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Review of the Hunter 35.5 by Raymond Schnell

Year built 1991  
Location of boat Coconut Grove, Florida  
The boat is sailed on Open ocean  
How the boat is used Multi-week coastal cruising  
Normal wind strength 10-15 knots  
Average size of crew 2-4  
Liveaboard? No  
Owner bought the boat in 2004  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? Yes, we bought the boat in Tampa and sailed her to Miami. Since then we have made several trips to the Keys and to the Bahamas. The boat has a comfortable interior, is fast, and attractive.  
Gear that's been added Raymarine C80 GPS, and Radar, Mar Tek 370 dinghy davits, Kato Marine radar pole, Kyocera 60 W solar panel (two) with PS15M solar charge controller, Raymarine S1 wheel pilot, and a three blade prop.  
Structural or complex improvements Original holding tank replaced with a new 24 gal. tank, Simpson Lawrence Sprint 600 windlass, Cruise Air 12,000 BTU air conditioner, battery charger, and custom bimini and dodger all were added by previous owner.  
The boat's best features Comfortable cruiser, easy to handle for two people, and sails very well.  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. Battery location could be improved. The forward hatches leaked in rough weather until we replaced the gaskets. Main sail is sometimes difficult to get up and I don’t like the roller furling for the jib being located under the deck. The back cockpit hatches are a curved design and we had problems where they attach under the helm seat. LNG for the galley is difficult to obtain in our area, propane would be better.  
Sailing characterisitcs The boat needs to be reefed early if the wind picks up but she sails like a dream. We often pass other boats of our same size or larger  
Motoring characterisitcs With the two blade prop we had a lot of vibration. Once we changed to the three blade prop the vibration disappeared. The boat motors very well and you can actually back it up easily.  
Liveability Very comfortable for two to four people on two to three week cruises.  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) We have only contacted them once and they were very helpful in solving the front hatch leaking problem.  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any We bought the boat from Massey Yacht Sales of St. Petersburg FL. The initial dealings with the brokers were fine but after the sale several problems occurred and they were less than forthcoming in helping solve them. The problems were caused when Massey allowed the previous owner to remove items from the boat without my permission. I would not recommend buying a boat from them.  
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