5 year experience
Hi Garret I've owned a 23.5 for almost 5 years now and these are my thoughts. It's a lot of boat for the money. My wife and I often spend weekends aboard in reasonable comfort. The head is cramped and it could use more storage and ventilation, but its not bad. We usually sleep in the v-berth because my wife says the aft berth is too claustrophobic. If you live in a climate where it is hot in the summer, a portable air conditioner is a good investment. Everything has held up pretty well. There are some small stress cracks in the fiberglass and the usual assortment of loose screws, etc. Can't complain though. We have the original sails and I believe they will make it through another season. Do be carefull if you move or replace the porta potti. On some 23.5's the screws were too long that hold the porta potti in place and they penetrate the ballast tank. When you remove them, the tank starts to leak lots of water..believe me I know. The boat sails well for a beginning sailor (which I am). Its only scary trait is to round up and stall if hit by winds 15 to 20 mph and it is tender. It really heels over quickly and will scare the bejeebies out of you the first few times until you realize its not going all the way over. Reefing the main early will save you lots of "exciting" experiences. Oh, and one other thing...the trailer is just barely adequate to carry the boat, make sure it is well maintained and that the axle isn't rusted through. Its not terribly expensive to replace the axle and wheel bearings and I would suggest it on one that is more than a couple of years old. My boat is powered by a Johnson 9.9 4 stroke outboard and it works great. All and all I am please and would buy another Hunter though I'm not so sure about buying another Hunter trailer. Let me know if I can answer any other questions Alan Long long@tecinc.com SV Random Access (1994 Hunter 23.5)
