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Review of the Hunter 29.5 by Al Workman

Year built 1994  
Location of boat Toronto, Ontario, Canada  
The boat is sailed on The Great Lakes  
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 1998  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? Yes. Having sailed this boat for 6 years, and it being our first boat, it has been a great confidence builder. The 29.5 has some strong characteristics, especially prop walk to port reversing out of a slip, which you must learn to overcome or compensate for. After you have, other boats are easy. We've sailed double reefed in winds maintaining 28 knots and gusting to 35 knots with Lake Ontario waves at 2-2.5 metres and she took it like a trooper.  
Gear that's been added 15 kg Bruce anchor (oversized); 6:1 Lewmar main sheet blocks (highly recommend); Preventer blocks on foreward stantions; Autohelm 4000+ autopilot; Autohelm (ST60) wind instrument; Garmin 180 chartplotter; Dodger & bimini; Man-overboard pole; DRS (halyard and blocks); Whisker pole; Rewired co-ax antenna lead with heavy-duty cable which extended boat-to-boat range to about 40 nautical miles (confirmed) and to coast guard to about 52 nautical miles; built 10-bottle wine rack on shelf under V-berth; re-run reefing lines to allow reefing in the cockpit (required two additional blocks at the foot of the mast).  
Structural or complex improvements None  
The boat's best features General ease of handling. Relatively fast on most points of sail.  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. Many of the port-lights leaked along the rubber seals. We've reduced or eliminated that through adding a little silicone caulking to the seal. If I were to do it again, I'd probably replace many of the port lights with better (steel or aluminum) ports. Minor amount of water in the aft transom locker - probably related to rain getting into rub-rail along hull joint. According to some reviews, recaulking the rub rail may solve the problem. We've had some costemic spider-cracking of the gelcoat in various areas of the upper coach-roof, the sidedecks and in the cockpit - its a minor thing and it could easily be repaired.  
Sailing characterisitcs She's a stiff sailer and requires early reefing, the 1st at 15 knots apparent and the 2nd at about 22 knots apparent. Going to weather, we use the boom vang to flaten the main - this can be eased when the wind picks up. The main sheet, which is just foreward of the wheel, can also be actively played by the crew or by the helmsman to ease weather helm. When over-canvassed she'll round up quickly. Our fastest sail has been on a beam reach making 7.2 knots (GPS), single reefed in 22 knots of off-shore wind (flat water, no current). She like to be sailed relatively flat with no more then 15-20 degrees of heel. Any more than that and you'll have too much rudder on to compensate and the drag will slow you down.  
Motoring characterisitcs She'll run all day at 2500 rpm making about 5.3-5.8 knots depending on the wind and waves. We have a lot of canvas on the bimini and dodger so some boats may be slightly faster to windward while motoring. In cold water, she'll run at 3000 RPM, but we never do that for any extended period as the extra fuel consumption and load on the motor only gains us half a knot in boat speed. Care must be taken that the raw water intake or the strainer are free of weeds. You should not see smoke in the exhaust - if you do, you may have a partial blockage. A blockage will also result in a more rumbling note to the exhaust which is also a clue. The strainer can be cleared in about 5-10 minutes work. If the water intake has sucked in a weed, a piece of flat flexible plastic, such as a large cable tie, can be run through the system and twisted to chop up the weed and clear the line. Sometimes you have to take off the hose at the through hull, and this can take a little more work. Note - our boat doesn't have a strainer on the outer hull.  
Liveability I've lived on board in the Great Lakes for as long as 4 weeks and didn't feel boat bound.  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) Mixed.  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any Some issues when we bought the boat (used) that Hunter was slow to resolve.  
Other comments  

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