I don't want to give anyone the wrong idea about the Hunter 450 passage; my wife and I really enjoyed the boat for what it is, and the Hunter provided us a fantastic gateway into the world of cruising. The annoying problems we had, could all be repaired, but should not have been expected on a boat costing $275k plus when new.
My grips are primarily with the Hunter
Marine Company, especially the customer
service department.... or rather, the lack of a customer
service department.
Although my wife and our guests onboard were always somewhat on edge whenever the boat heeled way over even in a light
wind, I thought it was fun to sail. We made a trip down from
San Francisco to Long Beach, then spent the next two years sailing exclusively throughout Southern
California including the Channel islands and
living aboard 5 months per year... having a blast! My wife still misses the huge
shower.
Prior to selling our boat, we made quite a few
repairs which should insure many good, safe, fun-filled years of sailing for it's new owners.