Hunter 38 Sailboats for Sale

Layouts on the Used Market

Owner three-cabin layouts are the more common on the used market, but both are available. The Owner's Version shows a single large aft stateroom with a 78-by-60-inch berth and a single head serving saloon and stateroom alike, while the tri-cabin version splits the stern into two aft cabins. Either way the saloon carries 6-foot 6-inch headroom, an L-shaped galley to starboard, a port nav station, and a forward stateroom with an 86-inch berth. Ex-charter boats are common and may show higher cycle counts on the rig and systems, but the fundamental accommodation packages are unchanged.

Equipment and Common Upgrades

On the used fleet, furling main, chartplotter, bimini, autopilot, dodger, air conditioning, hot water, and inverter are commonly fitted. Often seen are heating, cockpit shower, swim platform, solar, and electric winches. Less commonly, as owner upgrades or later additions, come radar, short-handed setup, dinghy davits, lithium batteries, spinnaker, and freezer. The original deck gear is specific: a stainless arch with Harken traveler, Lewmar 40 self-tailer primaries through ball-bearing blocks, and a folding Edson wheel, so verify any electric-winches retrofit matches the cabintop clutch layout.

What to Inspect

The documented shortcoming to check is the cockpit, where the major complaint is lack of storage space—confirm the small port locker for the holding tank, the second for two propane bottles, and the starboard seat's emergency hatch all function, since those are the only stowage and access points noted. The chart table extends so far aft that the navigator's seat cannot be fully elevated; inspect for owner-modified seating or worn hinge points. The fit and finish of joinery was recorded as better than boats built five years prior, a byproduct of computerized cutting tools and quality control, so compare teak surfaces and Everwear sole condition against that baseline. The headliner panels remove with a Hunter tool to reach wiring—confirm the tool is aboard and the panels seat cleanly.

Availability and Buyer's Takeaway

These boats typically appear in the United States, Canada, Spain, United Kingdom, Italy, and Australia. For a buyer, the checklist is short and sourced from the known record: confirm cockpit lockers and emergency hatch integrity, test the navigator's seat against the intrusive chart table, verify the removable headliner tool is present, and validate any often-seen electric winch or solar additions against the original Lewmar and arch geometry. The Hunter 38 remains a comfort-first cruiser with a distinctive Henderson hull and an open, social cockpit.