Hunter Owner Reviews

Serving sailors online since 1997
Hunter OEM Parts
General Marine Parts
 
 

Review of the Hunter 35.5 by Bob Easterly

Year built 1990  
Location of boat Pueblo, CO  
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?  
Owner bought the boat in 1994  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? Absolutely!  
Gear that's been added Gennaker, C. Frost refrigeration, Halon fire suppresionsystem, converted to propane, converted to single linefurling system, added collapsible water tank forward. Plan to install electric anchor windlassand manual bilge pump.  
Structural or complex improvements Not yet. The windlass and bilge pump will be mostcomplicated to date.  
The boat's best features Sails like a rocket. Easy to handle. Like the room below.  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. Same as others - holding tank size, but mine hasn't split. The previousowners/yacht charter company had jury-rigged the overboard system,so rebuilding that lies ahead as well. Can't seem to get to the main watertank under the foreward berth.  
Sailing characterisitcs I sailed the boat from Miami to Pensacola three years ago, then trailered itto Colorado. We didn't hit rough weather, and the boat sailed well when we had wind.We did use the iron gennie a lot on that trip, angain without any trouble. We intend toreturn the boat to Florida and cruise the ICW in the future. I believe the boat is ideallysuited for what we plan to do.  
Motoring characterisitcs Easy to handle. Docks well in reverse once you understand herhandling characteristics.  
Liveability For our needs, it is most satisfactory. During the passage, we hadsix large men on board, and we managed very well during the week-long trip. We may decide to add some cabinetry in the aft cabin forstorage later  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) Experience has been superb. They covered some small blisters under warranty when we first got the boat, and I have used theircustomer service department regularly. No complaints at all!  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any The broker was simply fantastic, the dealer much less so.  
Other comments