Hunter Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997
Contact us
Hunter OEM Parts
General Marine Parts
 
 

Review of the Hunter 26 by Greg Simm

Year built 1997  
Location of boat Fort McMurray Alberta Canada  
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? No  
Owner bought the boat in 2000  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? Yes, but probably look for a better equiped one. I've been on the newer ones, particularly the wheel steered ones. I thought I wanted one when I bought this one, and considered a macgregor for that among other reasons... hindsight says tiller is the only way to go on a small boat... way better feel, way more room in the cockpit. The wheel steering is a massive intrusion on an otherwise roomy cockpit.  
Gear that's been added Autohelm tri data and st-4000+ tiller pilot, hand made a maple/stainless tiller/reciever after the cheap alum. crap broke, complete ac/dc electrical system (40 Amp 3 stg charger, shore plug, battery monitor, 3 cct ac 10 cct dc breakers, battery isolator, removable panel/box mounted in stbd aft liner (back of berth) removes to allow access to batteries, several two pin polarized dc receptacles throughout, honda 2kw generator), asymetrical spinnaker and associated gear, small headsail and 2nd reef point in main. Espar gasoline boiler with two exchangers, squirrel cage blowers (3 speed) one is in series with a low speed 4" muffin fan (quiet), sound system (4 marine 8" speakers, marine amp, Kicker line driver/equalizer... no head unit, just plug anything into equalizer inputs wired to panel near galley (rca), s50 sattellite radio, volume controlled on both device and line driver, portable frig/freezer (waaco), two 130 ah trojan batteries, custom cockpit cushions, bbq on stern rail. Have started, but not completed freshwater hot/cold system with deck shower.  
Structural or complex improvements re-glassed leading edge of rudder, re-bedded mast crutch to fix leak into light and inside liner. Need advice on removing center board for same fix I did on rudder.  
The boat's best features the room inside and in the cockpit second to no other of similar size. Points very well. shallow draft. trailerable. relatively solid boat for wb trailerable.  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. sheave system mounted in deck at base of mast for hallyards and centerboard lift, leak at base of mast, real pain to clean out old silicone and get decent bead of proper sealant in, and hope it works...so far ok, filler of some sort used to shape hull extension past transom (1 inch or so) cracked and rotted from water running off back of hull/deck joint rubber... scraped out substantial amount to get to fiberglass, had to fiberglass/epoxy several square inches to build back up, then paint. Centerboard has split on leading edge... need to remove and repair (advice?), also lost the sheave for lifting centerboard... popped out and flew overboard...will need substantial repair in this area. Dropped the mast from 3/4 lowered (forgot guys) Bent several toggles on standing rigging learning how NOT to let them bind while raising mast. After beating the bow to bits where it rides on the trailer bow roller, I epoxied a stainless steel cap over the damaged area to take the pounding... works very well.  
Sailing characterisitcs Points better than all the boats on our local lake... that or they don't know how to sail. Tender... very frustrating characteristic on local lake since gusty conditions are the norm...7th season I've had it and will now often opt for motoring rather than fight with the wind flipping the boat around. Give me a steady wind at any reasonable speed and we can work with it quite comfortably. Balanced very well even under reefed main alone.  
Motoring characterisitcs Not sure how others are getting 6+ kts, but I have a 9.9 honda... wot I'm lucky to get 5. I motor at about 60%, 3.5 - 4 kts, quiet, great economy... doesn't charge batteries much at that setting though, maybe 5 amps. Don't do much marina time as I'm on a moore or anchor all of time. A dream to motor now with autohelm... can sit on bow for hours with a coffee on dead straight course. I've motored into pretty choppy stuff with stiff 25kt headwinds...4ft plus, lots of spray, motor cavitates a bit but still makes headway. wouldn't go bigger for stress on mount, especially with long leg. Just need time and fuel. Did feel cabin sole flex as boat fell off larger crests... as solid as it feels most of the time, it is a rather flexible structure, a compromise to the open area inside without bulkheads to stiffen it I suppose... I believe it can handle it for the most part, although a lifetime of it would likely be short. I've tried it with the small headsail and 2nd reef in winds that howl through the rigging (no aenemometer so that's my best guage)... stays upright pretty good excepting very strong gusts. Not too relaxing, but does still make to wind. in my early days of learning to sail I had her out full sail in strong winds to see how far I could get it to heel... rail in the water is the best I could do. I have broached with the spinnaker a couple of times where i've had water come over the sides into the cockpit, but it promptly rounds up and stands back up. (the wife really likes those). I've learned to trust the boat well within its designed parameters. I'm not comfortable beyond and do my best to avoid it.  
Liveability Great. Many of the additions were creature comforts. First on the list was the heater... froze our buns off a couple of times prior to that. now, it is top shelf... frosty outside and we're in t's inside. rainy days are no prob. adds easy six or eight weeks to my season here. We've had it back in the mountains for two weeks away from everything. We spend most of our summer time off, on the boat. go to the provincial park for showers, empty potty in the outhouses. Just came back from Penticton, okanagan lake... three weeks on the water... much time ashore of course but that was our bed and home for the stretch. I have had as many as 5 on board overnight... cramped yes, but get a couple seated and there is ample room. Stove works great although I've had a couple of galley fires from overfilling the canisters (no lables or knobs left), thick based pans are a must and spread the heat perfectly... we've even managed crepes on it. the bbq is a great asset as well (take it over a microwave any day). Thought about a small microwave... no room really and we make do without. With the generator we can use a waffle iron, and the wife can curl her hair for a day ashore! Need to work out a better mattress for the berth tho. A closed in cockpit would also be wonderful for the rainy days... the heater has ample capacity to warm the extra space. The water system will be a nice touch... have to agree with the rest on the crappy factory stuff... sneezed on the fittings and they blew off. I use a flexible 5 gal bag for tanks.  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) Asked for a manual when I bought the boat... never heard back and never asked for anything else.  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any Broker was pleasant.  
Other comments Love the boat for what it does for us now. My next boat won't be a hunter, something a little sportier and fixed keel of course... on the west coast. Am planning on putting this one in the salt soon, perhaps a run up the inside passage to alaska. Need to figure out how to tune the rig, how to get the center board off without a crane, a decent design for a dodger that protects you while steering from a bench, and still allows access forward. The tiller was the single most personal touch to the boat that gave it distinct character (gotta get rid of that horrid aluminum). The tillerpilot was a great addition as well, and a must for anyone who travels. Too many hours pinned to the tiller for me. An interesting thing about the autohelm pilots... you must unplug the drive from the system if you want to move the tiller manually without removing the drive from the tiller. The drive works great as a tiller tamer, but if you don't unplug it it will backfeed fatal generated voltages into your control head.  

Contact
About
Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Limited Liability
Advertise Here
Copyright 1997-2024 SB Owners, LLC
All rights reserved.

Other Sailboat Owners web sites:
CatalinaOwners.com | HunterOwners.com | MacgregorOwners.com | OdayOwners.com | SailboatOwners.com | 10,000 Boat Names |