Hunter 29.5 Advice

[Henrique]

Hi,
I'm planning to change my good and old Maxi 77 for something more "familiar friendly", and recently appeared the opportunity for a Hunter 29.5, 1998. I find out that there are VERY FEW info about the hunter 29.5 online.

Therefore, it would be great to hear more about the experiences from someone that owns it:

- Are they reliable?
- Did they age well? No big problems in the hull, fiberglass, keel?
- Is the engine reliable?
- Is there any other Hunter with more info and similar specs?
- Can you fit a dinghy on it?
- Would they be considered a CE classification B or A? Are they "ocean ready"?
- Are they comfortable enough to a long weekend sailing with family?
- Does the low draft makes it too unstable? Would you do long passages with it?

And most important: are they fun to sail?

Any other advice is much appreciated.

 

[Terry Cox]

Hi Henrique, did you check out these owner reviews? Lots of good feedback.

http://hunter.sailboatowners.com/reviews.php?mid=22&model=29.5

 

[Henrique]

Dear Terry,

Thank you very much. Looks like I looked in the wrong part of the forum for more info about the Hunter. Thanks for the link.

 

[Dave602]

Henrique, We currently have a 1995 H29.5 and love her. If the boat has had proper care it will do fine. They have lots of room inside, more than you would think for a boat this size. We take ours on long weekend trips and once you get used to the layout there is plenty of room. As for hanging a dinghy on it, we tow ours on a strap. The 29.5 tends to sit low in the water in the stern. It is a pretty stable boat. We tend to reef early around 15knots. It will settle in at about 15 degrees of heel and be a very comfortable ride. The motor is most likely the Yanmar 2GM20F which with proper maintenance is very reliable and efficient. The most common area of problems are water leaks around the rub rails. People tend to use these as a step to get on and off the boat. I had several leaks and once sealing the rails and one where the wiring comes down the mast they all went away. We have been sailing ours for 5 years now and still love to go out on her. So if you have any other questions I would be glad to help

 

[Terry Cox]

Hi Henrique, you are most welcome.

 

[Henrique]

Hi Dave. Thanks for the info, very useful.
Do you think that the shallow keel makes the boat "unstable" in certain conditions? Would you do longer passages (2-3 days non stop) with it?