At just over 28 feet on the waterline, with a 10 foot 6 inch beam and a fixed wing keel, the Hunter 28 offers a broad platform for its length. But its short production run and sharply divided critical reception also make it a study in compromised cruising design.
Design and Construction
Hunter Marine built the 28 predominantly of fiberglass, with a winged, bulbous keel cast in lead. The deck is bolted to the hull on a horizontal flange joint with fasteners spaced every three inches.
Inside, a complete fiberglass liner provides the structural grid. A period survey of a 1991 example found this well executed, concluding that Hunter had finally got the structural grid liner right by this 1991 example. Less successful is the sole, which is angled at 45 degrees and compromises the accommodations below.
Several construction details raised concerns on the surveyed boat. The bow-pulpit leg bases were poorly designed, with considerable crazing in the surrounding gelcoat. The hull bottom was badly blistered, while the internally mounted spade rudder had large soft spots. Buyers should treat both as real, rather than theoretical, weaknesses of the class.
Rig and Handling
The Hunter 28 carries a fractional sloop rig—specifically a 3/4 rig rather than a full-head configuration—with a deck-stepped mast. Its standing rigging is extraordinarily light: the upper shrouds are only 0.20 inch wire, while the lower shrouds and wishbone backstay are just 0.15 inch. The roller furling fitted to the reviewed boat couldn’t be tensioned adequately because the lightly built rig was too lightly built to carry the load.
Under sail, the boat proved unusually tender, and the winged lead keel did nothing to suppress that characteristic. Steering is by a large 30 inch destroyer wheel. The cockpit’s sheet-winch islands slope steeply outboard without a horizontal surface, and there are no raised coamings for back support.
Accommodations
Below, the only stand-up space measures 20 inches wide by 5 feet long, and it is set on the sharply angled sole. The so-called aft cabin is a cave behind the engine, with a cushion on the floor. Reaching it means crossing the same steeply canted surface.
In the main cabin, the aft-facing U-shaped settee has a seat too narrow for comfortable sitting. The cushions throughout are vinyl over foam rubber.
The head is the least successful part of the layout. Its sole sits above the turn of the bilge and slopes steeply, while the toilet is mounted so low that a person has to fall down onto it rather than sit at a normal height.
In a 1998 review, marine surveyor David Pascoe criticized the aft cabin, head, dinette, reverse transom, swim platform, rigging dimensions, deck hatch, cockpit space around the wheel, winch mounting, lack of back support, keel, fiberglass quality, and engine mounts as a connected litany of faults.
Equipment and Known Issues
Beyond the blistered hull bottom and soft-spotted rudder, the surveyed boat had engine mounts so soft and loose that its Yanmar diesel oscillated by as much as 1/2 inch when started. There are no engine gauges, the control panel is mounted low in the cockpit, and the plastic throttle lever on the pedestal bends easily in the hand.
The hull-recessed swim platform, a useful feature on larger boats, is misapplied on a 28 footer. Nor does the boat have a lifeline gate, so crew must climb over the wires. The deck hatch is very small, making it difficult to stow a sail. One of the few well-designed details in the layout is the bow anchor locker.
The Verdict
The Hunter 28 is a racer-cruiser that pursues interior volume and a shallow wing keel at the expense of seaworthiness and livability, making it a study in compromised cruising design. Its liner and deck joint are competently executed, and its 10 foot 6 inch beam provides a wide platform. Against those strengths stand tender sailing behavior, a featherweight rig, and a cramped, poorly planned cabin.
For cruising, those compromises make the Hunter 28 a hard sell beside the Catalina 28 or Pearson 28-2. Now out of production, it is best approached as a budget daysailer or club racer, with a clear understanding of its structural and mechanical frailties.
Pros
- Well-executed complete fiberglass interior liner with corrected grid structure
- Deck bolted to a horizontal flange joint, with fasteners every three inches
- Genuinely well-designed bow anchor locker
- Wide 10 foot 6 inch beam for a 28 foot hull
Cons
- Unusually tender under sail, with ineffective damping from the wing keel
- Badly blistered hull bottom and soft-spotted spade rudder on the surveyed boat
- Engine mounts loose enough to let the diesel oscillate 1/2 inch at startup; no engine gauges
- Aft “cabin” is a floor-cushion cave; head and dinette are poorly planned
- Light 0.15–0.20 inch rigging couldn’t adequately tension the fitted roller furling
