Hunter 36 Seaworthiness

[lrainmaker]

Hi! My husband and I are new to the site snd are seriously looking at several hunters around 35-37 to live aboard and sail from the mainland to the Bahamas and all though the Caribbean (south of Puerto Rico). Do these boats handle long trips well? Are they sea worthy and capable of a such trip compared to some other manufacturers?

[Exile]

OK, who wants to go first?

[Island Time O25]

I was going to chime in with "good enough" but you beat me to it.

[scuba0_1]

not trying to be rude but if your are new to the site welcome goto the search and type in Hunter and you will get more then you can read. 1 good idea is goto the Hunter owner form.

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[J Clark H356]

We have a 2003 Hunter 356 with 7500 nautical miles on it. We are very well equipped with generator, KVH tracking Antenna and all the electronics, radar, sonar, AIS. Very good boat at sea and at port. Most of your time is at port, so get a comfortable boat.


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[Kenomac]

As the former owner of a Hunter 450, I can say the boats you're looking at will be good for the cruising you intend to do. We had our boat based in Long Beach, CA and sailed it up and down the California coastline and out to the Channel islands. Island hopping and coastal cruising is what the Hunters excel at. Enjoy.

35ft however, is a little tight for living aboard for extended periods. You may want to look at some 40 footers.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Irainmaker.

[lrainmaker]

Jclark and kenomac thank you for the encouraging words and advice. Appreciate the help and we will look at some 40s..


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[Ericson38]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

As the former owner of a Hunter 450, I can say the boats you're looking at will be good for the cruising you intend to do. We had our boat based in Long Beach, CA and sailed it up and down the California coastline and out to the Channel islands. Island hopping and coastal cruising is what the Hunters excel at. Enjoy.

35ft however, is a little tight for living aboard for extended periods. You may want to look at some 40 footers.

Kenomac,

What years were you cruising there ? We started in San Pedro in 1985 and through 2005. Do you remember the Memorial Day storm at Catalina in '87 ?

[a64pilot]

All boats have limitations, if you acknowledge that and stay within those limits, you'll be fine in any boat.
I almost bought a Hunter, a 356, but really liked the layout of the 386 a lot better as in it you could walk around the bed, and I think you could get to the head directly from the stateroom in the 386, but had to go through the salon on the 356?

We looked at newer 36's too, but I couldn't get over the fake wood floor of the newer boats, the real wood looked so much better to me.

Hunter's niche is in my opinion a good "starter" boat, meant for weekend and near coastal sailing, and there they do fine, but since you asked, they are not considered as sea worthy and as capable as some other manufacturers, but acknowledge that and plan accordingly and you will be fine

[DDabs]

Big fan of the Hunter Legend 35. Ours had the deep 6'6" keel and that thing was a beast to sail. A lot of people on these forums seem to bash Hunters, so be aware of that.


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[RTB]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

35ft however, is a little tight for living aboard for extended periods. You may want to look at some 40 footers.

Just depends on the person, I guess? We've lived aboard and been cruising our Hunter 36 since August of 2012. Not to small for us. Any yes, the boat is great for the OP's purpose. Mind you, not all Hunter 36's are the same. Ours is a 1982 Cherubini 36. Even more room in the newer models, I imagine.



Ralph

[pete33458]

To the OP: you probably weren't aware of the can of worms you were opening. Don't worry about it.

I spent a number of years sailing a a H36. It is a very good coastal cruising boat, and I made many gulf stream crossings with it, including some pretty snarly ones. I would have no problem sailing it on offshore voyages of a few days. The real problem with Hunter for longer voyages is tankage (water and fuel). That shouldn't be an issue in the range that you described.

If the s&*t hit the fan, would I rather be on a boat with a full keel, backstays, etc? Yes. But you can avoid that mostly. Your main exposure will be sudden squalls, and I have been through many of those on a H36 with no problem. And as I said, if conditions got REALLY bad and I had my choice, I would be on something else. But that's not to say the Hunter wouldn't come through just fine. It probably would (if well maintained).

For your purposes, it will be a fine boat.

Pete

[RTB]

Originally Posted by pete33458

To the OP: you probably weren't aware of the can of worms you were opening. Don't worry about it.

I spent a number of years sailing a a H36. It is a very good coastal cruising boat, and I made many gulf stream crossings with it, including some pretty snarly ones. I would have no problem sailing it on offshore voyages of a few days. The real problem with Hunter for longer voyages is tankage (water and fuel). That shouldn't be an issue in the range that you described.

If the s&*t hit the fan, would I rather be on a boat with a full keel, backstays, etc? Yes. But you can avoid that mostly. Your main exposure will be sudden squalls, and I have been through many of those on a H36 with no problem. And as I said, if conditions got REALLY bad and I had my choice, I would be on something else. But that's not to say the Hunter wouldn't come through just fine. It probably would (if well maintained).

For your purposes, it will be a fine boat.

Pete

So your answer to the OP is....yes....or no? Kinda hard to tell.

Ralph

[Exile]

Originally Posted by RTB

Just depends on the person, I guess? We've lived aboard and been cruising our Hunter 36 since August of 2012. Not to small for us. Any yes, the boat is great for the OP's purpose. Mind you, not all Hunter 36's are the same. Ours is a 1982 Cherubini 36. Even more room in the newer models, I imagine.

Attachment 101234

Ralph

Ralph -- Just out of curiosity, there seems to be a pretty uniformly positive consensus about the Hunter "Cherubini" models. While reviews on other models are obviously mixed, the Cherubini seems to enjoy a consistently good rep. Kinda like the Bene "First" models vs. some of the newer ones. Any ideas on this? Might be helpful to the OP who is obviously drawn to considering the brand.