Hunter 33.5 vs. 35.5

[Capnedo]

Hey all,

I'm currently an S2 7.9 owner living in Charleston, SC, looking to move up into either a Hunter 33.5 or 35.5, likely from 1989 - 1994 model years. I'm a very experienced sailor and racer for many years on many types and sizes of boats, for what it's worth. These are at the top of my list for all the same reasons many seem to like these boats - interior space, good sailing characteristics, decent sailing to it's PHRF for fun casual racing, open transom with nice "swim deck", storage, fractional rig for easy handling and balance, well designed shoal draft winglet keel, etc. Also, for me, good standing headroom in a boat of this length. This is a biggie for me. I'm 6'2" and am over having to slouch in boats. The 35.5 is supposedly 6'2" interior headroom, while the 33.5 states 6'5", which sounds glorious to me. So...from owners of each and particularly anyone who has been on both...how do they compare? Especially with regards to the interior layout, headroom, etc. Visually, the 33.5 keeps looking like the winner (IMHO) especially with the 3" extra headroom, but I like the outside looks of the 35.5 slightly better and there seem to be more on the used market...and maybe it's a "big" 6'2"? And yes, I do plan to look at both myself, but there aren't currently any near me to casually check out, so I'll have to do some traveling a little closer to pulling-the-trigger time. Any thoughts regarding both would be very helpful!

 

[Phil Herring]

The 35.5 was a very popular boat and I believe it sold more units than the 33.5, bit I'm not absolutely certain of that. I would be skeptical of any builder's headroom specs, as they will usually measure the single tallest point below, which could be pocket of 10 square inches. The rest of the cabin might be 5' 6".

I'm 6'1" and the headroom in the 35.5 was never a problem for me. I'm partial to the 35.5, I think it was one of Hunter's best.

 

[walmsleyc]

I've got a 1987 Legend 35. the 1989+ 35.5 had the same hull, but an updated deck/cabin, so this may not be a perfectly equal comparison. Anyway, the Legend 35 is a great sailing boat, good performance, sails to her PHRF rating nicely. I race it hard, and cruise it regularly, and find it does both pretty well. I'm 6'2" and can only really stand up fully right at the base of the companion way stairs. Headroom tapers down from there (in all directions!). I'm not really complaining as I like the lower deck/cabin profile, and that way the boat looks.

Cheers
Chris

 

[Capnedo]

I have to say, Chris, I do like the sleeker lines of the 35.5, much like the Legend 35. It's a big part of what's keeping it in my sights. Like you I'm sure, I've spent an awful lot of time hunching around in boats, even pretty big ones. The 33.5 appears also to have a fairly consistent ceiling line well into the cabin and across, plus, the main cabin is situated further aft than the 35.5, so I have to think I'd be able to stand upright in most of the centerline of the main cabin and off to either side a good ways. I'd love to hear from a tall guy who owns one though! Thanks very much for the feedback!

 

[Capnedo]

Thanks for your response as well, Phil. I may be putting too much on the headroom thing. I'm a shade under 6'2", so the 35.5 headroom is probably fine. Do you have enough knowledge of the 33.5 to compare deck and cockpit as well? I know the 35.5 comes with two cabin top winches and the 33.5 only one, which I'm not crazy about. Other than that, they look extremely similar from what I can tell.

 

[Phil Herring]

I haven't been on a 33.5 in years, but they're really similar. When I bought my 35.5 I looked at the 30, 33.5, and 35.5. I had the impression that the smaller models were the 35.5 minus a couple feet, whereas the 35.5 felt more like it was designed to a function. Again, I have no idea if that's true so take it with a grain of salt. Bottom line, the 35.5 semeed like a better value, as the price difference wasn't that great.

Downsides of the 35.5: tough to put a windlass on it, IIRC. And the holding tank design is weak: small aluminum (read: rotted) tank, essentially impossible to get in or out of the boat, vents into the cockpit. Go under the Resources tab and select Boat Info, then check out the reviews and mods for each boat. I believe there is a saga here somewhere about replacing the holding tank. I suspect all this is also true of the 33.5, though.

 

[Capnedo]

Great info, thanks Phil. There is a 35.5 for sale about 2 hours from me, which is by far the closest of any of them by a couple more hours. I think you've convinced me I definitely need to get on board one to feel it out in person.

 

[BigEasy]

I owned a 1988 Hunter 33.5 for about 7 years; unfortunately, I lost it during hurricane Katrina 10 years ago. I really liked the boat; it had a big boat feel at an affordable price point, the interior volume & storage was big. I liked the interior layout. I am 6'1" and never felt restricted except for overhead in the aft stateroom. There was much counter space & storage in the galley; it had an Origo alcohol cooktop & oven that I never used. The ice box was huge, but severely under insulated with one side next to the engine compartment. On my boat the water tank was aluminum; the holding tank & fuel tank was plastic/poly. I do recall that the holding tank overboard discharge had a gate valve. The holding tank was under the forward dining seat adjacent to the head compartment. One unfavorable characteristic with these vintage Hunters was a compression post comprised of two 2x4s wrapped in teak. Inevitably the wiring race under the mast would leak & rot the compression post. On all of these boats, you should plan to have the post replaced with an aluminum post wrapped in teak. Also route the mast wiring from outside the mast thru individual thru deck cable outlets. The sail plan had a huge roach main & 115 headsail; therefore, it had a tendency to roundup in gusts of 15, had to reef the main fairly early. The main had a Dutchman / Jiffy reefing setup. The jib furler was a continuous line type furler. The 33.5 had a yanmar 2gm20f 18 HP that was a bit under powered for a 33' boat. The winches were all Barient winches that were no longer manufactured; don't know if parts are still available. There was no anchor roller; however, I did see some that were modified to adapt a roller & windlass on the Hunter Owners Forum. Be careful as many of these vintage Hunters that were kept in water year round were prone to hull blistering / boat pox. Again, I liked the boat. Not suitable for extensive offshore work, but fine for coastal cruising. You should check out further owner reviews here on the Hunter Owner's Website. Let me know if there any other questions.

 

[BigEasy]

One final note is that these boats all have cast iron keels that will rust. I had mine blasted and coated with an interlux epoxy coating. Some owners used a coal tar epoxy product.

 

[walmsleyc]

One final note is that these boats all have cast iron keels that will rust. I had mine blasted and coated with an interlux epoxy coating. Some owners used a coal tar epoxy product.

Well, my 1987 Legend 35 has a lead keel as I believe does the 35.5. Other models may be cast iron.

Chris

 

[BigEasy]

Chris, mine had the shoal "bulb / wing" keel. Was yours the deep fin keel version?

 

[walmsleyc]

Chris, mine had the shoal "bulb / wing" keel. Was yours the deep fin keel version?

Shoal keel. Searching on the net, seems that there is a mix between lead and cast iron. Some people indicate that all the Legend series boats used lead (which is why I would guess that the 35.5 would as well).

Chris

 

[Stretch]

I think you will like the size of the aft berth on the 35.5, Capnedo, there is enough room for you on the right side. The vee berth will be too tiny. The tall guy seat at the settee is the one facing foward of the sink. The boat features a separate shower stall which also makes a good wet locker.

The 35.5's all had shoal draft 4.5 ft wing keel in lead. The 92 and newer models had stern rail seats, salon portlights, an upgraded vanity and wood cabinet doors everywhere. There were over 700 of them. It has a generous water tankage and the sanitary tank can be made to 30 gallons with an access hatch in the aft cabin bulkhead.

A bimini will be a little low for you, I think the boom clearance from the cockpit floor must be v close to your stature.