Buying my own Hunter 25.5

[Peter Murphy]

Greetings folks.I'm about to buy an '84 Hunter 25.5 and was curious what you have to say about your boat, it's positive and negative points and what I should be aware of. This will be my first sailboat and I have an intermediate level of sailing experience crewing on other boats. Two sails come with this boat, a main and jib, both of which are well worn and will most likely be replaced next season. The hull needs to be scraped, reworked and painted and the decking has a weathered look to it (faded). The cabin is in immacculate shape. Looking forward to your comments.Cheers from the east coast of Canada.Peter Murphy The boat was moored year 'round in New York City for the past 10 years!

 

[John]

My experience

I have owned a Hun 25.5 (shoal draft, yanmar dsl eng, 1985) for a number of years. In general, I am very happy with the boat. It is easy to sail single handed and fairly low maintenance when compared to others. The boat is not as "substantial" as some other makes, but more than some as well. The hull is designed to be thin, but does not seem to flex (oil can) perceptably. I have put the boat through some high stress situations for an inland lake environment and it has survived well. The shoal draft version does not point as well as I would like and tends to be a little "tippy", but has been stable and controlable in some rather high winds. The reefing system is easy to use. My boat has developed a number of hairline gelcoat cracks at points of stress (like the forward cockpit corners and anchor compartment aft corners). These seem to be common in the model. The cracks have not caused any problem and I have chosen not to try a repair. They are barely noticeable. Due, I think, to improper installation, the gelcoat has cracked around the bolts attaching the pop top. These are a bit uglier, but also do not seem to be a real problem. One other issue with the Hunter 25.5 seems to be a tendency to blister. While I have had few blisters to fix, others in my area have had to have extensive hull work to repair blisters after long periods (years) in the water. For what it's worth, I put a barrier coat on the bottom when I bought it. There are mixed reviews on the effectiveness of barrier coats.Bottom line, the boat is a good model. It does seem to have a few problem areas related to design and materials, but these seem to be minor. Maintenance is relatively easy. It is easy for one to handle.

 

[Raymond Ortega]

My take

I bought a 1984 Hunter 25.5 last November. I have done some cleaning on the topsides and will need to redo the bottom later this year. My previous sailboats were a 1972 Southcoast 22 and a Flying Jr. of unknown origins. Overall, I am pleased with the 25.5. It handles well in my typical inland lake environment and has been fun to work on. I've replaced several of the lines, refinished the cabin sole and removed the striping on the cabin sides.The only real "problems" have been a recurring leak in the poptop due to cracks where the hatch hits the forward edge of the channel. When time permits, I think a little marine tex will cure that. The other thing is the poor placement of the drains at the stern of the cockpit. Otherwise, it has just been the normal dings, dents and spiderweb cracks you would expect from an 18 year old boat. Look at it as part of the hobby and enjoy.Ray

 

[Will Baker]

Great boat

I purchase an '85 full keel model at the beginning of this season. I love the boat and echo the other comments. By the way, as you will find out, this board is an excellent resource.

 

[Eric Dreher]

Fine boat overall

Great boat overall. We've had a '84 full keel model about a year and a half. Been in the water all of its life, and we just hadd a bottom job done this spring. All the paint was gone, yet amazingly just a couple of very small blisters. I too have had problems of water entering pop top and still haven't found the cause. My only other complaint is that the icebox drains straight to the bilge, you can't just put a bag of ice in there without later pumping out the bilge. Our cabin sole has suffered from that over the years. Apparently some never even new the problem or were too lazy to pump it out. My plan is to simply plug the hole or just keep pumping it out. I like using the icebox, saves space rather than using a cooler.