Hunter 19-1 Buyer's Guide
The Hunter 19-1 is a trailerable American sailboat built by Hunter Marine in the United States between 1981 and 1983, now out of production. Originally sold as the Hunter 19 before the unrelated 1993 Hunter 19-2 appeared, it was designed by the Hunter Design Team as a day sailer and small cruising sailboat. For a shopper on the brokerage market, the boat's two-year build window means every available example predates 1984, and its centerboard layout rather than fixed keel is the feature that most shapes how and where it can be kept.
Layouts on the Used Market
The Hunter 19-1 is a monohull of solid fiberglass with wood trim, an 18.67-foot LOA and 7.33-foot beam enclosing a compact day-and-small-cruise interior. Documented accommodation is minimal but functional: a portable toilet and a cooler are listed as features, with no berth count or cabin plan given in the record. The centerboard trunk occupies the keel line, and the transom-hung rudder with tiller steering defines the cockpit, which is a self-bailing design. Because the boat was built only in 1981–1983, used examples will reflect that era's factory trim rather than any later revision.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
From the builder, the Hunter 19-1 is normally fitted with a small outboard motor for docking and maneuvering, carried on a built-in outboard engine mount, and rigged as a fractional Bermuda sloop with 155.72 square feet of sail. No market brief supplies prevalence tiers for this model, so equipment should be assessed as found rather than assumed common. The documented standard kit — self-bailing cockpit, portable toilet, cooler, built-in motor mount — is what a buyer can expect at minimum; anything beyond that is a period or owner addition not described in the source material.
What to Inspect
The source record assigns no structural defects to the Hunter 19-1, but the centerboard configuration and transom-hung rudder are the moving elements most exposed to wear on a trailerable boat. Verify the centerboard pivot and trunk for free movement and watertightness, and check the rudder stock and transom attachment for play. The fiberglass construction with wood trim should be examined for gelcoat crazing and trim rot at joints, and the self-bailing cockpit drains must be clear. Confirm the built-in outboard mount is intact and that the fractional rigging shows no elongation at terminals.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
No typical markets are documented for the Hunter 19-1, so regional availability cannot be stated. The boat's production ended in 1983, and all survivors are from that build period. A short flat checklist for the buyer:
- Confirm 1981–1983 build and Hunter Marine provenance
- Inspect centerboard trunk and transom rudder for wear
- Verify self-bailing cockpit drainage and wood trim condition
- Check built-in outboard mount and fractional rig terminals
- Expect only portable toilet and cooler as factory cruising amenities