At just under 40 feet, the Hunter 40-1 reflects a distinctly late-1980s approach to spacious coastal cruising. It offers substantial accommodation and manageable sail handling without pretending to be a performance boat.
Design and Construction
The Hunter 40-1 is a fiberglass monohull with wood trim. It has a fixed fin keel, an internally mounted spade-type rudder, and wheel steering. Its raked stem and reverse transom, fitted with a folding boarding ladder, gave the boat a modern profile for its era.
A 13.4-foot beam carried on a 32.5-foot waterline provides considerable interior volume for the boat’s length. Displacement is 17,400 pounds, including 7,900 pounds of lead ballast. That puts the ballast-displacement ratio near 45 percent and places the design firmly among comfort-oriented cruisers rather than lightweight racers. A capsize ratio of 2.07 and comfort ratio of 24.45 further characterize it as a stable, accommodating coastal vessel.
Rig, Handling, and Performance
Steck gave the Hunter 40-1 a B&R-rigged masthead sloop configuration, using a Bermuda rig. The factory supplied a 110% roller-furling genoa as standard, along with four two-speed self-tailing winches. Together, those features keep routine sail handling manageable for a short-handed crew.
The deep-keel version has an average PHRF rating of 105, with ratings ranging from 99 to 111. The shoal-draft version averages 108, with a range of 102 to 114. Those figures put the boat in familiar company among late-1980s 40-foot cruisers: quick enough to be useful, but rated as a cruiser first.
Accommodations
Belowdecks, the Hunter 40-1 was designed to feel like a small apartment afloat. Standard accommodations included private forward and aft cabins, a dinette table, and teak-and-holly cabin soles throughout. Two fully enclosed heads, each with a shower, serve the layout.
The galley came with twin stainless-steel sinks, a refrigerator, and a gimbaled three-burner compressed-natural-gas stove with an oven. An AM/FM radio and cassette player with four speakers was also standard—a period creature comfort rather than navigation-station equipment.
With two private cabins and two enclosed heads, the boat was a plausible liveaboard or charter platform in its day.
Standard Equipment and Capacities
Hunter fitted a Japanese Yanmar diesel as the standard auxiliary engine. The standard 110% roller-furling genoa, four self-tailing winches, and gimbaled three-burner stove with oven produced a specification suited to casual coastal cruising without demanding constant crew work.
Fuel capacity is 40 gallons, while the water tanks hold 100 gallons. Those capacities support extended weekends or modest coastal passages.
Verdict
The Hunter 40-1 is a thoughtfully packaged, spacious cruiser from the mid-1980s. It emphasizes accommodation and easy handling rather than outright performance pedigree. Its B&R rig and roller furling make it approachable, while the two-cabin, two-head layout remains genuinely practical.
Pros
- Spacious private forward and aft cabins
- Two fully enclosed heads
- B&R-rigged masthead sloop with a standard roller-furling genoa
- Four two-speed self-tailing winches
- Stable cruiser proportions, with lead ballast near 45 percent of displacement
Cons
- PHRF ratings place it among ordinary cruisers rather than performance boats
- Period-standard entertainment and galley equipment reflect 1980s expectations, not modern systems
