Hunter Owner Reviews

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Review of the Hunter 31_83-87 by Kurt Forrest Sears

Year built 1985  
Location of boat Kaunakakai, Hawaii  
The boat is sailed on Open ocean  
How the boat is used Weekends and longer  
Normal wind strength 23-30 knots  
Average size of crew solo  
Liveaboard?  
Owner bought the boat in 1995  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? Yes. Very nice for solo sailing. Easy to dock and move around harbor solo.  
Gear that's been added Auto Helm 4000Garmin 45Solar systemcock pit showerextra water tanks extra batterieslots of ground tackle  
Structural or complex improvements Nothing structural, most changes are bolt on.  
The boat's best features Handles like a sports car. Good enough sail plan to allow for sail-in, sail-out anchorages without aid of motor. Sails well enough to get me out of a few tight spots when motor was down, a lot of boats would have been scrabling for an anchor, the  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. I've suck/syphined water in bilge discharge - corrected with longer loop in line. B  
Sailing characterisitcs One of the easiest sailing boats I've ever seen. She's done a real good job in several nasty weather situations I've taken her through. I prefer to triple reef the main and reduce the roller reef jib to the perverbial hankerchief and go nose into it. She handles fine when I stear into it, up the wave face and drive down the back side. She doesn't feel nearly as good going down wind in a blow. The diesel at half power helps with helm control in stink weather too, but I've lost the motor during storms a couple of times. I suspect the problem was excessive heal, the engine worked fine after the blow.  
Motoring characterisitcs I love my Yanmar 18hp. I use a two blade, 12  
Liveability One of my friends will not come aboard because from what she's heard about my interior she figures she will never be happy on her boat after seeing mine.  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) Unfortunatly most system breakdowns and falures are with  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any n/a  
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