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Review of the Hunter 23.5 by Charlie Carricarte

Year built 1993  
Location of boat Miami, FL  
The boat is sailed on Bays, sounds, or protected salt water  
How the boat is used Day sailing  
Normal wind strength 10-15 knots  
Average size of crew solo  
Liveaboard? No  
Owner bought the boat in 2009  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? Yes, definitely. I was looking for a trailer sailer and bought a Catalina 30 by mistake. It's a great boat but way too much boat for my sailing; now two years later life is good.  
Gear that's been added The previous owner added a roller furler which is cool once you get the rig up but a pain any other time. This boat will stay simple. Handheld GPS and handheld VHF marine radio are the order of the day. The boat came with a stereo CD radio uninstalled; it still is uninstalled. If I add that it will probably need another battery. Changed the bow, stern and mast light to LED. All inside lights are now LED. Added a battery cut off switch and 40 and 30 amp fuses for boat circuits and 9.9 Mariner starter motor circuit. PO had added a 110VAC system but I haven't used it; the panel is no. 1 but wire and wiring were Home Depot.  
Structural or complex improvements Replaced aft end of mast base halyard turning block pin socket so it would not leak into the liner. Installed molded fiberglass socket for table in cockpit, eliminating the Starboard piece with 4 screws. The original socket was poorly molded and leaked into the liner, water then traveled to the transom. Repaired huge air bubble by support for main sheet U bolt (still have a few air bubbles other places). Filled transom hull to deck joint with fiberglass/cab o sil and repaired some stress cracks by motor. Replaced mast trailering transom support socket with one made from Starboard. Replaced rubber bumpers for cockpit hatches with starboard after adding fiberglass to part of hatch door stops. Tiller tube bolt was wallowed out and was welded and reinforced with thru tube welded in. A piece of grey (electric) PVC tubing was heated and pushed on to the tiller handle where it rides inside the rudder sides; this was in lieu of the flat nylon/plastic spacers. This works great.  
The boat's best features Sails great. Huge interior. Easy to launch and trailer. Huge cockpit. Nice size to sails; easy to raise and lower. Good quality hardware. Great documentation in manual.  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. Still haven't figured out how to use the fairlead, cam cleat and winch arrangement for the jib sheets. Trailer is anemic. Trailer rubber V set up is poor.  
Sailing characterisitcs It is easy to forget the joy of sailing a small boat. I tie a line from stern cleat to stern cleat with 3 wraps around the tiller and two rolling hitches to adjust tension and hold the tiller long enough to raise the sails, start the motor or get another beer. She is very fast and will easily exceed 6 knots on a close/beam reach. The jib is small and doesn't need much attention but the main needs to be sailed like a dinghy to keep her on her feet and moving. Over 10 knots it seems you are leaving the luff real loose and just keeping the leech full. It seems you should sail with no more than 10-15 degrees of heel.  
Motoring characterisitcs Necessary to steer with the motor sometimes. She doesn't turn well without the centerboard down.  
Liveability Most of my time has been spent outside but soon plan to overnight at a nearby key.  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) They are great! They don't come any better than Eddie Breedin in customer service.  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any Bought from a broker in Holland Michigan. Henry DeJong was great.  
Other comments It's a great boat and I plan to keep it for a good while. It does everything well. It is easy to keep on the trailer when there's no time for sailing.  

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