Design and Construction
Hunter achieved its price point through efficiency in construction, standardization of components, and low overhead, a philosophy closer to the Herreshoff assembly-line tradition than to backyard boatbuilding shortcuts. The hull itself is solid glass layup with plywood reinforcement in high-stress areas such as winch mountings and locker tops, and gelcoat quality is genuinely good — no roving printthrough is evident, and the hull is quite fair, a claim that cannot be made for many costlier boats. The hull-to-deck joint uses an internal flange heavily coated with adhesive bedding, overlaid by the deck molding, and locked with a through-bolted slotted aluminum toerail at six-inch intervals — simple, strong, and inspectable. The stern joint is the exception: gelcoat and putty fairing at the transom was sloppy on every Hunter 27 examined.
The high freeboard and tall cabin trunk that give the boat its rather boxy profile are structurally motivated: six feet of headroom in a 27-footer demands both, and the resulting interior volume is a genuine asset for coastal cruising. The elimination of factory-installed options means every Hunter 27 was built identically, which kept the assembly line humming but left owners to customize at the dealer level or on their own.
Keel, Chainplates, and Structural Concerns
Two structural areas warrant close attention on any Hunter 27 being purchased used. The keel is a narrow, high-aspect lead fin weighing 3,000 pounds, with a shoal-draft variant carrying 3,200 pounds to compensate for the raised center of gravity. The narrowness of the fin means considerable leverage on the hull when the boat heels, and several owners have reported oilcanning of the hull, leaking keelbolts, or vertical misalignment between hull and keel. These are not universal failures, but they are common enough to require inspection before purchase.
The chainplates are stainless steel U-bolts fastened through the aluminum toerail without backing plates. While likely adequate under normal loads, a simple U-bolt is a poor choice for a primary chainplate unless radiused to the clevis pin diameter and aligned with its own vertical axis. The practical recommendation is clear: Hunter 27 owners should consider installing aluminum or stainless steel backing plates and check the nuts periodically. With only two nuts per shroud anchorage, this inspection matters more than on a conventional chainplate arrangement.
Rig and Handling Under Sail
The rig is a modern, high-aspect masthead sloop with a deck-stepped white Kenyon spar supported by a wood compression column attached to the main bulkhead. Under sail, the boat's performance story is complicated. Despite a high ballast-to-displacement ratio, owners do not consider the Hunter 27 a stiff boat under sail, and performance is rated only fair to good. Several factors explain this. The factory sails are bought in quantity and not designed for specific local conditions. There is no provision for headsail sheeting angle adjustment — all headsails must sheet to the slotted toerail, which means the slot is rarely optimal. There is also no traveler for the mainsheet, limiting angle of attack and draft control.
Weather helm is a recognized characteristic: a relatively fat boat such as the Hunter 27 rapidly acquires weather helm as it heels due to asymmetry of the submerged sections, and owners consistently flag this as extreme. The chainplates set at the outboard edge of the deck make it nearly impossible to close the headsail slot effectively with a large genoa. A refit involving well-made sails, inboard chainplates, adjustable headsail tracks, a good vang, and a mainsheet traveler would substantially improve windward ability — though doing so raises cost and introduces questions about deck loading capacity and boom strength.
Accommodations
Below decks the Hunter 27 exceeds expectations for a production 27-footer. Headroom is just over six feet under the main hatch and nearly five feet ten inches at the forward end of the main cabin. The layout runs from a double berth in the forepeak, aft to a full-width head — newer boats equipped with holding tanks, older ones likely with portable heads — then into a main cabin with settee berths port and starboard that extend under the forward bulkhead, trading some seating area for a larger galley and quarterberth. To port aft is a quarterberth with a folding chart table over its forward end; to starboard is the galley with sink, two-burner alcohol stove, and icebox. Finish includes a molded glass headliner, teak-finished bulkheads, solid teak trim, and a teak cabin sole. Joinerwork is fair stock quality, not fine cabinetry, but the overall impression is of a finished interior. Eight opening ports, two hatches, and the companionway make ventilation at anchor excellent in newer boats; older models have fewer opening ports.
The cockpit accommodates five in reasonable comfort, aided by high coamings that serve as good backrests and help keep spray out. Wheel steering, standard on later models, opens up the cockpit considerably. Stowage is compromised: the lazarette is occupied by the steering gear and hoses, making it unsuitable for storing gear without risking damage to vital systems, and the starboard cockpit locker is dominated by the aluminum fuel tank.
Engine and Known Issues
The original powerplant was an eight-horsepower Renault diesel, replaced starting in 1979 with early Yanmar engines. Owners of Renault-powered boats should be aware that the attachment of the shifting mechanism to the transmission lever has a habit of vibrating loose — a potentially dangerous failure during docking. Yanmar engines of that era are noisy and noted for vibration but known for reliability. With either powerplant, owners consider the boat underpowered, which is unsurprising given eight horsepower pushing a 7,000-pound, high-sided hull. Engine access is straightforward via the removable companionway ladder. One known maintenance issue reported by owners is leaking strut bolts and shaft wear due to improper shaft alignment — engine alignment should be verified and corrected on any Hunter 27 being put back into service after a period of inactivity. Fuel capacity is 12.5 gallons in an aluminum tank; earlier installations lack a grounding jumper between the fuel fill and the tank, violating ABYC standards.
The Verdict
The Hunter 27 is exactly what it was designed to be: an affordable, spacious, easy-to-maintain coastal cruiser that gets a first-time buyer on the water with wheel steering, reasonable headroom, and a manageable rig. It delivers on that promise reliably. What it does not deliver is performance or finish quality commensurate with more expensive contemporaries — and it was never intended to. The buyer who understands those terms and inspects the keel joint, chainplates, engine alignment, and fuel system before purchase will generally find a usable cruising boat that rewards modest refit investment. The buyer expecting European build quality for American bargain prices will be disappointed.
Pros
- Solid fiberglass construction with fair hull and strong hull-to-deck joint
- Generous headroom and livable interior layout for a 27-footer
- Excellent ventilation in later models with eight opening ports
- Straightforward engine access and simple systems
- High-aspect fin keel provides reasonable lateral resistance
Cons
- Keel-to-hull joint prone to oilcanning, keelbolt leaks, and misalignment
- U-bolt chainplates without backing plates are a structural weak point
- Persistent weather helm under sail, worsened by outboard chainplate placement
- No headsail track or mainsheet traveler limits windward tuning
- Cockpit stowage severely compromised by steering gear and fuel tank placement
- Original Renault shift linkage prone to vibrating loose; both engines considered underpowered
