Boat US Hunter Legend 35/35.5 Review

[John Nantz]

In the current November 2002 issue of Boat US Magazine there is a one-page review of the Hunter Legend 35/35.5 by Jack Homor, NA. The review is fairly good but "seems" to stress the possibility of certain problems such as blisters and water in the deck while only lightly mentioning the boats all-around good performance capabilities. During the time period that the 35 was introduced there was still the concern about osmotic blistering and many boat buyers, myself included, had barrier coat(s) applied and I have yet to have a problem. The review didn't mention anything about water leaks from ports or skylights. Our boat came with a 110% standard vice the 120%.Shortly after it debuted a 35.5 won the Pacific Cup Double-handed race from San Francisco to Hawaii with a number of nay-sayers, including our local top tactician and all-around sailor Bruce Hedrick putting them down before the race. Second place went to the top tactician in the PC that year sailing his own Cal 40.Although billed as a costal-cruiser a friend of ours sailed their 35.5 from Seattle to Forida in '93 and they did very well against much larger boats including a C&C 40.My *unbiased* opinion is the 35/35.5 is a really good boat and an excellent value for the money.One page limits what can be written. For those who haven't seen the article a link is provide below: http://www.boatus.com/jackhornor/sail/hunterlegend35.htm

 

[ted jensen]

review was pretty close

i though jacks review was pretty close to how id review my 89 35.5, just this summer i discovered the possible area of delamination where the furling lines enter the deck (i mounted my furling drum above deck so didnt need it) sealed it to prevent future problems. havent had a blister problem, but have had to fix numerous leaks, sky lights ect. i have given up on trying to convience hunter haters of the seaworthyness of the 35.5, with the pacific cup and other race finishes the 35.5's record speaks for its self. almost done outfitting mine and no doubt when im done she will take us anywhere we want to go.

 

[David]

Review

Pretty fair review. Jack is a long time surveyor and knows boats.

 

[John Nantz]

Hunter Legend 35 Additional Info

After reading a post about the need to replace metal holding tanks I felt a need to expand on the 35/35.5 review. One of the nice selling features of the Legend 35 is that it has all plastic tanks: fuel, water (65 gal in one tank), and holding.This, among other items, such as lead keel, has made this series of boats comparatively easy to maintain without any big surprises.The original head was a Sea-Land which is really easy to change out to a Raritan with a lever handle. No problem with handle getting in the way of anything. Waste hoses are about as short as they can be with the holding tank on the other side of the bulkhead - can't beat that.Plenty of space available to increase the size of waste or fuel tank and one can easily add a separate fresh-water flush tank for the head.We installed a mezzanine in the lazarette to store sail bags (spinnaker, storm, and 150; asymmetrical to be added), full-size mountain bike, dingy oars, 8hp outboard, fishing net (also for cat!), storm anchor and rode, and a step stool for the Admiral.The lazarette is an excellent place to install the inverter/battery charger and the forced-air heater. The duct run is only about two feet to the head so one gets lots of nice warm air when it's cold. The Admiral gave the captain an atta-boy for this addition.The V-berth has it's own sink which helps to cut down on the congestion in the head.Engine shut-off is located in the cockpit next to the helm for easy access.Is there anything more one can ask for?