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Review of the Hunter 450 by Phil Herring

Year built 1997  
Location of boat Seattle, WA  
The boat is sailed on Bays, sounds, or protected salt water  
How the boat is used Weekends and longer  
Normal wind strength  
Average size of crew 2-4  
Liveaboard?  
Owner bought the boat in 1997  
If the clock could be turned back, would owner buy again? Yes; it is a spectacular boat that has exceeded my expectations in alomst every way. Construction, systems, sail plan, accomodations, it's hard to beat, in my opinion, at any price.  
Gear that's been added UK cruising gennaker, Webasto heating system (hot water radiators), ST-80 insturuments and GPS, ST-50 autopilot, ST-50 radar, a pair of Racor 100s, MapTech Professional plotter, cell hpne w/marine grade antenna, and last but not least, a Raritan electric head aft. Also noteworthy is a new Delta anchor, one size bigger than necessary, and 250' of chain. Digs in instantly and has already held the boat in blows over 25 knots.  
Structural or complex improvements Had the dealer add the oversized Racor fule filters. Original equipment (220s I think) are fo small. The 100s can be used in parallel or series, or shut off to facilitate cleaning the filter without the need to bleed the air from system afterwards. I made major changes to both heads. (details below). I removed the over-sink cabinets/mirrors in both heads, had custom mirrors made that mount flat on the wall. There's still plenty of storage forward, and aft, mounted a 20x20" medicine cabinet on the starboard hull, above and behind the steel bar. Also added a fan in the shower, mounted to the cieling and aimed out the port. It shoots the steam and much moisture right outside.  
The boat's best features Almost too many to name, but here are my highlights: new sail plan w/o backstay, interior accomodations, deck plan (incredible room to move around), ground tackle system, power-speed-nimble under power, lazarette storage. as always, the light below is super, and the aft cabin looks like it came off a 60' motor yacht. Small thing, but I also like the way Hunter grouped all the thru-hulls.  
Problem areas in terms of design, materials, maintenance, etc. I think the exterior asthetics of the boat leave something to be desired, but it's so functional I can overlook that. Unlike others, I've had nothing but success with my refer/freezer. I do get heavy ice build-up in the freezer, but none of the condensdation problems, lock-up, short-cycling, and other problems I've heard about. I think my dealer re-routed the hoses. I'll try to find out more and post it here. Whoever designed this boat was on vacation the week they figured out the heads. The cabinets hang out over the sinks so much as to make them useless. We had more water on the floor than down the drain. The mirrors made us all look like a day in the fun house. Access to the aft head is poor. We've managed to fix this, for the most part, as described above. To _really_ get it right we'll need new Corian counters and biggers sinks - which the pedestals will easily accomodate.  
Sailing characterisitcs The boat is fast. And let me tell you - MUCH faster than it looks! In our Puget Sound moderate sailing conditions it moves well, 5-6 knots with 12 knots of wind. It is far better in light air than my Hunter 42. The 42 really needed 10 knots to move at all; the 450 can sail in 6 knots or so.At the other end of the spectrum, we've had it out in 33 knots double reefed and it gave a great ride. But as Chris Oldham says, reef early. It gets overpowered suddenly at about 20 knots under full sail. Although some don't agree with me, I've experienced fine performance downwind, too.  
Motoring characterisitcs Cruises at 8 knots, backs well, turns tight, runs quitly. what more could you want?  
Liveability Speaks for itself. Just walk in and look around.  
The owner's experience in dealing with Hunter (if any) Quite good. They didn't handle all my custom requests very well; some were made, some not, no advance warning. But it's hard to know if that's Hunter or the dealer.  
The owner's experience with the boat dealer or broker, if any Excellent. Bought from Cruising Specialists (cousins of Club Nautique) in Alameda, CA. Very straight-shooters. No haggling, game playing: I told them what I wanted and we quickly agreed on a very fair price. The service department is headed by Dave Tomlinson, one of the most knowledgable sailors I've met. They were far more anal about commissioning than I was, even. Everything was installed to perfection (well, they made a mistake on my heater, but it was the first installed in a 450, ever). I have total confidence in their recommendations and workmanship.  
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