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Review of the Hunter 26 by Cleve Smith

Year built 1994  
Location of boat San Diego, 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?  
Owner bought the boat in 94  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? Yes. We have gotten averything we ever wanted out of this boat. There haven'tbeen any serious problems with this boatand its been fun modifying it as well.Its the best trailerable boat we've ownedyet.  
Gear that's been added We've made many modifications to our boat: VHF Radio, Racing Compass, 8hpEvinrude, Jib Track, 130% Mylar Genoa,and a masthead rigged Cruising Spinnaker.The Hunter 26 has the swept-back spreads making it hard to sail downwind.So we ran a Halyard to the top of themast, and had North Sails make us aCruising Spinnaker with a snuffer.  
Structural or complex improvements None  
The boat's best features In our experience, the best features about the Hunter 26 is the cabin room andits sailing ability. The interior is surprising large for a 26 foot boat. Weare most pleased with its overall speedand ability to point high. The CruisingSpinnaker we added makes the boat goextremly fast downwind, and the 130%Genoa pulls the boat upwind in any typeof wind.  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. The biggest problem we've experienced wasexcessive bilge water. It seems to be coming in through the compression post, but we're not sure. We've been workingon it for quite a while now, and we stillhaven't been able to stop the water fromcoming in.  
Sailing characterisitcs The Hunter 26 is a very fast boat. We'vealso found this boat able point higherthan most others. The full-batten maingives this boat a lot of power to sailupwind. Overall, this boat is a greatsailor, and we;ve remedied the problemof not being able to let your mainsailout all the way by adding an AsymetricalSpinnaker.  
Motoring characterisitcs We don't generally motor that much. We only use it when docking, although wehave docked it under sail a few times.The boat is very manuverable with the motor because you are able to turn it,allowing it to turn in its own length.  
Liveability This boat has great livability for weekends and week long vacations. We oncetook it up to Lake Mead for a week and itwas great. I don't suggest staying on itfor more than a week because it starts to become a little cramped. It did just fine for the four of us, but any morewould be too crowded.  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) We haven't dealt with Hunter all that much. We just asked a question about thecompression post, but they were veryhelpful and they made sure we got theinformation we needed.  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any The first dealer we worked with was notvery helpful. He kicked us off one of theboats when we were just looking around.He wasn't very helpful, or willing tomake a deal. So we found a dealer ofTrailerable boats in Tuscon, Arizona, andhe gave us a great deal on a new Hunter26.  
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