Owners buy Hunters for space and price. The reviews of the 1990s and later boats show where those savings turn up years on: aluminium tanks, cored decks, a grid that hides the hull, and a few weak details on each model.
A thin, blistered bottom on the Hunter 28
Surveyor David Pascoe reviewed a 1991 Hunter 28. He found the grid liner right, with no problems in the framing, no structural weakness under the deck stepped mast and no significant leaks. He also found a very thin bottom that was badly blistered, enough on its own to tell a buyer to pass, plus heavy crazing at the bow pulpit leg bases and a plastic fuel tank held with packaging straps and steel clips that will rust.
Where to look. The whole bottom for blisters and thickness at any opening; the pulpit bases; how the fuel tank is secured.
Aluminium tanks
On the Vision 32, Sailing Magazine says the fuel, holding and freshwater tanks are all aluminium and should be checked for leaks and corrosion. One owner bought a boat whose water tank was "leaking like a sieve" and warns about the holding tank in the shower seat: use your nose, because over the years it erodes. Another aluminium tank under the swim step can corrode, and owners have replaced the original tanks. On the 35.5 Legend, Practical Sailor calls the factory aluminium holding tank prone to internal corrosion; the boat it reviewed had a plastic replacement.
Where to look. Every tank you can reach for white corrosion, weeping and smell, and the hoses and fittings on them. Ask which tanks have been replaced. See holding tank leak and fuel tank corrosion.
Cored decks and the deck stepped mast
Hunters of this period have cored decks and deck stepped masts. Sailing Magazine's advice on the 340, built from 1998 to 2001, is to look for excess compression under the mast over time and for deck delamination from water getting in. On the Vision 32, owners advise checking for leaks around the mast at deck level and for rot under the water heater base. The 35.5 Legend's deck is balsa cored with plywood where fittings go, and Practical Sailor names water in the cored deck as its likely trouble spot. The 320's deck is cored with marine plywood.
Where to look. A straightedge across the cabin top at the mast step and the support below it; meter and sound the deck around the step and every fitting.
The grid and the liner
The 35.5 Legend, built until 1995, has a structural grid that Practical Sailor says has few signs of ever failing in normal use. It also makes it hard to reach all parts of the hull from inside, which matters if the hull is damaged in a grounding or collision. The boat it saw had had its fixed ports replaced for minor leaks and crazing.
Where to look. Use every opening in the grid and liner after any grounding; say in the report how much of the hull you couldn't see.
The keel joint and the swim platform on the 340
Some 340 owners report thin cracks on the bottom near the bolted on keel. Sailing Magazine puts it down to fairing compound turning brittle, and says to have the yard tighten the bolts if the joint weeps. The swim platform opens to the bilge with only rubber latches, which could be a problem in rough seas, and the grey nonskid paint wears and peels.
Chain lockers on the Passage 42
The Passage 42, a centre cockpit boat built until 1998, had few serious complaints or recalls, Sailing Magazine says. Owners reported leaky chain lockers, minor electrical problems and trouble with some appliances, most of them resolved by Hunter. The magazine advises a close inspection of deck and rigging.
Recalls
The USCG recall list holds records for the H-280, the P420 and a campaign covering the H410, P420, P450 and H460. The detail pages give model and year without the defect. Check the hull number with a dealer or the owners' association.
What to check on a Hunter
| Area | What to look for | Source of the concern |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom on the 28 | Thin laminate, blisters | Pascoe, Hunter 28 |
| Fuel, water and holding tanks | Aluminium corrosion, leaks, smell | Sailing Magazine, Vision 32; Practical Sailor, 35.5 Legend |
| Mast step | Compression, leaks at deck level | Sailing Magazine, 340 and Vision 32 |
| Cored deck | Delamination, wet core around fittings | Sailing Magazine, 340; Practical Sailor, 35.5 Legend |
| Grid | Parts of the hull you can't reach | Practical Sailor, 35.5 Legend |
| Keel joint on the 340 | Cracks in the fairing, weeping | Owners in Sailing Magazine |
| Chain locker on the Passage 42 | Leaks | Owners in Sailing Magazine |
| Recalls | Open campaigns for the hull number | USCG recall list |
Writing it up
"Holding tank, aluminium, under the shower seat: white corrosion along the lower seam, odour in the compartment, no visible weeping. Recommend the tank is removed and inspected, and replaced with a polyethylene tank if corroded through." Record which tanks are original.