The owners of Hunters generally, but not always, know why they deliberately bought that brand. More interior for the $$. That's a huge deal for many folks. They are fully entitled to their beliefs.
And, be cautious about any make and model where the owner swears his boat will cross any sea and has no compromises. ALL boats have their own "performance envelopes " , just like airplanes.
Rather than list brands and models in a descending or ascending order, it would be far better to build a "decision tree" of features and a check list.
With no reference to brand, start with the basic scantlings/engineering, then design, then look at the hull-to-deck joint, then the hull-to-keel joint.
To poorly paraphrase a famous designer, from an article several years ago, look for a boat where the hull was designed
before the interior. i.e. look for long water line and efficient sailing shape. Then look for a clever designer who put the maximum livability inside that desirable shape. And then look for a design that lives well when under way in a rolling sea with the occasional cross sea.
Avoid the boats where the interior was designed out like a small condo, and then the hull was forced to wrap around it somehow. Those boat are nice for dockside living and local sailing on nice days, but poorer out in the ocean or any large body of open water.
While all boat designs are inevitably compromises, try to understand how such compromises will affect your use of the boat.
Also, the stronger the initial design and build, the easier that hull will be to maintain, 20, 30, or 50 years later.
And no... my choice of boat is neither 'perfect' nor perfect for you. That said, it sails easily and the interior lives efficiently at sea. Sister ships routinely cross oceans. I sail only coastal, but that basic strength provided a foundation for a recent complete re-fit and LPU paint update.
Whatever you buy, think in terms of the continual updates and upgrades you will be doing for the next two decades. Some boats are far easier to work on than others, and until you spend time crawling into tight spaces to work on utilities you will not appreciate the extra care the builders took in design and construction.
Best of luck in your search. We spent a full year looking for the boat we still have, 30 years later. (Switching boats often costs a lot of time and money, both of which get more scarce as the years go by...)
Happy Hunting!
