hunter legend 37.5 or beneteau first 375

[brandonv]

hi this is my first post. I will be buying a boat this spring and im trying to find out about these two boats from people who own or have experience with one or both. I have done lots and lots of research on all types of cruising sailboats. I have some sailing experience and have been on power boats my whole life. the boat will be used around florida for a year or two and then the caribbean after severals years in the caribbean i plan to cross the pacific. I know the benteau first is capable as they have circumnavigated. thanks for any input

[sandy stone]

No experience with the Hunter, but a review of my First 375 is on page 42 here: Southwinds September 2015 by SOUTHWINDS Magazine

[brandonv]

good review thanks

[frozenhawaiian]

the beneteau beats the hunter any day of the week. much better build quality, performance, comfort. seakeeing abilities, quality of and spec of 3rd party components. also the beneteau has a solid glass hull, no hull coring to worry about. hunters are a boat built to a price point above all else, bear that in mind. I've sailed a beneteau to bermuda twice and from the west coast to hawaii 3 times. I had a hunter sink out from under me when it's keel fell off. take from that what you will....

[brandonv]

thanks. what model beneteau?

[brandonv]

this guy makes a good point but i have also read and heard many bad experiences with hunters. How We Got To Hunter | SmackTalk!

[hamburking]

I owned a Hunter Legend 35.5 (1994).

It was a wonderful boat. Hunter is constantly striving to push the envelope and try new things. My boat had many features that have been mimicked by the competition since then...sugar scoop stern, walk thru transom with shower, a real usable shower below, stern rail seats (aka hunter seats), winged bulb keel, transverse bunk aft cabin, single line reefing, etc.

There were also some mistakes, like dutchman flaking system, and below the deck continuous line jib furler.

What attracted me the to Hunter in the first place was the long list of standard equipment that matched my wish list: Bow roller, furling jib, easy reefing, yanmar diesel, shallow draft, big aft cabin, T shaped cockpit, etc.

My biggest complaint was the stove. Mine had a CNG stove. Great stove, but CNG is not available in my area. Stupidly, I put a great effort into getting my two tanks refilled, at great effort and expense. I should have just replaced the stove with an Origo, and I would have been set.

I bought the Hunter because I had a young daughter, expecting wife, and geriatric dog. I needed a boat I could handle alone, and be very comfortable for my family in all conditions. The Hunter worked out very well, exceeding my expectations. In particular, below was finished beautifully, the wife always enjoyed showing off below to visitors, especially with the ice cold AC running on a hot summer day.

I liked the 35.5 over the 37.5 because of the shallow draft. I think the 37.5 draws more. If you are going to sail in thin water, like I do, you might want to consider this. I ran aground only once, and it was tough to get off...the bulb wing keel is shaped a lot like a bruce anchor...LOL. I also had trouble with the anchor line wrapping around the keel when we had wind/current reversals. A real pain, but easily solved with more chain.

I would not hesitate to get another Hunter Legend. It sailed well, was extremely comfortable, and was a delight to own.

[wunderluster]

Beneteau would win over Hunter IMO if both have been maintained equaly.

[Valmika]

I have a Bene Oceanus 38 and have had great luck with it. I sailed a hunter legend many times in the 90s and was not impressed from the start. The first time I took it out it was only two months old (it belonged to a friend) I was on my way to Catalina with his son and decided to fire up when we got close . I was heeled over a bit (not that much) and suddenly the motor died. You know the three things that will stop a diesel , right? Turns out the fuel pickup line was only about halfway down into the fuel tank so even though we were half full we couldn't get fuel. It did sail reasonably well but the build quality was not that good. Check the size of screws the use to hold things in. I was on another one that had the grab bar in front of the stove. It was a bit rough and I was holding on to it when it pulled out. It was held in by some extremely small screws. In 2010 I was hired to sail a 2010 hunter 39. I only took it out about 4 -5 times but did not have any issues with that and liked the boat. The only problem it had that I know of was it had termites in the interior wood but they could have come from anywhere. Be sure to check the compression post on the Hunter if it is wood.

[Sinbad51]

The previous review in Southwind on the Beneteau 375 ispretty well spot on. I have owned my 375 for 11 years and it has performed very well. My ownly gripe is the Volvo engine. It has performed well but parts are stupidly expensive.
We have raced ours occasionally and done reasonably well. It is a heavy boat and likes a little more wind.
We have cruised it extensively on the Great Lakes and also took it from Windsor, Ontario down to the Exumas and back. We are fortunate to have one with the shaoal draft of 5' 6". If you want more info on the boat or our experiences with it you can check our blog at afeica.wordpress.com
I don't really think the early Hunters were of the highest quality and I would think twice about going offshore with one, but that is just one persons opinion.

[S/V Illusion]

I wrote this once in response to a similar question:

As I type, I am asking why get involved in such a discussion but here goes regardless. To quality my opinion, I should state that I have had the great opportunity to make a circumnav a number of years ago and throughout that experience, never, ever heard people actually doing it make some of the totally irrational statements I've read here on the internet, seemingly by people who have no clue what offshore sailing actually entails. I may be incorrect in this presumption but the vast majority of comments derogatory toward any mfg including Hunter seem to support my belief that these folks have never done it. Suprisingly, that minor detail seems to escape them as they appear quite content to speak authoritatively regardless.

To the point, no where, at no time and under no circumstance have I, during that trip, did I ever hea a conversation among cruisers criticizing a particular boat brand. The obvious reason is that we were all too busy complaining about breakdowns, repairs, spare parts, provisioning, water and fuel supplies, etc... regardless of what boat or who made it. Seemingly, the most problematic boats were the so-called gold-platers made to the proverbial highest standards with so many systems that problems were epidemic. We saw every conceivable type, size and make boat imaginable and it was abundantly clear that no generalitiy could be made about any of them. They were all there and floating nicely at anchor in places most people never heard of.

To do so here is only indicative of one thing - that the authors simply don't know any better.

In a storm, it was FAR more important how the crew managed the boat than who made it. It was FAR more important how old the sails were than who made them. Same with engines, rigs, masts, and lest I forget, coral can't read the nameplate when chewing up fiberglass.

About the most curcial ingredient I observed in determining if people were having a successful cruise was the happiness of the crew so whether your wife, girlfriend, life partner, etc... likes a boat made by Hunter, Catalina, Shannon or Mickey Mouse is equally if not more important than the grid structure, depth of the bilge, keel shape or rudder design.

Blanket criticisms of any boat brand such as we read in other posts above is ridiculous.

[tankersteve]

Once again, CF desperately needs a "LIKE" button. Great post, Illusion.

[brandonv]

Makes sense but I am concerned about buying a boat that wont hold up to rough weather. Great post the girlfriend definetly likes the hunters interior better but there are more important aspects than the interior for the voyages I plan to make.

[Kalinowski]

We bought a H33.5 new in 88. Inland lake sailed her for 25 years and she held up fine. Moved up to a Pearson 424 ketch for ocean sailing. No comparison. In my humble opinion, the Hunter is great for inland and coastal sailing. Big water needs a sturdier boat.

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by brandonv

Makes sense but I am concerned about buying a boat that wont hold up to rough weather. Great post the girlfriend definetly likes the hunters interior better but there are more important aspects than the interior for the voyages I plan to make.

In part, my point was that any well maintained boat will serve you better than a poorly maintained wallowed battle ship. I could attach a picture of Hunters laying at anchor in the S Pacific which, according to the internet experts, can't get there. But I think you already 'got the picture'.