Leaving and entering theslip is nearly imposible without theuse of the motor steerage. Without theability to steer the motor it would behard to maneuvre in a crowded anchorage.  
Liveability Great for a weekend get away for two orthree adults. Though we havn't spent aweek on it, I don't think it would bea problem.  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) Hunter is very good when it comes tocustomer satisfaction. They are very interested in what their customers haveto say about their boats.  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any The original dealer we bought the boathas since closed and went crusing. Ona Hunter 40. The new dealer has been selling boats in our area for a numberof years and is also very commited tothe customer. I would recommend that anyone in Colorado, Wyoming or WesternNeberaska check with the Anchorage in Lyons Colorado before buying a boat. They have a number of boat makes to chose from. Not just Hunters.  
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