Hunter Owner Reviews

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

Review of the Hunter 29.5 by Troy

Year built 1996  
Location of boat Oahu, Hawaii  
The boat is sailed on Open ocean  
How the boat is used Day sailing  
Normal wind strength 16-22 knots  
Average size of crew 2-4  
Liveaboard? No  
Owner bought the boat in 2009  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? Absolutely, I was originally looking for a more blue water boat but the person that surveyed this one suggested that I get what my wife wanted if I ever wanted to have another boat so, I followed his advice. Over time I have grown to love this boat. After looking at other boats and looking at what we have, I don’t think I could have chosen a better boat to get back into sailing. Sailing the 29.5 is super easy and there is plenty of sail to get you moving. The only down side is that the over powered main requires reefing early to keep the passengers happy. This is also turned out to be the perfect boat to swim/dive from. We don’t do as much sailing as I would like since it is a short sail to the swimming/diving spot but we enjoy getting out on the water. There are other great things about this boat. It has a big boat feel without the big boat headaches such as refrigeration, a gen-set and other complex systems that take time and $$$ to maintain.  
Gear that's been added Nothing major yet. I added a new sail cover and pedestal cover.  
Structural or complex improvements Nope.  
The boat's best features Great swim/dive platform. Easy to sail and handle. Simple, easy to maintain systems equal more time on the water and less time at the dock working on them.  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. I haven’t tackled it yet but I will need to replace the cooling water pump impeller soon. From what I have read, it will not be a straight forward affair because the pump is mounted with the front toward the engine. I also had an issue with the port head sail track and block. Over the years the block was not moved and it corroded in place. I had to remove the track and drill out the pin from the underside of the track. The good part was that a replacement pin was only a few bucks.  
Sailing characterisitcs It’s really responsive. I usually reef around 15kts to help deal with the gusts and ease the ride. This boat will scoot. When we brought her around the island from Kaneohe to Ko Olina we hit 10 plus kts on the back side of the swells. We had a following sea for most of the trip until we rounded Diamond Head.  
Motoring characterisitcs I usually don’t get above 2200rpm. I’m experiencing vibration from the engine. Not sure if it is from the “dirty” prop that may be off balance from the growth or an engine problem. I am a little hesitant to run it too hard because I have read about overheating issues but I know I need to put a load on the engine to keep from causing other issues. Other than that, it has always been there when I needed it.  
Liveability We've not had a chance to stay onboard for an over nighter yet.  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any)  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any  
Other comments This is a great boat for what we do. I keep hearing that you should buy a boat for the kind of sailing that you will be doing not the sailing that you hope to do. I'm glad we made the choice to buy a boat for the sailing we do.  

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 |