I bought a 2005 Hunter 36 in 2007. I sail in the
Chesapeake Bay, so I'm not doing any coastal or
blue water sailing. I went to the
Annapolis Boat Show in 05 and 06 to scout things. I was looking mainly at the production boats (Beneteau,
Catalina,
Jeanneau,
Dufour, and Hunter for the most part). I had never sailed any of these boats and knew I'd need to take a little leap of faith on how they sailed and felt beyond the
survey, obviously.
I liked all of the boats, but I wanted a boat that would sail well, but also had good
interior volume and amenities for enjoying the
Chesapeake Bay with my wife and two
kids. If anything, I had preconceived notions
against buying a Hunter. But I couldn't get away from the fact that it seemed to have a good design and a nice package of quality, a user friendly boat, nice interior, and decent value for the
money. I was very happy with the boat for 12 years.
When I
sold the 36 in 2018 and started looking for a
new boat last year, I had decided in my mind that I would
not buy a Hunter this time. Mainly because I had a wish list that included dual wheels and perhaps the more "Euro" feel and styling of
Beneteau,
Jeanneau and
Dufour. I had ruled out Catalina. Just personally have never liked those boats down below.
Much to my surprise, when I looked at all the boats out there that were within my price range and other things I was looking for, I kept gravitating to the Hunters! Specifically, I liked the Hunter 41 AC from about 2005-2009. Not a huge fan of the look of the DS. I bought a 2005 Hunter 41 AC from
Rhode Island and have loved it for the past year. I delivered her last June through the
Long Island Sound, through
NYC, and down the Atlantic to the Delaware Bay and Chesapeake Bay. The boat performed fantastically. She
sails much better than I thought she would, very comfortable and great volume, and very stiff and sturdy. Cuts through the water well. My wife and I love this boat!
Thanks.