It really depends on a number of things, and most of those things are specific to the individual buyer. I can tell you that in my case it was the right decision. I was very lucky, considering it was the right decision for many reasons that I didn’t even know about. I didn’t do much research before I made the purchase, and I really did it on a whim. Not that I hadn’t thought about buying a sailboat before, I had thought about buying a sailboat for years, but never serious enough to give me a reason to search for a checkbook.
This time was different. A friend of a friend was selling a 1994 Hunter 29.5 in hopes of moving to a bigger boat. They call it two feet-itus. In his case, it was actually a six foot itus, but I digress. They are looking to move on, I was looking to get started and I knew that the previous owner was very careful with taking care of his things. That included his boat. We finalized the deal, signed the paperwork, wrote a check, and took possession of my shiny new boat (9 years actually). Six years have passed since then, and I have been more than satisfied on several different occasions with our boat.
One of the good things about buying a relatively new Hunter is the space. At one point, sailboats were built primarily with performance and speed in mind. Little attention was paid to the housings below deck. That is to say, they were small, scarce and somewhat uncomfortable. If the ship was only intended for racing and was a place to spend a few beers before heading home, then it wasn’t a huge inconvenience. But as time passed, a slightly different user demographic became interested in ships.
Families Sailing was becoming a family activity. Families mean husbands, wives, children, and possibly even pets. This means more space, better amenities, and perhaps a little less emphasis on speed. Five knots. . . six knots. . . really do not care. In addition, the ship became another place to socialize. Given that today’s pleasure boat spends much more time on the dock than on the open sea, it made sense for the boat to be very functional on the dock. AC / DC, running water, ice machines, refrigeration, microwave and shelter from the elements all included.
The Hunter 29.5 I Sail tries to do a little bit of everything. Both in terms of performance and on the dock. For a sailboat under 30 feet, it has an incredibly large cabin. Larger than many boats in the largest 35 foot size. Our record is 14 people in the cabin at a time. On the dock, of course;) It was a cozy 14, but 14 nonetheless, and I think we still had an empty transom seat.
Below, it’s the same story. The sofa is “C” shaped so it’s pretty easy to put our family of 5 around it with room to spare. Even six or seven would be doable if necessary. Sleeps six comfortably, when the living room table is lowered. Hunter also makes good use of the available storage space. They manage to put cabinets and small storage niches around the boat. Enough to equip it for a two-week navigation to the North Channel for a family of 5. Of course, there was an additional supply on the way.
The Hunters’ rig is also fairly easy to handle for first-time “familiar” sailors. They incorporate what is called fractional B&R rigging on many of their boats of this size. What that means is a smaller headsail for easy handling and a larger mainsail so you can steer the boat whenever you want. Design and accessibility are another factor when working on your boat. Engine belts are a simple thing that comes to mind. While my inner Yanmar diesel is easily accessible from all four sides, I have a friend who used to own a 1970 Mirage, who needed equal parts mechanic and contortionist just to tighten the engine belts. Something to keep in mind when looking for a boat.
All things considered, I consider myself very lucky with our ship. When buying it, I knew next to nothing about sailboats, and somehow managed to get a boat that would fit most of our needs while being reliable and well designed. The only advice I would give to new boat buyers is to seriously consider how they intend to use the boat before purchasing. All types of boats are suitable for all different boaters for different reasons. As long as you match your needs with what a boat offers, you will have many happy memories on the dock and on the water.