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Review of the Hunter 27_89-94 by Shep Zedaker

Year built 1993  
Location of boat Christiansburg, Virginia  
The boat is sailed on Lakes  
How the boat is used Day sailing  
Normal wind strength 10-15 knots  
Average size of crew 2-4  
Liveaboard?  
Owner bought the boat in 1993  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? Yes, it has been an excellent boat for us overall. We spend most of our time at a near by lake but two or more weeks each year we take it on an extended cruise of the Chesapeake Bay or the Pamlico Sound. With 4 (two teenagers) it is a bit cramped after two weeks but we mostly marina hop so can get off to walk around most days. It is easy to trailer but hard to launch since it requires a deep ramp. We have built a caster for the trailer which allows us to keep our truck dry. My only major complaint has been with the availability of rig parts. It has a Z-spar rig, and when we broke the mast step we had a tough time getting parts because of the spat between Hunter and Z-spar. The new step has twice the metal of the old at the pivot points so apparently it was underdesigned from the start.  
Gear that's been added Yes, we have added a second part to the main sheet. The main sheet system is poor (no traveler, weak cam cleat, and nearly impossible to fine trim while beating in heavy air. While racing, we could not spill wind in puffs by easing the mainsheet (without a traveler) and would suffer from too much weather helm (putting in a reef made us too slow in the average wind). We looked into buying a Harken system but at $800 all up it was prohibitive (how can they get away with charging $400 for two cast aluminum risers?). We built a 5 part system from bullet blocks and attached it to the starboard end and block of the mainsheet, moved the undersized camcleat to that side and replaced it with an appropriate one for the load and line size of the main. The 5-part second gear can be adjusted with three fingers even in heavy air.  
Structural or complex improvements None yet, but we are looking at an electric outboard motor lift/mount to make life easier on the skipper when transitioning from powering to sailing.  
The boat's best features Cost, value for this size boat. And, it is fast, even with the standard sails. The overall design and layout is excellent. We love the ergonomics of most things. Only exception is the starboard settee which is really too narrow to sleep on by anyone but a very small child (so it does not really sleep 5).  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. Mainsheet and mast step as mentioned above. We also broke the stern and bow pulpit supports where they had a hollow studs to allow for the stern and bow light wiring. We replaced them with solid studs and rerouted the wires. The bow cleats and pulpit are very, very difficult to tighten and rebed because it is difficult to get to the bolts under the deck. Overall, I would make the lifeline system more substantial. The plumbing fittings were very cheap and had to be replaced after only three years. Lastly the stern has a disproportionate amount of gelcoat cracks. Every sharp corner is cracked indicating to me that it flexes too much (I'm only 175 lbs and the motor is a 9.9 hp which it should be able to handle). I also wish it had come with better anchoring system (bow roller and cleat in the anchor well).  
Sailing characterisitcs The boat is fast (we have won all but one race we have entered) but it does need to be reefed early. It rounds up quickly when overpowered. We have sailed in 30 knots (chased out of Ocracoke by two hurricanes) and 6 ft seas to windward and felt very confident that it could take more (even though we could not).  
Motoring characterisitcs A 9.9 hp OB drives the boat at hull speed with no problems. I wish that they had made room for a six gal tank instead of a three. We always have to carry jerry cans on the stern when cruising.  
Liveability We like the lay-out except the narrow settees and the top step of the ladder (which we doubled in depth). It was too easy for our kids to slip behind the first step and crash when going below. Gimbles on the stove and a little wider and deeper sink would be nice. We also lament that the brochure for the boat showed teak strips along the inside of the hull which looked very nice but these were omitted in our boat (one of those specs . subject to change without notice).  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) Our first attemts to get Z-spar mast parts were not successful but Hunter came through in the end. Other informational things for repair and service have been good.  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any They were very good to us in price and fitting out the boat but the mast lever post that they designed for us to raise and lower our mast was underdesigned and failed, causing us to break our mast step.  
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